Nikon Flashes Keep Getting Better & More Costly

Author's Rating:

Pros: Build quality, power, flexibility of flash modes.

Cons: Initial cost to purchase and for some, a noticeable overall size & weight increase.

The Bottom Line: 
Nikon's BEST flash to date!  User friendly, flexible, powerful, but costly.

Author's Review
The Nikon SB-900 is just the latest (and most sophisticated) in a long line of well conceived and well delivered flash units for Nikon cameras.  This latest (and physically largest) flash in Nikon's storied history is also the most expensive off-camera flash units introduced by the company. 

The SB-900 generally retails in the USA for upwards of $479.00, making it a costly investment and one that may give many Nikon users pause as the flash it replaced, the SB-800 retailed for almost $130.00 less.  Sadly, that unit has now been discontinued and is difficult to find new.

I purchased my SB-900 recently to use primarily with my Nikon D300 dSLR.  For my older Nikon film camera bodies, I use two SB-50DXs, an SB-28 DX, an SB-80DX and an SB-800.  I use these units with the following film camera bodies:  an N65, an N80, two F100s, and an F6.  The only one of these strobes I use on my D300 is the SB-800 as the others are not recommended for use with the newer digital camera bodies.

The NEW SB-900 is compatible with ALL of Nikon's current dSLR camera bodies, but is especially useful on the D300, the D700, the D3 and the D3X (the latter two being Nikon's two flagship professional digital bodies).

The Nikon SB-900 can also be used on the lower end  bodies which, as of this writing include the D40, D60, D5000, and the D90.  Full functionality is also supported on the D300 and D700 bodies.

The above is probably the information almost every Nikon digital shooter will need to know.  Below are the technical specifications and some observations that may assist you with your purchasing decisions.

Technical Specifications

Guide Number (Power Rating):  34/111.5 (ISO 100, m/ft).

Electronic Construction:  IGBT (Auto Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) and series circuitry.

Flash Exposure Control(s):  Slow Synch, Red-Eye reduction in Slow Synch, Front-Curtain Synch, Rear-Curtain Synch.  For Rear Curtain Synch, the following shooting modes are supported: Auto FP (Full Power) Hi-Speed Synch, FV (Flash Value) Lock, Off Camera flash, Use as a Commander for Multiple Strobe usage/firing.

Off Camera Flash Control:  With the SB-900, the user can control up to THREE (3) remote Speedlight Groups and an unlimited number of compatible speedlights.

Controls & Menus:  The interface on the back of the flash head has been made more intuitive and is more streamlined when compared to preceding units (including its immediate predecessor, the SB-800).

Zoom Lens Coverage:   This is especially useful for users of zoom and telephoto lenses.  Prior generation Nikon strobe users were limited to a maximum focal length of either 85 or 105 mm.  With the SB-900, the photographer can now shoot out to 200 mm without having to worry about light fall-off, shadows or darker areas.

Upgrades:  The SB-900 has been designed and manufactured to permit users themselves to do firmware upgrades, thereby eliminating the need to send the unit back to Nikon to obtain them.

Color Gel (Filter) Identification:    The SB-900 is sold with several colored gel filters to correct for differences in light sources.  The SB-900 has built-in capability to identify which filter you've selected and installed on the unit.

Overheat Protection:    Nikon listened to pros who did high volume flash shooting that increased the chances of blowing out the internal flash tube and installed an over-ride protection mechanism in the SB-900 to prevent or greatly reduce these occurrences.  This feature is user controlled and can be activated or de-activated at any time.

Recycling Time & Number of Flashes:   Approx. 4 seconds at Full Power with 4 AA Alkaline Manganese 1.5 volt batteries.  These standard type batteries are projected to provide approximately 110 flashes.  I've found this to be fairly accurate, especially if the batteries are new and fresh.  I tend to use this unit in tandem with my Nikon SD-8A battey pack (an extra 6 AA batteries) which greatly reduces recycle time. When used with the SD-8A, recycling can be reduced by up to 75%.  This is NOT an unfounded claim by Nikon, I have found it to be correct and accurate in regular flash usage.  I have not yet had the opportunity to use NiMH batteries with the unit, but have used Titanium and Lithium batteries by Energizer and found the recycling time reduced by almost 50% (without using the SD-8A).  With the SD-8A, recycling is approx. 75-85% quicker.  Using titanium batteries, I've gotten more than 165-170 flashes per battery change and with the SD-8A well above 200.  Lithium battery usage provides even higher flash counts.

If you use Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, you can reasonably expect 180-190 flashes with reduced recycling time of 2.3 seconds (without an external battery pack).

Flash Shooting Range:   From 2 to 66 feet (.6 meters to 20 meters).  The achievable shooting range and coverage obtained will, of course, depend on what ISO the camera is set at, the position of the zoom head on the SB-900 and the lens aperture you've selected.

Flash Level Output & Level Compensation:  -3.0 to +3.0 EV (Exposure Value) in increments of 1/3 steps in the iTTL (Intelligent Thru The Lens) auto flash, Auto Aperture modes as well as the Distance Priority manual flash mode.  These setting are all user selected via the thumb wheel on the strobe head when facing the photographer.  There is no longer a need to access a menu to select these settings.

Flash Modes Available & Supported:  TTL (Thru The Lens), Auto Aperture Flash, Non-TTL auto flash, Distance Priority Manual flash, Manual Flash, Repeating flash.

Angle of Coverage:  17 mm to 200 mm on a Full Framed dSLR (D700, D3, D3x).  Again, as mentioned above, this is an IDEAL flash unit for users of Nikon or after-market zoom lenses designed for digital  bodies such as the Nikkor 18-200 mm zoom, as well as the Tamron and Sigma equivalents.

Given that this lens is compatible with all of Nikon's  current digital bodies and "recognizes" when the user has switched from an APS sized DX format digital body to an FX (Full Framed) dSLR, this is also quite useful.  On an APS sized sensor dSLR body, the SB-900 covers from 12 mm out to 200 mm.

Distribution of Light:  Normal, wide and Guide Number (GN) Priority.  The flash unit "automatically" adjusts to the camera's image area regardless of whether or not you are using a DX or FX format camera body.

Bounce Capabilities:    The user can bounce the flash head upward to 90 degrees or down to -11 degrees.  The flash head can be rotated 180 degrees left or right.

Ready Light:   As with all Nikon flashes, there is a "ready light" which indicates that the flash is ready for use.  This same light also indicates insufficient light and fully ready.

Dimensions (Size Overall):   3.0" x 5.7" x 4.7"  (78 x 146 x 118.5 mm).

Weight (Without batteries installed):  Approx. 14.5 ounces (415 grams).

Accessories Included With Purchase:  AS-21 Speedlight Stand (for off-camera flash), SW-13H Diffusion Dome, SJ-900 Color Gel Filter set, SZ-2 Color Filter Holder, SS-900 Soft Case.

The SS-900 Soft Case:   While this is an obvious necessity for carrying the flash when not in use, the larger size of the unit itself all but demanded a new case.  What I especially like about it is that it is well made and of high quality, but it also contains a separate, zippered bottom to hold the SW-13H Diffusion Dome when it is not mounted on the flash head.  This goes a long way to helping the user with storage and reducing the chance of loss of the small translucent dome that comes with this model flash unit.


What I Like About the SB-900:   Immediately after purchasing the SB-900, several fellow Nikon users strongly suggested that I read the User's manual before my first use.  I am glad I did as the interface on this strobe is DIFFERENT than those found on the two preceding Nikon strobes (the SB-80 DX and the more recent SB-800). That said, the interface on the SB-900 has several buttons and a control wheel that eliminates the need to scroll through a menu to be able to utilize the different feature sets and capabilities found on the SB-800 that immediately preceded the SB-900.

Once you are familiarized with the interface, I believe that you'll find this strobe unit to be far more intuitive and user friendly.  As a result, the time spent "fiddling" with the strobe head controls to obtain the effects you seek will be greatly reduced.  Do not underestimate the value of these time savings, they can mean the difference between timely shots and lost opportunities and images.

I also like the fact that there is less chance of overheating this unit and blowing the flash tube.

I like the fact that this flash is backward compatible with older digital bodies, but is forward looking enough that I'll be able to use it on the next generation of Nikon digital bodies.

I like the fact that I can use my SD-8A battery pack or the newer SD-9 (which I feel no need to buy as it too is more expensive than the unit it replaced and it is only compatible with the SB-900 and none of the earlier strobes).

I like the fact that this unit's recycle time is faster than the SB-800.

All in all, this is a powerful flash unit that is more user-friendly and that fact will permit you to do more, in less time while still obtaining amazing flash-lit images.  It is an especially powerful tool when used in tandem with the SU-800 Flash Commander unit.

What I don't Like About the SB-900:  It's initial cost to purchase, i.e. more than $450 U.S. and the fact that its stands higher than the SB-800 when mounted in the camera's hot shoe.  It's bulk and zoom head also mean that one is more likely to bump into things or catch the unit on any type of protrusion.


CONCLUSION:   The SB-900 is the flagship of Nikon's "Creative Lighting System."  It is the company's largest, most powerful and flexible Speedlite to date.  While expensive, it provides the photographer with creative flexibility and a near limitless ability to be used in concert with other compatible units for multiple flash lighting scenarios in the field or studio settings.

For those with deeper pockets and high end Nikon digital camera bodies, this is the Nikon flash that should be in your camera bag.