Theano Nikitas received an early production sample of the Nikon SB-900 flash, and was one of the first people to post a real hands-on review of the Speed light SB900. He writes for PDNGearGuide, a large and increasingly popular web destination for the latest news, reviews and information on photographic and camera equipment and gadgets.
Nikitas’s Nikon SB-900 Review takes us on a hands-on preview of the new “Big camera bag filling bertha” and he writes his review in more of a firsthand impressions format than a super technical comparative fashion, so people not up to all the lingo of photographic equipment or buying their first flash will appreciate and more importantly understand what the heck he’s trying to say.. In this, one of the first professional sb-900 write-ups online:
Summary of PDNGearGuide’s Nikon SB900 Review:
Big Bertha / In the box of SB900: Unpacking the SB900 box, and the first impression any one whom has used the SB800 or SB600 speedlights will get is that this is a large unit; look at the specification information and you will not be as shocked as when you get your hands on this flash and try to figure out how you’re going to make room for it and economize your photography travel kit. Annoyingly standard, the speedlight doesn’t come with batteries, although you do get standard accessories: a Velcro case for storing the diffusion dome along side of color filters, color filter holder, speedlight stand and the printed manual.
Impressively Easy / Interface and operation of the SB-900: Firing up the unit you are welcomed to a new and vastly improved control set and interface. Nikon’s engineers have done a great job on making the new menus/buttons and interface more efficient, speedy and controllable for better operation of the SB 900’s feature set. On the upside of the clunky large size of the SB900 is the new LCD is larger, easier to read, and displays more information.
Fire at Will / Performance of the Nikon SB 900 Speedlight: Ease of use doesn’t mean much if the unit doesn’t perform. Theano Nikitas test’s the performance on fresh and new batteries and reports back in the full PDNGearGuide review. Also discussed in this section is that the improved recycle time comes with a hefty price of a SB900 only compatible battery pack, the SD-9, which won’t fit to everyone’s budget with a MSRP of about $230.
Heavy Zoomer / Worthy new features of Nikon SB900: One of the most impressive and large differences between the SB-800 and SB-900 is the much wider zoom range on the new unit. Offering 17-200mm range in FX format and 12-200mm range in DX format, the SB-900 is a much more versatile and powerful unit in this department. Also talked about in the full review are: the versatile new three light patterns delivering the most edge to edge even lighting on the market; auto white balance correction on filters; i-TTL wireless mode with 4 channels; 360 degree rotation access (180 both ways); and new downloadable firmware updates.
Pros, Cons and Bottom line on new SB-900 Speedlight:
Pros: Simple yet efficient powerful interface; strong & quick compared to other flashes; absolutely huge zoom range; very versatile light and pattern control.
Cons: Rather large and space consuming makes it a pain in the butt to transport; not cheap with an MSRP of $500 and assumed prices of about $400 for 01/2009; optional battery pack addons not reverse compatible with other units.
The Bottom Line: Despite high prices and encumbering size, probably the only major downfalls of the SB900, if you need a strong, fast, flexible and top tier flash… You will be delighted in time, to clean out your camera bag and shell out the dough for this awesome product!
