What is the best external flash for the Nikon D40 camera?
I’m far from an expert, but for her purposes I would probably go with the SB-400 just b/c it would be much easier and lighter to carry around if she’s out-of-country. However if later she decides she wants to get creative with wireless off camera lighting, then she’ll want to start looking into SB-600, SU-800, etc. Disclaimer, I’ve never used an SB-400 but am considering getting one b/c my SB-600 can be so bulky. But my SB-600 is so bright that I also need a diffuser that I can place over the flash if I can’t bounce it. Long way of saying: she may also need a $15-20 diffuser or Omni-Bounce.
SB-600 is what you want. SB-400 only points straight ahead, making it little better than the on-camera flash (except for the extra power). The 600 can angle and rotate, letting you bounce the flash off whatever’s available (e.g. the ceiling or walls). It is a bit bulky, but much less so than the SB-900 (which is almost as expensive as a D40, is way overkill for anyone but pros or dedicated amateurs, and is a behemoth). You don’t want to get anything other than the Nikon SB-400, SB-600, SB-800 (discontinued) or SB-900 because other flash units (even the older Nikon ones, like the SB-80DX) won’t talk properly to the D40 to automatically get the proper exposure.
If you have a SU-4 controller you can slave the SB-600 to the D40 wirelessly. (Unless they’ve built in that function in the camera – like michswiss D300 – but it’s usually a higher end feature) If you want to hold the flash in your hand, you might as well go tethered & manual: Get a hotshoe adapter for the camera + flash and a regular sync cable. You’ll lose TTL and everything else, but it works and is fun.
Definitely skip the tripod. She won’t carry it around. They’re heavy and bulky and generally pretty useless except in certain very specific situations. I know a lot of people will argue with me about this. I’ve got my fists up and I’m ready to fight. As for a flash, since she has little photography experience and since the camera is really just a glorified point and shoot (I think I played with one before it was on the market; Nikon rep was really excited about how small it was). Without a dedicated way to adjust both aperture and shutter speed at the same time, you can’t shoot manually very easily, so she’ll probably default to automatic mode. No experience with a camera, similarly, is another reason she’ll default to automatic mode. There’s nothing wrong with this, certainly, but it all goes to say that she probably won’t get anything out of an external flash that she wouldn’t get out of the built-in pop-up flash on the camera. I just looked at what the SB-400 is, and commenters abov
