PDN PhotoPlus Expo '09 - Javet's Center NY City

* Shot Hand Held @ Demo Booth - Click to Enlarge

Nikkor 18-200mm VR 1/80  f/5.6 ISO 1000

[10-24-09] - Well I just got home from attending the PDN PhotoPlus International Expo @ the Javets Center in NY City. It's so damn expensive to even just ENTER the City these days, let alone trying to find a place to park and having to pay BIG $$$ to park your car. $8 for the Tunnel, $28 to park the car for 3 hours I mean come on $36 AND a 3 BLOCK walk before I even saw the Javets Center LOL. Anyway, I finally got in and received my badge holder, good thing I pre-registered and already had my paper work, the line was crazy huge and it would have been another 30 min. before I got to enjoy myself. The first thing I saw when I entered is the HUGE display NIKON had, it was easily TWICE the size of Canons booth and they had a line around the corner with people waiting to enter a drawing for a pair of Vespa Moped / Motor Bikes. So I jumped in the line as well where I received a nice 2010 Nikon Calendar, a Handful of Nikon Lapel Pins, (2) DVD Copies of the FULL Version of CAPTURE NX2 with a 60 day free trial attached to them and a bunch of other goodies I haven't checked out yet. Seemed like everyone in the place was carrying a Bright Yellow Nikon shopping bag.

A short while later I met the famous 'Scott Kelby' and had a few words with him about his Photoshop CS3/4 & Lightroom 2 books that I bought and have helped me do some wonderful things with those programs, he was very appreciative that I enjoyed his work so much. Silly me forgot to get a picture taken with him though LOL I would have felt funny asking anyway. Then I went over to the Nikon Lens & Camera display where they had a bunch of new gear to look at, all their new bodies like the D3s, D300s, D5000 and a bunch of new glass. They also had their HUGE 600mm f/4 Prime Lens mounted on a half dozen D3s's to lpay around with, all I have to say is WOW what a lens ! The images were so crisp and clean and had no problem shooting frames at ISO 6400 across the entire expo floor. I should have stuck one of my memory cards in the D3s so I could have shown off some of the image (I wan't thinking as usual LOL) but they had the camera's set up in DEMO mode so you could at least see the images on the LCD and I was really impressed. It should be impressive for the price tag, $10,299 YIKES !

I then waited about 15 min. to speak to a rep in reference to getting some warranty work done on one of my lenses and getting my D300 tuned up since I have around 100,000 frames on her now since Nov. '07. I was kind of disappointed that there weren't more actual VENDORS there where you could purchase some of the new stuff they had on display. I even looked at the Brand New Nikon Coolpix S640 that was just released a few weeks ago and needing a quick simple Point & shoot for myself so I don't have to carry around my big gear all the time out in the car I decided to pick one up when I returned home. It's rated as the fastest focusing compact on the market now and I'll tell you first hand it IS FAST. Very simple operation, clean sharp images and lots of P&S toys and program modes to fool around with, it will suit my needs just fine.

I do have one very cool story for you, I stepped into the TAMRAC booth and looked at their new gear bags when one of the reps came over to me and asked if I was able to get my D300 into the smaller Tamrac 'Cyber 5' back pack I was carrying since it's not built for a D300 with a battery pack attached, so I told him it JUST fits along with 2 additional lenses, a SB-900 flash and some cleaning gear without a problem, he was impressed to say the least. Then I spotted their 8 set battery pouch on display that I have been looking all over for and have been unable to find, I told him that I was an avid Tamrac user and have over 6 of their gear bags along with 10 lens case attachments , filter bag, water bottle holders etc. So he told me I should stop by B&H to get the battery pouch but then realized it was Saturday and they were closed.

This is where the story gets cool, a woman rep who had been listening to my story of how happy of a Tamrac Customer I was motioned to the guy I was talking to, he proceeded to take the brand new battery pouch off the display rack, rip the packaging off and then handed it to me saying "Here Bill, just take this one for being such a loyal Tamrac Customer" I was FLOORED. I mean it's only a $25 piece of gear but he didn't have to do that and it really made me happy that I was being given the item for FREE that was only supposed to be used for display. What a wonderful gesture from Tamrac and now I know why I have spent well over $750 on their gear bags & accessories over the years. Too bad I didn't admire one of their new big bags that go for $300 LOL and got one of those on the cuff haha.

The rest of the Expo had TONS of Printing Companies showing off their new Wedding Album lines, various papers and textures along with other items like family books etc. that they print.

* FREE OFFERS: If anyone is interested in trying out the printing company 'NATIONS PHOTO LAB' I have a Promo Code for $25 worth of FREE Prints just for signing up for a free account. DIRECTIONS FOR USE: Go to www.nationsphotolab.com, Sign up for a free account, Download the free ROES ordering software, Type in PRMO CODE "PP99" in the Review Order Screen when your done placing your order. NOTE * It says for NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY, VALID FOR ONE TIME USE, ONE PER ACCOUNT, NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER ORDER. So there you go, can't beat $25 in free prints and you never know you might like their services and buy more in the future ;)

Also for anyone who is interested in trying out the full version of Nikon's CAPTURE NX 2 I am giving away both copies that I received at the show (I Own the Full Version already) to the first (2) people who read my blog and send an email request to billpadorphotos@gmail.com for the DVD package, I'll even pay for the S&H. Just provide you Name & Mailing Address in the email. I will notify the winners with a response and let those who missed out that they were too late.

All in all it was a nice afternoon and I got a few cool shots inside the expo along with some of the inside of the Javets Center which has a really cool interior design. Below you'll find some of the images I shot during the days festivities and the street shots I took during my 3 block walk to & from my car.

~Bill~

* Click on Images to Enlarge *

 

 Outside Javets center

 

Building down the street

NY City Jacob Javets Center

"LIVE" Rock Band Shoot Tonight 10/17/09

"Devil You Know"

10/17/09 - Well I'm making final preparations for my LIVE stage shoot tonight for my clients "Devil You Know" who are one of New Jersey's hottest cover rock bands and are presently on their "Ripped & Hammered Tour" playing in NJ-NY-CT. Preparing for a shoot in front of a live audience can be tricky and you'll want to have a game plan before you go in so you don't look like your lost before you even get started. Most people who don't shoot for a living have no idea how much goes into an ON LOCATION photo shoot but most of your planning will take place on the fly once you arrive at the venue and see what actual space provides you with so you can get your creative juices flowing. Shooting a job like this can be very exciting even for a seasoned veteran and forces you to be at the top of your game come show time.

I'll be trying some innovative off camera lighting techniques with them tonight utilizing some specialty lenses.

Gear / Lenses I'll be Packing:

• Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 Fish Eye
• Lens Baby 3G

Along with my favorite fast low light lenses:

• The mighty Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Prime
• Tamron Di II XR 17-50mm f/2.8 Wide Angle
• Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di XR 1:1 Macro Prime
• I might even try some shots with my walk around Nikon 18-200mm VR from a distance

* Lighting & Fill will consist of (2) Nikon SB-900's and (1) SB-600 shot off camera utilizing Pocket Wizard Plus II's at various angles around the stage and maybe one behind the band for some silhouette shots too. The SB-600 will have a HONL Photo 1/4" Speed Grid attached for concentrated lighting & I'll use one SB-900 with a HONL 5" Speed Snoot & the other SB-900 maybe a small 'Lumiquest' soft box with  both SB-900's with HONL Color Effects filters attached (1 Red - 1 Green) to match the stage lighting and throw some color casting into the mix off the instruments. It's always good to have a PLAN of attack before you head out to a live shoot like this so I go through a half dozen cocktail napkins with chicken scratch & diagrams on them so i have a basic idea of what i want to do once I get to the venue. Preparing for a shoot like this is half the battle and if you have a battle plan drawn it makes life a lot easier but 9 times out of 10 things change once you get there and find out what the area you'll be shooting in will throw you like mirrors & reflective material around the stage, usually very DARK walls with little reflective value, tables & chairs in the way, crap hanging form the ceiling and the list goes on. But at least if you go into the job with a IDEA of what you want to do then you'll go home with more hair in your head rather then pulling it all out 5 min. before show time LOL

OK My Battle Plan is written, Gear bags - tri-pods & lighting mounts are packed, 12 sets of batteries are charged, lenses & sensors are cleaned and all gear has been tested. It's time to Rock & Roll in a few hours and now I'm getting that happy giddy feeling I always get just before an exciting shoot like this. The funny thing is that I'm all nervous now thinking about how I'm going to pull everything together and going over everything in my head how I planned it but once I get to the venue and put that camera around my neck I get this calming feeling over me and everything just comes second nature like I'm a robot and everything works out fine. They say that's the sign of a good professional but I say that's a sign that I've done my job, prepared properly and now it's not WORK but fun time. The WORK part of the job is the preparation & planning, shooting is the pay off and the time we as photographers live for just like a football player gets ready for the big game on Sunday. You never get to see what those guys go through during the week just the rewards of all that time they put in on the practice field.

In the end that's what my clients get, those unique images & snap shots of frozen time forever stamped into digital media, enhanced by the lights & motion of the world around us & captured by an electronic device and the push of a button at just the precise moment bringing joy, laughter & emotions to all that view them. That is the art of PHOTOGRAPHY and I just love it !

* Stop by the Band's "Devil You Know" Website to check these rockers out and Check back here next week for the story on how tonight goes along with some of the images I capture tonight with the full gallery being posted on my web site Bill Pador Photography in about a week.

* REVIEWS COMING SOON *

I mentioned HONL Photo Professional Light Enhancement System above, I'll be writing a full review on the entire line of products soon. They have a great portable light enhancement system for flash guns using a simple yet effective design so that pieces are able to be used together, alone or combined on numerous flashes on your set. The entire system can be had for around $200 and it packs nicely into your gear bag. Consisting of 1/8" & 1/4" Speed Grids, Snoot / Reflectors, Speed Gobo / Bounce Cards, Color Effects Gel Kit which is all tied together using a really cool non-sticking Velcro Speed Strap.

* I'll also be reviewing (2) Lenses: Nikon's 10.5mm f/2.8 Fish Eye & Tamron's 17-50mm Di XR Wide Angle both wonderful fast pieces of glass that should be in every photographers gear bag in my opinion.
* Finally I'll do a write up on the Absolutely Fantastic "SECONIC" L-358 Light Meter w/Pocket Wizard Transmitter Option. This light meter is a photographers dream, very user friendly, easy to operate / quick 20 min. learning curve, affordable cost effective and has wireless operation using the optional RT-32N Pocket Wizard Module

Tamron's Kick Ass 17-50mm Lens Review

Shot w/ Tamron 17-50mm @ 17mm -1/400-f/10-ISO 400


"TAMRON SP AF- 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD ASPHERICAL Lens Review"

Here is my quick review of the TAMRON SP AF- 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD ASPHERICAL Lens. I won't get into the technical details since most any review you find will cover those but I'll simply use MY method of review which is the no nonsense straight worded type where I say YEA or NEA and what I like and dislike about a product. To start off this review I'll say you won't be hearing many CONS on this one so right off the bat I'm gonna tell you that I LOVE this lens !

Using the zoom it's action is smooth and positive in feel and so far shows no signs of 'zoom creep' at all. Holding it straight down to the ground it doesn't move which is a hug plus when taking close ups of ground flowers or off a mountain top to the trails below. The front element does not rotate when focusing or zooming in or out making it great for use with circular polarizer's and other filters that need to stay put. They great thing about this lens is that it gives you a constant f/2.8 Aperture across it's entire zoom length giving you fast glass no matter where you take this lens in it's zoom range, NICE!

The build is SOLID but not heavy made of some kind of high tech composite plastic material so it feels Dense without all the weight. It's well balanced and when mounted on my D300 makes the body feel like a precision instrument and not front heavy. I like the black coating finished with a gold ring which has the lens info printed on it.

This Tamron has it's own built in AF motor in it making it usable on camera's such as the Nikon D40 that do not have a lens AF motor built into the body. Some reviews I read stated that this lens is NOISY, I say it's not silent like a $1500 Nikon lens but it certainly isn't NOISY by any means and I kinda like the sound it makes to be quite honest. It's a smooth ZIP ZIP sound and lets you know it's working in my opinion. I can say that it wouldn't be a problem for most users and it certainly wouldn't be a deal breaker for 98.5 % of those wanting a great lens and a dynamite price if they had any sense to them.

The Auto Focus is fast and precise in day light and almost as fast in low light as long as your using the focus assist light on your camera. My copy did not need any fine tuning and had no back or forward focusing problems at all, I couldn't say that for all my $1000+ Nikon lenses I own! Bottom line is that I trust this puppy in any low light conditions for weddings & parties and will give you great shots of the dance floor using available light (which is what I love to shoot for creativity).

It's bokeh is very nice at f/2.8 and gives a nice DOF effect. When stopped down to f/5.6 you get a clear corner to corner sharpness and when I say SHARP I mean RAZOR SHARP. This glass is light years above what you should get for $449 and rivals the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 in many ways in my opinion. Everything I have shot with this lens so far has been incredibly sharp & in focus and to my surprise has a minimum focus range of just over 10" which is awesome for getting sharp close ups. Using the manual focus ring is precise and easy to use with it's rubber covered ribbed ring as well.

The lens is shipped with a nice bayonet "petal" type hood which keeps lens flare pretty much non exsistant when used properly and also comes with front & rear lens caps. One of my only CONS to this lens is that it doesn't come with a soft lens case. Pretty disappointing since my Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens came with a beautiful Leather type soft case and I was expecting to have another one of those beauties in my bag next to it LOL. Since this is about the only Bad thing I can say about this lens I think we're doing pretty good wouldn't ya say ?

So in a nut shell I give this lens HIGH marks and would rate it a 9.5/10 across the board for Value, Sharpness, Build, Speed & Low Light performance. I just absolutely love it and very happy I added this to my gear bag, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces of glass and for $449 from B&H Photo you can't possibly go wrong, this lens is a definite KEEPER in my book ! So if your looking for a great wide angle zoom for landscapes, portraits, indoor work and low light jobs gives this one a try, I bet you'll fall in love with it mighty quick !

* Comments & Questions Welcome *

~Bill Pador~

8/28/09

Bill is LIVE on TWITTER !!

6/19/09 -

COOL NEWS, Bill Pador has now caught up with the rest of the world and gone LIVE on TWITTER ! That's right you can now follow me around the Twitter World and see what I'm doing during the day & night. I'll take you along on Photo Shoots, let you know when my site has been update with new photos, galleries, sales & specials etc. along with Secret PRIZES including Prints of My Work every so often (*no purchase required) . Just add me to your Follow List and you'll get all the info I send out ! I have my TWITS directed to my BlackBerry so you can also live contact me by twitting me *am I saying that right? LOL

I've also added a Twitter WIDGET under each gallery page so you can see my last entry even while on my site. It also has a URL to click on to add me to your twitter directly from my site. I'll be adding a FULLY INTERACTIVE WIDGET here on my Blog as well where you can contact me directly from here without going to your twitter account. - 10/18/09 UPDATE: "I REMOVED" the Twitter Widget from my site, they are having problems with it and it was dragging my site down on too many occasions, so just add me to twitter your favorite way, search my name or add me at www.twitter.com/billpador

So Follow Me and see what I'm up to during the day, you never know what you might get LOL !

Best Regards,
Bill

Nikon SB-900 Speedlight Review & Impressions

Nikon SB-900 Speedlight Review

4-15-09

While Nikons New SB-900 “FLAG SHIP” speedlight is not very NEW to the market it is new to ME so I thought I would write my own review in my own words for those looking for additional information on a more personal basis by a professional photographer rather then by a professional product ‘REVIEWER’. I’m not going to cover a lot of the basic stuff that’s floating around the internet but more of a ‘Why’ I Like or Dislike things about it.

As soon as my package arrived from B&H Photo I knew I had a different BEAST in my hands as far as flash units go. Everything you’ve read about this thing being HUGE is right on the money. It’s a Big boy and that’s no lie, even fellow photographers that have seen it on my camera have the same reaction which is “Wow what the heck is that, that thing is huge” But the good thing about this is that the old saying about “Bigger is Better” certainly pertains here. I’m not really one for reading manuals or directions with new toys because I like to jump right in to have fun but I thought it would be a good thing to flow over it real quick so that I could take advantage of all it’s new feature pack. As always Nikons manuals have some things to be desired and this one is no different. It’s not as bad as their camera manuals but I don’t think they are written ‘By Photographers – For Photographers’ and that’s one of only a few CONS I’ve found so far. The good thing is that even with the manual leaving you a little dizzy I still managed to get up & running in about 30 min. knowing much of what needed to be learned in order to get great results.

The first thing you’ll notice when you turn it on is that the whole user interface has been redesigned and in a Fantastic way for US as shooters “FINALLY” If you have a SB-600 or 800 Speedlight you know what I’m talking about when it comes to setting it up for a shot especially getting to the wireless remote iTTL slave or master settings. This thing is a dream come true because Nikon used a SINGLE 3 way throw switch allowing us to access all those settings with a quick flip of that switch. Toggle position #1 is your basic ON , 2nd position puts you in REMOTE and the 3rd into MASTER. OUTSTANDING idea and it works perfectly for quick selections for any set up you need. The menu system for selecting all of your accessory settings is also been revamped with Nikon using a cool Spin WHEEL and ‘OK’ Button to whiz right through all of your selections for everything from manual zoom to setting how much contrast you like on your LCD panel. It works well in the field and is a dream to use now so say good bye to those frustrating moments when time is pressed at a wedding and you need to change from your flash being a master unit in the hot shoe and then needing to set up for off camera wireless iTTL. What this also means is that setting up multiple flashes into firing groups is a snap and it works with very little effort by the shooter. I give the new menu & control design an A+ 10/10 !

One of the cool things is the light now zooms to a massive distance 200mm and along with that feature Nikon combines it with 3 options of light concentration & SHAPE of light it puts out. You have the choice of ‘Standard’ which is an overall spread of light, ‘Even’ which spread it out & up for a wider flow and then ‘Center Weight’ which is a zoomed super concentrated BEAM like a Spot Light, all with the ability to toss that light at a zoom rate to 200mm,VERY COOL !

To further make those choices even better is the fact that the head now rotates 180’ BOTH WAYS so no matter where your light is located off camera you can turn the head & body to allow the wireless sensor that’s located on the right side to be aimed AT the camera for a much better line of site to the flash allowing you to shoot in any conditions without worrying about the light not firing, yes VERY COOL and it works like a charm. I’ve tried to FOOL the flash in all kinds of conditions indoors & out under bright light and total darkness and I haven’t been able to screw a shot up on purpose yet, it fires every time and for a photographer in the field knowing that you may only get one shot at that special moment is a blessing not having to worry about that any more. Now calling it a SPEEDLIGHT is true to form because this puppy recycles FAST ! Nikon rates it at 2.3 seconds at full power using the recommended Nimh batteries or down to 1 second using the optional SD-9 high performance battery pack, WOW! For most of us that 2.3 seconds is plenty and I’ve found that using Duracell 2650mAh or Energizer 2500-2600mAh rated rechargeable AA’s gives you plenty of juice to perform at those speeds and I’ve been averaging between 175-225 shots on a set with steady recycle times before I needed to change them out for a fresh set when they started to gas out a bit. I could probably get another 50+ shots on the set but recycle times were starting to get into the 4+ seconds to come back online and I figure why kill yourself when a fresh set will get you flying again. The battery door even feels more solid built for professional use now, another check in the plus column where Nikon improved on the SMALL things.

Talking about the small things, I like the way the case is designed as well. You can now carry all of your accessories in one place, it comes with 4 gels in a plastic book type sleeve that fits in a slip pocket on the inside of the case, the foot stand goes in an outside pocket and the included diffuser dome & gel holder fit nicely in a zippered compartment on the BOTTOM of the case. These little, but very functional changes show that Nikon really took the shooters needs into account while designing the SB-900 from top to bottom and makes it a pleasure to carry & use now.

OK enough of that stuff, you’ve probably read about all the other small changes somewhere else by now so I’ll get to the juicy facts about its use in the field and the results it’s given me since I started using it. I started out shooting with it mounted in the hot shoe on a tuff lighting shot and that being capturing my Black cat indoors. Usually trying to meter a shot on a black animal indoors is a challenging one for any camera / flash set up. You can usually bet on an under exposed image the first shot and then after some EV or Exposure corrections you’ll get a slightly over exposed image while banging your face against the wall hoping that the next one will be on the money before your pet decides to take off for the litter box without the capture. Not so with the SB-900, I set it to iTTL Balanced High Sync (TTL-BL-FP), took a Matrix Meter and fired it off and to my amazement I got a perfectly exposed shot the very FIRST FRAME! You could see all the detail in his black coat along with the white on his chest & belly. The histogram reading was right on the money and I walked away knowing that I had in my hands a REAL high tech FLASH Unit! Bingo, score another one for Nikon !

I then went outside to start shooting some landscape shots of my yard with the trees being back lit by the bright 1pm sun. Using the flash as a fill to see if it could bring out the detail in the tree bark from approx. 30’ away again it was right on the money with the shot being perfectly lit without it looking like it was filled with flash but more of a natural light. I then backed up to about 50’, took the same shot and again the tree bark was in full contrast, lit nice & even without over exposure or harsh light or shadow traces, Sweet ! Next test went off camera using my trusty Tamron 90mm Macro lens for some up close & personal shots of my thorn bushes that had been rained on all day. Set up of the SB-900 in iTTL Slave mode was a snap and it was ready to go in Group A Channel 1 in less then 5 seconds, then setting my Nikon D300 up in Commander mode as the Master / Trigger unit in another 5 seconds, ready to fire ! With the flash set up under & to the right of the camera I fired off a few frames and checked the LCD, the macros came out exposed correctly the first time around with awesome color & detail on the vines and the reflection in the water drops it were perfectly exposed with no remnants of flash being used. This was a test I was looking forward to and hoping that it would give me good results, I didn’t have to pray any longer. I got the results I was hoping for and I couldn’t have been happier.

The next test I wanted to see how fast & accurate the SB-900 would be as an on camera Master unit triggering my SB-600off camera. Again s few seconds to flip the switch into Master mode and I was ready to go. It took me 3 times that to get my 600 ready for the shot and was immediately reminded as to how much better the menu settings were on the new flagship unit I now adored. Some of the other things I tried were some portrait work on my daughter, perfect results were had again. The light was very soft & natural looking not harsh or bright and I also used it in a 2 light combination with my 600 to light up some incense smoke shots for the smoke art I create, results were an outstanding PERFECT allowing me to create some really cool art pieces perfectly lit with little to no effort required on my part because it allows you to concentrate on the shot instead of the settings or getting it to that perfect light your looking for, it basically does it for you with a few clicks of the adjustment wheel, press of the mode button or a combination of both. The built in wide angle flap and bounce card slide out with ease and work very well. The feel of the bounce card is really nice & flexible relieving the stress of possibly breaking it off while using it. It has the flexible properties of a plastic coated playing card IMO and pops right back into place if you bend it and let it go, Booing ! The provided diffuser cone snaps into place with ease as does the gel holder, which is also a very cool piece of gear I haven’t mentioned yet. The gel holder has a really cool new sensor system built right onto each gel card using a series of white squares that the flash uses to read like a UPC code and AUTOMATICALLY adjusts your cameras white balance to the chosen gel according to the code (* if your using one of Nikons modern camera bodies like the D300-D700-D3-D3x etc.) This is another feature that Nikon must have thought out for the professional photographer in the field that really comes in handy, score 2 points with a slam dunk on that one for Nikon !

For off camera mounting you can use the included FOOT STAND which has a standard tripod thread on the bottom so you can mount it on your tripod along with setting it on a table or floor. This is where I have a TINY complaint though, with the SB-600 & 800’s in the past the stand provided a 3 way mounting position where you could slide the flash in from the back and both sides, the new one is only a rear loader that provides less flexibility to place your stand in odd positions but again this is only a small complaint and if you have a 600 or 800 stand you can still use those if you’d like. You can ever buy a replacement stand from Nikon for about $15 I believe if it bothers you that much. Not a big deal but just something I thought I would mention. It does hold the flash unit tightly and allows for a firm foot print when placing it down on the floor.

Now I have read on many reviews that folks were complaining about the unit over heating and that had been one of my concerns when I was thinking about my purchase because of those reviews. You know what they say “You can’t believe every thing you read” and this holds true here SO FAR. I put the SB-900 through a series of high speed / high frame rate repeating flash situations TRYING to heat up the unit and trigger the built in heat warning, *Oh yes this baby comes with a built in thermometer / sensor and protection feature right on the face of your display so you know when the heat is building up and the unit needs to take a break, how cool is that? So anyway I TRIED to heat the SB900 up shooting full power repeating mode using a setting of 4 FPS in 20 frame brackets, go ahead ask me if it over heated – The answer is a comfortable & respectable “NO”! Not even close, the thermometer never reached past half way up and then quickly fell back into the normal position stating that it was cool enough to keep firing without any danger to the unit and it performed flawlessly. In the menu system you have the option to turn the heating warning OFF, why you would want to do that and possibly risk blowing up a US$450.00 piece of gear up is beyond me but for those looking for a thrill you can turn it off. The warning system enables the unit to automatically shut down and not allow firing if it reaches dangerous tempitures to the bulb element until it cools down, where the manual recommends a 10 min. cooling off period IF you reach those temps somehow. I believe since the initial release of the 900 when all these reviews that contained the heat issue last year it has since been rectified by Nikon through a Firmware update to version 5.002.

Speaking of Firmware (how cool was that transition in the story to this huh ? LOL) The 900 allows you to upgrade the software/firmware in it in the same simple manner that you upgrade your D300-700-D3 etc. through the use of a small file download off Nikons website, transferring it to the root folder/directory of a Nikon formatted CF memory card (any you’re your camera is set to use already) and choosing the Firmware selection in the shooting menu on your camera. The camera automatically senses the new firmware version upgrade on the card at that point and all you do is hit UPGRADE & CONFIRM. The 900 is now up to snuff with the latest software in less then 20 seconds or so and then you just format your CF card in camera and you’re ready to shoot again. The firmware fix a few things, the list can be found on Nikons website so I won’t go into that for now. I will tell you that my 900 shipped with version 5.001 in it so I did require the upgrade so be sure to check your units version when you receive it to assure you have the newest version. Even though the upgrades been out for a while my unit still needed it. Rumors floating around is that there is another upgrade due out soon to enhance the flash once again but I can’t confirm that at this point nor do I have any idea WHAT it will fix / enhance.

Some other little / big things I liked I should mention, the sheer Speed Performance of this light is incredible, most reviews along with Nikons specs state a 50-100% boost in recycle speed over the SB-800 which I will agree with and this being with only 4 batteries Vs. the 5 battery set up in the 800 and if you need more speed you can always buy the Nikon SD-9 High Performance battery pack giving you a 1 second recycle rate, now that’s FAST! But for the additional $190 price tag I think I’ll pass on that for now since I don’t require that kind of recycle time with my normal working conditions & can’t justify the cost. Not for nothing, come on Nikon, $190 for a battery pack? I personally think this is a little over board for a battery but I guess Nikon feels that if you want the extra speed and need it for your work style you’ll pay it since you can’t get a comparable unit through 3rd party battery makers YET. Once a 3rd party distributor develops one I’m hoping the price would come down a bit to a more reasonable price of say $100-$125 which I find more reasonable, tasteful & easier to swallow.

Also the provided diffuser has been improved over the 800’s and gives you a nice even flow of light and seems to distribute it perfectly according to the beam pattern you have chosen to use. You can really reach out even with the diffuser on when cranking the zoom out to 200mm & choosing the Center Weight option where it gives you a concentrated BEAM of light like a Spot light bulb. The coolest things about the software is not only the menu set up, ease of use and performance but the selections you have available to include setting up a MY MENU favorites like your camera body where you can select your most used features, add them to the list and not have to go through unnecessary items to get to your selections faster. Items that are a one time set & forget feature like the choice to set for FX or DX sensored bodies (yup it’s ready for that too in order to maximize the proper coverage of the light source) you can leave that off your menu unless you use both a FX & DX body, but you can Manually choose this OR set it to Auto and let the flash choose it according to the body being used through it’s auto detection system, pretty cool right ? You also have the option to choose your ISO or leave it on auto, Aperture Priority Mode, Distance Priority Mode, Manual 1:1 – 1:2 mode, Manual or Auto Zoom, Standby Timer option for the unit to set it self to from 30 seconds down to 4 seconds – Auto or Off so it stays alive and ready to rock & roll. It has a quick 2 button reset function to bring everything back to factory defaults, a 2 button lock system to secure your settings no matter what is touched until unlocked, Repeating Flash mode and a few others. A small note is that not every function in the menu is allowed to be switched out of the MY MENU option but these are functions you need to have anyway in order to operate the unit.

Another cool thing is the Head Tilt directional display on the LCD where it SHOWS you if your head is pointing straight forward, to the side, up above level & even DOWN to the -7’ tilt for close up or macro work along with the chosen BEAM of EVEN, STANDARD or CENTER WEIGHT – Very Cool & Thoughtful designing ! Setting any needed flash EV Compensation is a snap using a single button or the FLY WHEEL as I call it, because you can FLY through any settings you need in a snap, where that same wheel allows you to change just about everything in the menu within SECONDS and with a little practice you could even make changes with your left finger and keep shooting with your right, THAT’S how “EASY” the menu system design is now which is pretty much my favorite upgrade on the SB-900 as a whole.

Bill's Ratings

- FINAL NOTES / GRADE –

/ / / /_____PROS____\ \ \ \

*In My Opinion the SB-900 is by far the BEST Speedlight Nikon has ever built and certainly earned the titling of its FLAGSHIP Flash Unit.

*The Controls, Menu & Interface are also the BEST Nikon has ever developed, very simple to understand, EASY & LIGHTNING FAST to use and in my professional opinion NAILED the whole Control system to the wall with a 10/10 A+ Grade!

The ability to control the light concentration beam and zoom out to 200mm is fantastic advance and very useful feature

Nikons Legendary iTTL WIRELESS Control system eliminating the need for optional pocket wizards or other like triggering devices

Clean, Well Laid Out & Packed full of information LCD

Tons of selectable features making this a truly customizable unit

Outstanding Sensor & Communication to the camera body & Lens for Correct Exposure when using it on Automatic

/ / / /____CONS____\ \ \ \

. . . . Not Many Cons but it’s larger size does take some getting used to but it’s cool to have the BIGEST “UNIT” on the block next to your photo colleges ! You’ll certainly need to rearrange your gear bag to make room for this puppy. . . .

. . . . I Wish they provided more then the 4 BASIC Gels for Florescent & Incandescent lighting correction, maybe a few colored gels for creativity would have been nice instead of cheeping out on a few plastic gel pieces which would have made us customers happy campers especially after plunking down that $450 bucks! A few more Gels & a slightly LOWER Price Tag of $375-$395.00 would have bumped my VALUE rating to 5 Stars. . . .

. . . . Making the Tripod / Foot Stand holder using a PLASTIC thread instead of metal lined one that even the SB600 came with and the lack of the 3 Directional mounting slots kind of angered me a little, this along with the up & down head swivel gearing feels a little cheap and plasticy and the pop out diffuser is also cheap feeling & has too much play for my taste. These small fixes would have bumped my build rating up to 5 Stars without a doubt. . . .

. . . . Lastly not directly concerned with original performance but charging almost $200 for a battery pack is simply crazy Nikon, to jam it up the consumers back side for a battery is not justifiable from my stand point, I could replace my car battery almost 3 times for that! This is also another reason why my Accessorie rating is only 3 Stars. . . .

That’s about it folks, The SB-900 IS EVERYTHING it’s advertised as and much much more IMO, if your thinking about an Upgrade from a SB-600 or 800 or even buying your 1st flash unit this is THE unit you’ll want, don’t skimp on a 600 (since the 800 has been discontinued) if you can afford the price tag because you won’t need to upgrade for a very long time and you'll have top of the line gear. My dad always said “Son, If you buy the BEST the first time around, you’ll never be disappointed” and that couldn’t be better said about the SB-900. It Rock & Rolls, Speeds down the track at Mach 5 and comes home a first place WINNER in the eyes of this Professional Photographer, I’ll be buying a few more soon! To view some sample shots taken with the SB-900 please visit my websites April “Photo of the Day” Gallery @ www.billpador.com/galleries

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, this is only my Opinion of the gear using my freedom of speech rights here in the U.S.A. but I stand firm on my words and back them with my professional reputation ! Any questions or comments please leave them here, drop me a note on my website http://www.billpador.com/ or email them to billpadorphotos@gmail.com and I’ll be glad to answer them.

Best Regards,
~ Bill Pador ~

END