Nikon Speedlight 600 or 900?

[Tom Redd]

Question: I am considering purchasing a Nikon Speedlight and am debating between the 600 and 900 models. I am relatively new to photography and so I am unsure as to how much I will use it. I tend to buy quality, so I don't later have to purchase again because I outgrew something. Any feedback or thoughts on these two units is appreciated.

[Desmond Chan]

Question: I am considering purchasing a Nikon Speedlight and am debating between the 600 and 900 models. [snip] I tend to buy quality, so I don't later have to purchase again because I outgrew something.

Well that's easy. You should get the SB 900 as I believe you already have outgrown the SB 600 even before you'd started taking up photography...the 600 is the older flashlight ;)

I don't have the 600 and so cannot help you there. I do have the SB800 and so far so good. I've heard though that the SB 900 could have over-heat problem.

[Tony Whitehead]

If you can stretch to the 900 it is much nicer and easier to use. I have SB600, 800 and 900. I use the 600s as remote units for studio work and they work well but I often need to look at the manual if I want to change settings - the interface on the 900 is much more intuitive. The flash head zooming to 200mm is also nice

[Tom Redd]

Desmond, I have read a few reports of the 900 overheating.
Tony, have you experienced this problem? I am leaning towards the 900 for now. Thank you for the replies.

[Jason G. Harrison]

I use up to 5 SB-900's...and not ONE time have any of mine overheated. Some do have this issue so for sure there is something going on to cause it. It is my belief that the protection circuit they have built into the 900's, are very sensitive and will shut down at the first sign of any heat issues. When this happens, the unit is NOT overheating...its just being shut down to avoid that.

There is a simple override option for this and many have opted to activate that. This option, renders the 900 to behave much like a 800 in the sense that it will just fire and fire away until you melt it. The 900 is no more prone to overheating than the 800, its just that the 900 has a safety feature that shuts the unit off, which it will do, where as the 800 has no such feature. If the 800 did, I believe folks would be having the same issues with it.

The user interface on the 900 is SO much better than the previous models. One can navigate their way through the menu with ease WITHOUT referring to the manual. That can't be said about the previous models.

[Pedro Serralheiro]

The SB-900 is a great flash.
It's only drawback is size. I'm using it for portraits and everything but birding. For birds I still prefer the SB-800 but this is no longer made.

[Tony Whitehead]

Desmond, I have read a few reports of the 900 overheating.
Tony, have you experienced this problem? I am leaning towards the 900 for now. Thank you for the replies.

I use the SB900 with the external battery pack for fast recycling and have never had any overheating problems even when blazing away rapidly.

[Tom Redd]

So far, it sounds like the 900 is the way to go, I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply and give feedback.

[ericbowles]

I'd suggest the SB-600 over the SB-900 unless your camera does not have a pop up flash with commander mode.

I have both the SB-600 and SB-800. It really depends on your planned use. If you are using the flash on-camera, the advantage of the SB-900 is more power for longer range, more light on your subject, or faster cycling time. The SB-900 can also function as a commander and control additional flash units but this is not very important if your camera has a pop-up flash with a commander mode.

The SB-600 will do just about everything you need, is lighter, and half the cost. It still has a range of more han 100 feet, and works just fine as a fill flash for bird photography with or without a Better Beamer. It also can be used in combination with other flash units later but functions as a remote rather than as a commander. So unless you need a flash that serves as your commander, I would opt for the less expensive model.