SB-800

[mark4583]

There a reason why Nikon discontinued these? was there a problem or are they just trying to sell the (900, 910? Ive had one for a number of years now with no trouble at all and was thinking of picking up a couple more but I was wondering if maybe they had a problem with them and I got lucky with mine.

 

[tirediron]

No problems that I'm aware of... I buy every one I see on the used market. I suspect the reason they were discontinued was because they were too well made. I have one that was probably among the first release delivery in Canada and it still does yeoman service.

 

[Derrel]

I still have mine and it works great. I have owned it since sometime around 2005 or 2006, if my memory serves me correctly.I use it with the "fifth battery compartment" added. Using five AA batteries instead of just four speeds up recycle time, and gives me more shots per battery load than with just four batteries. The SB 800 was an excellent piece of kit.

 

[ac12]

There a reason why Nikon discontinued these? was there a problem or are they just trying to sell the (900, 910? Ive had one for a number of years now with no trouble at all and was thinking of picking up a couple more but I was wondering if maybe they had a problem with them and I got lucky with mine.

People were killing the flash by shooting too much in a short period of time, and overheating the inside of the flash.
The plastic case is a heat insulator, and traps the heat inside the flash. There is no air vent or metal heat sink move the heat to the outside.

So in the 9xx series, they put a thermal sensor, that will shut down the flash if it got too hot. Or was that the 810?

At any rate, pay attention to how much you shoot in a period of time, and you will be just fine.
If you have to shoot a lot, get a 2nd flash and rotate, to give the flash time to cool down.

With digital it is too easy to shoot, you just press the shutter button. And you don't have to change film cartridges after 36 shots. And it does not cost you $1 per shot. So people shoot . . . a LOT. A classic example is wedding photography. In the film days, it used to be less than 100 shots. Now you see people talking about 1,500+ shots. That flash is being used a lot more and a lot harder.

 

[Designer]

..was thinking of picking up a couple more ..

I say go for it. Nikon brand speedlights are very well made and seem to last a long time.

 

[tirediron]

Nikon brand speedlights are very well made and seem to last a long time.

And will continue to work, even after falling off the back of your truck, hitting the pavement hard enough to eject all the batteries! (Go ahead... ask me how I know)

 

[OldManJim]

I own 4 SB800s and my son has 2. No problems with any of them. One of mine is about 20 years old and keeps on going. The youngest one is about 10 years old. I find they not only work with my digital and film cameras, they also work with a Mamiya 645 pro tl (but not with ttl flash capability).

 

[shadowlands]

My favorite Nikon flash. I have an SB-600 now because I scored it for $75.00.
Sold my SB-900 and don't miss the big fat sucker. I'd take the SB-800 over the 900 all day.

 

[Kiron Kid]

The SB-800 is a fantastic flash.