# Nikon D7100 - what flash for interior photography?



## samson (Apr 14, 2013)

How good is the built-in flash?  Which speedlight would recomend for interior photo?


----------



## thebasedsloth (Apr 14, 2013)

I'd probably go as far as saying the built in flash sucks, I have never once used it on my D7000.
When you say interior photo do you mean photos of things indoors? Or photos of like whole rooms and stuff like that?


----------



## Overread (Apr 14, 2013)

samson - keep a mind as to how you title threads, I've added a bit into the title of this thread to better present the topic that you're after; otherwise its easy for people to skip over and assume that you were asking questions only about the D7100 instead of interior lighting setups.


----------



## KmH (Apr 14, 2013)

Interior lighting for showing the interior or for shooting people or isolated objects? How much of your money can we spend?
A Nikon SB-910 has all the iTTL bells and whistles, but costs $550 - Nikon 4809 SB-910 Speedlight Supplied with; AS-21 Speedlight Stand; SW-13H Nikon Diffusion Dome; SZ-2FL Fluorescent Filter; SZ-2TN Incandescent Filter; SS-910 Soft Case 
Or there are $50, 3rd party, non TTL, manual adjust flash units - Yongnuo Flash Speedlite Yn-460ii for Nikon Canon Pentax 

The built-in flash unit has some notable limitations, like being right on the lens axis, not very high above the lens, doesn't have a lot of power, etc.
But used within it's limitations and taking control of it away from the camera, the built-in flash unit is useful for a lot of photographs

For higher quality work a hot shoe mounted speedlight gives more options but is still on the lens axis and not far above the lens.
That's why speedlights are often used off the camera - OCF (Off Camera Flash).

A further issue is apparent light source size. Small light sources, like speedlights, produce harsh light and sharp edged shadows. Sharp edged shadows give an image a 'hard' look. Often we want soft light and diffuse edged shadows. 
Soft light and diffuse edged shadows result from light sources that are apparently quite big. Photographic umbrellas are a simple and inexpensive light modifier used to make small light sources appear much bigger.


----------



## Designer (Apr 14, 2013)

I absolutely love my SB-910, and you will too.  There are many ways to modify the light including bouncing the light off a white wall or ceiling, get the flash entirely off camera, shoot through a white umbrella, and others.  I think your BI flash has the capability to fire the speedlight in commander mode, which mine won't do, but I've still used it to fire the SB-910 in another mode, and the BI light acts as "fill".  

If you're only going to get one light, get that one.

I have obtained a fairly large sheet of foam core (40 x 60 inches) that fits into the back seat of most cars, and which can be used as a bounce card.  Two or three of these take up no more space than one.


----------



## samson (Apr 14, 2013)

Thanks for the info.


----------

