SB-400 Speedlight Unit
A compact, lightweight Speedlight with intuitive controls and bounce capabilities. Put it on, turn it on, shoot!
$149.95*MSRPMSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
Close
Supplied Accessories
- SS-400 Soft case
*Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area.
SB-400 Speedlight Unit
26
26
Nikon SB-400 Flash: Small Wonder
There's a lot to like about the Nikon SB-400. It may be small and compact, but that's where the beauty of this small wonder starts. It's the beginning, entry-level unit of the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS), and though limited in many functions that the larger Nikon Speedlights offer, such as the SB-700 or flagship SB-910, this unit make up for it in size and surprisingly good results for an on-camera accessory flash unit.
I've personally used it with my P7100 and D5000, along with my aging D200, and the performance has been excellent with each of these, primarily because of the i-TTL mode. The SB-400 was made to work with contemporary Nikon DSLRs made since 2004. It's small and it's not cheap, but its performance is surprising.
Pros:
• Excellent construction quality; the SB-400 has a metal hot shoe
• Uses just two AA cells; excellent battery life
• Fast recycling, about 2 ½ seconds
• Shooting range 2 ft. up to 66 ft.
• i-TTL fill-flash with CLS-compatible cameras
• Bounce capabilities: 4 steps, to 90 degrees
Cons:
• No sideward head tilt
In Use:
The first thing that you'll note about the SB-400 when unboxed is the precision feel to the unit. I was surprised to see that it had a metal hot shoe, as so many flashes today have gone to plastic. There's also a lock lever on the rear, and it has indicators so that you'll know if you forgot to lock it. There's an excellent little zippered soft case that will store your flash and keep it from getting dinged up in your camera bag. The flash uses only two AA batteries that can be purchased almost anywhere, and though I'm not carefully measuring it, I get about 200 flashes per pair of batteries. I'm getting a recycle time of just over 2 ½ seconds with a pair of Sanyo eneloop Ni-MH 2000 mAH rechargeable batteries.
The tilt head is excellent, and if you're using your Nikon in horizontal (landscape) mode, it offers four vertical positions of 0, 60, 75 and 90 degrees. But if you're holding your camera in the vertical (portrait) mode, then you'll have to shoot with the flash straight on or bounced off of a wall. It's a tilt head, and doesn't have a swivel head like the more costly Nikon SB-700 offers.
The angle of coverage on the SB-400 is 18mm (DX-format) and 27mm (FX-format). For reference, this is the equivalent of about a 28mm lens on 35mm film camera. The flash coverage is excellent and generally well distributed. Tinting the head for a bounce effect will give you a softer effect, but if you need more, using a bounce card or any number of third-party diffusers for Nikon SB-400 will work.
Suggestion:
For many, the SB-400 may be all that's needed as an excellent step upwards for Nikon DSLR owners who need more than their built-in flash offers, but some may be perhaps looking for more. As stated earlier, this flash is the beginning, entry-level unit of the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS). It supplements my aged Nikon SB-600 in that respect, but in truth I use the SB-400 far more on a day-in, day-out basis.
Summary:
The Nikon SB-400 is an unpretentious, high-quality flash with all the features that many will actually use. But do you actually need one of these, considering that the built-in flash on contemporary Nikon DSLRs (and the P7100) are so good? Maybe not, but consider the SB-400 if you want an easy-to-use bounce flash, if you want faster recycle times than your camera may offer, and excellent coverage with your ultra-wide lenses. You'll also get more shots per camera battery charge, since your camera's built-in flash uses 2-4 times as much power; using the SB-400 means you don't use the built-in flash. Other flash features can be gimmicks that may even interfere with taking pictures, and will slow you down rather than get the job done. Considering all that this small wonder does, it's highly recommended.
May 9, 2012
Died just after hardly 18months of use
I bought this flash from Best Buy in 2010 for my wife to go with D5000 camera. She is a very careful and light user. Mostly uses for our kids birthdays, any school shows etc. We haven't used it much outdoors in too much sun or even in cold. Two weeks ago, it just stopped working. Very disappointing. After spending $130 for a simple flash, I would expect that to last for a few years. Nikon should be ashamed of the accessories quality, especially when they charge such a premium. I might as well buy a 3rd party flash for less than third the price and toss it after a few years. We are planning to go to NewYork this week for spring break and stuck without a flash. Now I have to shell out more money to get a poor-quality flash.
April 1, 2012
$100 and no Swivel Head
Could be a great compact flash if not for the lack of a swivel head. Too bad Nikon engineers don't have the forethought to realize that sometimes we need to change the direction of our flash, not just up to the ceiling, to improve bounce lighting. I doubt that a swivel head would increase the cost of this flash buy even $5 or $10 dollars in total. Oh well!
March 26, 2012
Exactly what I needed
Nikon makes a decent camera flash, but I needed to bounce it off the ceiling more. I did use the inexpensive reccomended lightscoop, but it was a quick fix. This flash has made a world of difference on all my inside photos.
It does only move in an up down dimension and sometimes it'd be nice if I could turn it sideways as well. Now that I have used this so much, I'd consider spending more for that extra function which I didn't think was important when I was first shopping for it. This was my first flash I have bought for my DSLR, so I didn't know what I would find important or not. Price factored in this time....next time I will make sure I get one that has the full rotation since I do find that a bit lacking. I knew that before I bought it however, so it doesn't minimize how great this flash is :D
If you are just wanting something better than the on board flash, but trying not to spend alot, you cannot go wrong with this lens. If you have some money to upgrade it to one that rotates both directions, then I'd go for that one instead.
December 28, 2011
Disappointing
When I first purchased the Speedlight SB-400 I was anxious to see how it would work on my D700 and D50. It's small size was very interesting. Unfortunately after very little use, it just died. It was not damaged, I changed batteries, and still would not come back to life. Basically I was very disappointed.
November 3, 2011
We’ll keep track of the products you view here.