Nikon® Creative Lighting System Digital Field Guide, Third Edition

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Nikon Speedlights

As you may have discovered, there are quite a few settings that you can change on your speedlight. Although you can just slide your speedlight into the hot shoe of your camera, use the automatic settings, and get acceptable shots, it’s likely that you purchased this book because you want to take your lighting to the next level.

This chapter walks you through how to use the different flash modes on the SB-700, SB-900, and SB-910. I also cover how to adjust the custom settings for each speedlight so you can maximize its operation.

Image courtesy of Nikon, Inc.

The SB-900 control panel has been refined to make it much faster to operate.

Power Requirements

The power requirements are the same for the SB-700, SB-900, and SB-910: four AA batteries. While the discontinued SB-800 had the ability to hold five AA batteries, Nikon increased the recycle time of the SB-700, SB-900, and SB-910 to the point that a fifth battery was no longer needed. Having enough power for your speedlight is the key. Given the portability of your speedlight, you wouldn’t want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with the perfect model and no power. I carry at least one additional set of batteries for each speedlight — sometimes more, depending on the type of shoot.

If you plan to use speedlights often when shooting, there’s no better way to power them than ...