Flash for camera trapping

[RikArt]

Hi All,
I am slowly gleaning information before I press the button and accumulate a working set of equipment for DSLR camera trapping. The one question I keep coming back to is the love affair people seem to have with the Nikon SB-28 flash. I know it has been popular for some time with the "Strobist" community but it seems true also for the Cam Trappers too. The big question is why? What are the unique factors which make this popular? I understand it is supposed to have good battery life as it can go to Standby mode quickly but it has no optical slave. The SB-800, a later generation flash also goes to standby and does have an optical slave. I wonder if the real issue is that the SB-28 gained its popularity at a time when the SB-800 was current and therefore expensive where now the balance between the two is eroded by time and distorted by the early popularity of the SB-28 which still sell very well on eBay. I've owned an SB-800 for years and it is certainly a reliable and excellent flash, trapping would allow me to get much more use from it but I want a two flash set-up and need to buy another so the big questions are 28 or 800 and why?

 

[Wes Peterson]

The SB-28 can retain charge in its capacitors for a very long time, that ensures the flashes are charged up and ready to fire when the trap wakes them up.

 

[RikArt]

Thanks Wes, does that imply that later flashes regressed in capacitor longevity, or merely that the sb-28 was the first to achieve this?

 

[Wes Peterson]

Thanks Wes, does that imply that later flashes regressed in capacitor longevity, or merely that the sb-28 was the first to achieve this?

I think its an attribute only the sb-28 has. Most other flashes capacitors will leak down over time.