Z7ii and Nikon speed light SB-400

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Erasmus667

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I've just upgraded from a D800 to a Z7ii. I used to use the flash on the former mainly for fill-in when taking photos of things to sell. The Z7ii doesn't have a flash and I was wondering if a used SB-400 would suffice, especially as I can pick one up secondhand for about £100. According to Nikon's website the SB-400 can be used with the Z7ii. Your thoughts as to whether it'd be suitable for my needs would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
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Erasmus667 said:
I've just upgraded from a D800 to a Z7ii. I used to use the flash on the former mainly for fill-in when taking photos of things to sell. The Z7ii doesn't have a flash and I was wondering if a used SB-400 would suffice, especially as I can pick one up secondhand for about £100. According to Nikon's website the SB-400 can be used with the Z7ii. Your thoughts as to whether it'd be suitable for my needs would be appreciated. Thank you.
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When I had a Z7 II, the SB-400 was my favorite flash to use with it. It will work with no problem at all.
 
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A problem with a flash that uses only 2 AA batteries is a very long recycle time. For photos of items to sell it helps to have a flash that can be off the hot shoe and triggered as with the Godox kit.


Another option is a small LED light and these are now selling for less than a speedlight. Easy to mount on a lightstand or a tripod.

 
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Calson said:
A problem with a flash that uses only 2 AA batteries is a very long recycle time. For photos of items to sell it helps to have a flash that can be off the hot shoe and triggered as with the Godox kit.


Another option is a small LED light and these are now selling for less than a speedlight. Easy to mount on a lightstand or a tripod.

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Agree with you here, but Adorama flashguns are rebranded Godox units and might be cheaper. The are over here in the UK and my favoured supplier has a 2 year warranty v the Godox 1 year too. All of the rebranded Godox units are compatible with Godox and each other.
 
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I think Thom Hogan did a post about Nikon cameras and flash compatibility. You might look for it.

Basically he was concerned about compatibility with Nikon's TTL flash modes. He was concerned about potential changes in Nikon camera firmware and whether there was a risk that a future camera firmware change would rob an existing flash of capability. Those concerns applied both to Nikon branded flashes as well as third party suppliers.

TTL flash compatibility is important to me because I typically use flash as a fill to supplement natural light. Having effective TTL compatible with a camera's firmware system greatly simplifies shooting.

Now the Z7ii is a mature camera and I doubt there will be any future significant firmware upgrades. So if the SB 400 or any other flash works with that system you are fine.

Hogan recommended the SB 500 and SB 5000 as more or less "future proof" for Nikon. I have both of those flashes.

I keep hearing good reports of people doing well with Godox and Profoto flashes. I have not worked with those systems and have no opinion.
 
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I have used my (pretty old now) SB400 on my Z7ii and they work just fine together. Several years ago I purchased the SB500 when I purchased my D850 which was my first DSLR without an onboard flash. I needed something to trigger my remote R1 wireless close-up speedlight. I felt the SB500 was a better value than buying the 'C1' unit. Benefits include not only triggering the R1, the SB500 can do High Speed Sync which I sometimes use. If your needs are simply a bit of fill the SB400 will do that in a small package which is it's main virtue.
 
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FWIW, I know neither of these models are the ones in question, but I've been successfully using my SB-800s with my Z9, and if I recall correctly, the SB-800 is an older model than the SB-400. It's substantially bigger than the SB-400, but runs on 4 AAs (as Wotan alluded to) and has substantially more power and features. And you can find used ones in really good condition for around $100.
 
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wotan1 said:
I think Thom Hogan did a post about Nikon cameras and flash compatibility. You might look for it.

Basically he was concerned about compatibility with Nikon's TTL flash modes. He was concerned about potential changes in Nikon camera firmware and whether there was a risk that a future camera firmware change would rob an existing flash of capability. Those concerns applied both to Nikon branded flashes as well as third party suppliers.

TTL flash compatibility is important to me because I typically use flash as a fill to supplement natural light. Having effective TTL compatible with a camera's firmware system greatly simplifies shooting.

Now the Z7ii is a mature camera and I doubt there will be any future significant firmware upgrades. So if the SB 400 or any other flash works with that system you are fine.

Hogan recommended the SB 500 and SB 5000 as more or less "future proof" for Nikon. I have both of those flashes.

I keep hearing good reports of people doing well with Godox and Profoto flashes. I have not worked with those systems and have no opinion.
Click to expand...


When I got my Z6ii my Godox flash would not work but there was a firmware update for it that sorted it out. If later camera firmware affects the flash there will probably be flash firmware to match it again.
 
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Here’s something to consider about Nikon flashes—they haven’t released a new one since 2016 (SB-5000) and announced their partnership with Nissin and Profoto in 2021, so does it make sense to buy a Nikon-made obsolescent flash unit? The Nikon USA site shows four flashes and includes the SB-5000, SB-300 (released in 2013), SB-500 (2014), and SB-700 (2010!).

Granted that my SB-800 and SB-600 will work with my Z8s (and will trigger my SB-25 and nearly 50-year-old Vivitar 283 when used as slave), but these days I would look to Nissin, Godox/Flashpoint, or others before buying a Nikon flash. Or not use flash and light small subjects with a couple of LED light panels.
 
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Jumping in here in the hope of getting some advice, as i have pretty much the same issue as the OP -- three months in, i'm slowly coming to grips with a very limited subset of my Z9's capabilities, and now want to get a mid-range flash, mainly just to use mounted on the camera for basic fill-in and nighttime shots (for the time being). Yet as far as I can see, Nikon don't provide "official" (i-)TTL metering support for ANY speedlight on ANY Z-series body:
https://www.nikonproductsupport.com/s/article/886?language=en_US
which was pretty disconcerting to me! I guess another sign that Nikon have simply abandoned the speedlight market.

What I take from the preceding posts, however, is that an SB-600 (which can be picked up second-hand pretty cheaply, even on my [UK] side of the pond) will actually work just fine with TTL on the Z9? Can anyone explcitly confirm?

And I do have some Godox gear for macro -- MF12 with Xpro trigger (used on another camera). So I'm also quite tempted to get a Godox equivalent for something like the SB-600 (to the extent that an equivalent exists), with the thought that i can then easily use it off-camera downstream, if i want to. I'm eyeing the V860 as a potential purchase.

Anyone here got any specific comments/suggestions (given that I'm looking for something I can just stick on the camera and use for fill-in and to get happy snaps of badgers 15m down the garden)? Gratefully received!
 
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I have both an SB-500 and a SB-910 and I have full capability/support for all flash functions with my Z7II. This includes using my Godox triggers and receivers for off camera flash. Not a single issue encountered. I can't imagine that not being the case with the Z9.
 
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I've been using Westcott strobes for a year now with me Z7ii. Westcott has firmware updates via USB. The other newer strobes probably do too. Nikon is unlikely to change the flash shoe contacts and flash manufacturers should be able to handle changes to camera firmware with an update of their own.

Flashes are computers now. My FJ80 cycles the motorized zoom during boot up. Motorized Zoom? The advertising didn't list a third of what the strobe does. $280 if you catch a sale.
 
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