Nikon SB-600 Speedlight/Flash
The SB-600 is 20 years old and was replaced with the SB-700 in 2010.
This flash is cheaper than the Nikon SB-400 on the used market and outperforms it in everyway. This is probably the Nikon flash with the greatest value. But it's not perfect. It does have some short comings. Most notably, it cannot function as a master flash, controlling other flashes in the Nikon Creative Lighting System, but it does function perfectly as a slave. Plus, it has Auto FP High-Speed Sync which allows shutter speeds up to 1/8000th sec.
The flash head tilts up and rotates to bounce it off the ceiling and walls. The power zoom works as a zoom lens is zoomed in and out or a lens is changed. It performs various TTL and Manual flash operations. It lacks Auto non-TTL functions.
This flash covers the field of view of a 14mm lens, which is excellent. To go wider, bounce the flash off the ceiling or wall. There is a little diffusor that pulls out to make the flash cover the field of view of a 14mm lens.
Complaints
The interface is not very intuitive. This is probably designed this way by Nikon to save money on development costs.
The flash covers the field of view of 14mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 85mm lenses, but nothing between 14mm and 24mm like the Nikon SB-800 does.
Compatibility
This flash is compatible with all Nikon Z, Nikon DSLR and film cameras.
Specifications
| Electronic construction | Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry |
| Flash exposure control | i-TTL, D-TTL, TTL (film based), Balanced Fill-Flash, Manual |
| Guide number (at 35mm zoom-head position) | 30/98 (ISO 100, m/ft), 42/138 (ISO 200, m/ft) |
| Flash coverage | Auto 24-85mm extendable to 14mm with built-in wide-flash adapter, Manual |
| Flash shooting distance range (in TTL auto flash mode) | 0.6m to 20m (2 to 65.6 ft.) (varies depending on the ISO sensitivity, zoom-head position and lens aperture in use) |
| Power SW | OFF/STBY ON |
| Recycling time | Approx. 3.5 sec. with alkaline batteries |
| Number of flashes | Approx. 200 times with alkaline batteries |
| Creative lighting system | A variety of flash operations are available with cameras compatible with CLS: i-TTL mode, Advanced Wireless Lighting, FV Lock flash, Flash color information communication, Auto FP High-Speed sync, and Wide-area AF-Assist Illuminator |
| Wireless Communication Channels | Four: 1, 2, 3 and 4 Channels |
| Wireless Groups | Three: A, B and C |
| Display LCD | Segment type |
| LCD back light | LED type |
| Shoe-lock | One action lock |
| Power source | Four 1.5V LR6 (AA-size alkaline), 1.2V KR-AA (AA-size NiCd), 1.5V R6/AA-size Nickel, 1.2V R6/AA-size Ni-MH or 1.5V FR6/AA-size lithium batteries |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | Approx. 68 x 123.5 x 90mm (2.7 x 4.9 x 3.5 in.) |
| Weight (without batteries) | Approx. 300g (10.6 oz.) |
| Included accessories | Speedlight stand (AS-19), Soft case (SS-600) |
| Optional accessories | TTL Remote Cord SC-29, TTL Remote Cord SC-28, Color Filter Set (SJ-1) |
Images
Related links: