If you’re looking for the best flash for Nikon D750, you don’t have to look very far. Yes, many third-party photography accessory companies can give you what you need. Still, when it comes to equipping your D750 with accessories, you should definitely ‘keep it in the family’ and go with a Nikon flash instead. That’s right! For those of you who don’t know, Nikon doesn’t just make cameras. They also produce a wide range of excellent flash accessories, and they’re some of the best ones on the market!
For your Nikon D750, there’s absolutely nothing better than the Nikon SB-700 flash. This flash is incredibly compact, which makes it very portable. Better yet, it’s highly-versatile and packed with functionality and excellent user control. And of course, since Nikon was the one that designed this flash, it works perfectly with the D750 camera and any others that are compatible with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS).
The SB-700 flash has been around since 2010, and it’s still in high demand. Over the past decade, this flash has earned itself a strong reputation among photographers worldwide. There’s no doubt that the SB-700 will work well for you, too. Keep reading to find out for yourself why this small but powerful flash is so popular.
Performance And Functionality
Firstly, the Nikon SB-700 is a Through-The-Lens (TTL) kind of flash. That is opposed to the manual type of flash which operates separately from your camera. With a manual flash, the settings of your flash and that of your camera are entirely separate. The flash simply fires whenever your camera’s hot shoe triggers it to do so. With a TTL flash, however, the flash and the camera are truly connected. A lot of the flash’s controls and settings are automated through your camera since both systems are connected. To put it in simple terms, your camera and your flash are ‘talking’ to each other.
That’s precisely the case of the SB-700 when you use it with your D750 camera. Because Nikon designed the both of them, your camera and flash are highly-compatible and much easier to use together. Nikon’s Intelligent Through-The-Lens system guarantees that you’ll get precise flash exposure and performance every time. With that in mind, you’ll be able to focus your attention on framing your shots correctly with your D750 instead of fiddling around with your flash too much.
On-Camera, Master And Remote Modes
The Nikon SB-700 is incredibly versatile and can play many different roles. Through the user interface, you can put the SB-700 in On-Camera, Master, or Remote mode.
The On-Camera mode is pretty straightforward. That’s the mode you use when the flash is mounted on the D750.
But let’s say you have an elaborate flash set up around the room consisting of multiple flash devices. The SB-700 can switch easily to Master mode to take the lead of all the other flashes you have ready.
Or, you could turn the SB-700 to Remote Mode. In that mode, it’ll take its cues from another flash that’s acting as the Master.
Bottom line? Whatever role you need this flash to play in the grander scheme of your photography set up, it’ll play that role well!
Illumination Patterns
The SB-700 also allows you to choose from three different illumination patterns. See, the more basic flashes just fire off light in one direction. But this isn’t a basic flash; it can do much better than that.
The SB-700 offers you Standard illumination, Centre-Weighted illumination, and Even Pattern illumination. Standard illumination simply lights up the entire frame. If you’re trying to focus the light on the centre of the frame right on your subject, then you’ll need centre-weighted illumination to do that. Still, if you’re taking a group shot and need to make sure that even the people on the edge of the frame are visible, that’s where Even Pattern illumination comes into play.
Autofocus Assist
Since the SB-700 is an i-TTL flash compatible with the Nikon D750, it also provides the camera with additional autofocus assistance. See, the SB-700 has built into it an AF-assist illuminator lamp that’ll help your D750 speed up its autofocus in low-light conditions. So, even if the room is dark, you won’t have to worry about your camera’s autofocus struggling to do its job. Anyone that has used autofocus in a dark room will tell you how annoying it is when it takes way too long to focus correctly. The SB-700 will pick up the slack and get the frame in-focus quickly!
Extra Filters
The SB-700 is also usable with a bunch of extra filters that come standard in the box. Specially designed for the SB-700, these snap-on filters include the incandescent and fluorescent filters. With these filters, you’ll be able to ensure that the flash performs well regardless of what kind of lighting the room you’re in might have.
These filters play a crucial role. See, flash needs to be filtered to match the surrounding environment, so it doesn’t come off as being too harsh in the final photograph. So, when you put one of the additional filters onto the SB-700, the device can actually tell what filter you’ve put on it. Then, that data is sent to your D750 camera so that it can automatically adjust the white balance. Isn’t that amazing?
If you do a quick Google search, you’ll see that there are plenty of excellent reviews online. What do all of them have in common? They all love the SB-700 thanks to all of these fantastic features!
User Interface And Control System
As you can see, the functionality and performance on Nikon’s SB-700 flash are excellent when its paired with the Nikon D750 camera. But wait ‘till you see the user interface and control system on this thing. Simply put, controlling the SB-700 can be as straightforward or as complex as you’d like it to be! You have access to a lot of settings that most other flash accessories don’t have, but Nikon designed the interface so well that you’ll never feel overwhelmed with all that control.
LCD Display Interface
Firstly, the display interface on the SB-700 consists of a dot-matrix LCD that shows you everything you need to know. From here, you can control anything from the flash intensity, guide number, and so much more. On either side of the display interface are switches that allow you to change the flash modes and illumination patterns with great ease.
Rotator Dial
There’s no point in a flash having so many controls if you’re going to be pressing a million buttons! Thankfully, Nikon designed the SB-700 to be navigated and controlled with a rotator dial right in the middle. With this dial, you’ll be able to cycle through all the many menu options on the display interface. That’ll make it much easier and smoother for you to set all the controls precisely as you require them.
Angle Scale For Tilt
Like any other flash device, the SB-700 can tilt 90 degrees. So, it can point straight ahead at your subject, or you can have it pointed vertically. What makes this different is that Nikon has clearly embossed the angle scale onto the head of the flash. That makes it much easier to tilt the flash head at a precise angle each time.
270-Degree Rotation
Aside from the earlier-mentioned 90-degree tilt, you can also rotate the SB-700 270-degrees. So, you can point the flash in whatever direction required and with great ease.
On/Off Switch
On the bottom right corner of the Nikon SB-700 is a switch that simplifies the operation of this device. Firstly, you can switch this flash on and off with ease. On top of that, the same dial also allows you to switch between the earlier-mentioned Remote and Master modes as well.
Super-Quick Recycling Rate
There’s nothing more annoying than a flash with a slow recycling rate. Imagine standing around, waiting for your flash to get ready to fire again! You won’t get that with the SB-700, which has an excellent recycling rate of just 2.5 seconds. That’s one whole second faster than Nikon’s previous flash, the SB-600!
Thermometer Gauge
As a sort-of bonus, the SB-700’s digital display also shows you a thermometer gauge. That might not seem like a big concern to most users. However, it’s probably quite important for anyone who plans on taking advantage of the SB-700’s quick recycling rate. Don’t worry, though. The SB-700 also has built-in protection against overheating!
Build Quality And Design
The SB-700 carries the Nikon name, so you can rest assured that they very well. Plus, you can also trust that Nikon built it to work well specifically with the D750 camera.
Size And Weight
When people say that the SB-700 is compact, they weren’t kidding. This flash’s dimensions are a tiny 4.1 x 2.8 x 5 inches, and it only weighs 12.7 ounces. That’s only 360 grams! The Nikon D750 camera weighs about 750 grams. So if you mount this flash onto the D750, the total weight would be just above one kilogram. Considering how much functionality you get out of the SB-700 flash, that’s a ridiculously light package to hold in your hand! Whether you’re static or photographing on-the-move, at least you won’t have to worry about your arms getting tired too quickly.
Solid Construction
Firstly, when you hold the SB-700, you can immediately sense how solid it is. Of course, dropping it on the ground isn’t advisable. However, if you did drop it by accident, it almost feels as if the damage might be minimal. That is because the material that Nikon chose for the body of the SB-700 feels solid, and unlike some other brands, it does not feel cheap or low-quality at all.
Battery Door With Security Lock
On one side of the SB-700 is the battery door. That door has one unique feature to it: there’s a security lock to open the door. It’s not the type that requires a key or anything like that. The lock seems like added protection to ensure that you don’t pop the door by accident and send your batteries flying out.
Built-In Flash Diffusing Panel And Bounce Card
Also built into the flash head is the diffusing panel and bounce card. These are good to have as built-in features of the flash so that you don’t have to buy them as separate accessories. Plus, if you keep them fixed to the flash head, you’ll never lose them either! But how do they affect the actual photographs you’re taking? Well, a diffusing panel basically softens the light of the flash that can sometimes be too harsh on the subject you’re photographing. A bounce card, on the other hand, is designed to soften the light even further. That way, the light is much more flattering on the subject.
Final Thoughts
So, is this the best flash for Nikon D750? Absolutely.
For starters, Nikon was the company that built both of these devices. When you ‘keep it in the family’ by pairing the Nikon SB-700 with the D-750 camera, you won’t have to worry at all about any compatibility issues. On the contrary, these two devices bring out the best in each other!
Performance-wise, the SB-700 has an excellent power output despite its small size and affordable pricing. No matter what kind of environment you’re in or the type of subject you’re capturing, this flash will light them up beautifully for your snapshot.
What more, you can customise every bit of its functionality and performance to suit your exact needs. You have several flash intensities to choose from so that the flash you use is never too soft or too intense; it’s always perfect. On top of that, you can also customize your illumination patterns to achieve the exact outcome in your photos that you want.
Judging by the excellent reputation that the SB-700 has in the photography community, there’s no question that this flash is a high-performer that’s loved worldwide.
