Customer Reviews for Nikon Inc. SB-700 AF Speedlight
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Nikon Inc. SB-700 AF Speedlight
High performance versatile speedlight brings simplicity to on-camera, remote, and multiple flash photography.
Average Customer Rating:
(19 Reviews) 19
Rating Snapshot 19 reviews
5 stars
11
4 stars
4
3 stars
2
2 stars
2
1 star
0
18 out of 19(95%)customers recommend this product.
Customer Reviews for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Review 1 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Great Flash
PostedMarch 16, 2013
astroNikon
Location SE Michigan, USA
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 11-20 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Granted I'm not a Flash expert but I found myself at a quandry when taking more vertical photos after getting my D7000 grip and the SB-400 doesn't swivel. My main concern was eliminating shadows of which I needed to do bounce fill flash from the ceiling. The 400 does tilt unless you are taking a vertical in which case you need it to swivel too, which the SB-400 does not do.
I really wanted to buy a SB-600 but ended up getting a SB-700 at a refurbished unit. I'm glad I did. The 360degree swivel has come in handy (versus I know the 600 would get me annoyed) when working on bounce flash technique. I also love the features that are handy by the buttons versus traversing a menu on the 600. The 600 supposedly has more power but the 700 is a much better choice though $100 more in the used / refurbished market but well worth the extra.
I'm just learning more how to use the flash and I'm a "newbie" in regards to flash technique. But the flash operates really easily, iTTL seems to work really well (in basic settings) and I recommend this for anyone that starts taking more vertical shots and needs to continue bouncing the light. I also looked at the contraptions to keep the flash unit above the camera (it stays vertical) versus being sideways and needing the swivel. That may still be needed in the future if I start doing paid photo shoots of people, but for my "advanced" hobbyist means it is the perfect as is.
I should mention, I attempted to use the SB-700 as a remote with the built-in D7000 flash or the SB-400 as the master, this seems not capable. I was just hoping to see if it worked (I think the manual stated it would not). As I wouldn't mind having some back fill flash in addition to front flash. It may be able to do this, I just wasn't able to do it fiddling around. Adding a second SB-600/700 flash unit is expensive for just a hobbyist.
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+2points
Review 2 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
I recommend SB-700 flash
PostedJanuary 31, 2012
Kasun
Age 25-34
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
i use SB-700 AF Speed light more than 1 year.. its perfect... and its also have master slave mode... so that's very helpful for covering a occasions with ttl balance... by the way, its so cheep with its functions...
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+15points
Review 3 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
so far no issues!
PostedJanuary 15, 2012
bobbym14
Location Long Island, New York, USA
Age Under 18
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 0-1 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I got this flash the other day and right out of the box it worked and gave me amazing results. i bought this flash for a project I've been working on and i think it should be perfect. this flash is a must buy for anyone who is doing portraits in a studio
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+32points
Review 4 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Speed light 700
PostedDecember 13, 2011
Fercho
Location San Antonio, TX, USA
Age 25-34
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience 3-6 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
This is an amazing speedlight...It works wireless with the D. Very happy with it.5100
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+9points
Review 5 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Excellent value
PostedDecember 10, 2011
Chuck L
Location San Antonio, TX
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
After using my Nikon 18-35 mm lens and getting a shadow I knew I had to purchase a quality external flash. I chose Nikon because I know the flash will be forward compatible with the D800 when it is introduced. The SB-700 fits my needs perfectly. It was easy to use out of the box. The bounce and swivel features give me the coverage I need. I used the flash this week on a trip. My only complaint is with the Incandescent filter. My wife has olive skin. The filter gave her an unnatural hue. I used Photoshop to give her more nature skin tonalities. The florescent filter did a good job under harsh lighting conditions. I did not have any problem with the battery compartment or navigating thru the on-board menus. This is my third Nikon upgrade in the last 12 months. It was a good purchase.
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+3points
Review 6 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
My 1st flash and 2nd and 3rd as well.
PostedOctober 4, 2011
Zane80
Location Singapore
Age 25-34
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 0-1 years
Experience 6-12 months
Role Semi-professional photographer
Simple to use, everything is in the menu, and full information is in the manual provided.
Works brilliantly with my D7000 with my camera as the commander. The commander built-in option at e3 could control 2 groups on flashes, and it could adjust the power settings, even use TTL for one group and Manual for the other for the SB700. That is very versatile.
Interestingly though, there are options for 3 groups on the SB700. Which means that either a SU-800 is needed if one wants to control each group individually. Or, a firmware upgrade for either the D700 or D7000 will finally allow the camera to control each of the 3 groups individually. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
As mentioned by previous commenter, the lock switch to the Remote and Master might be a bit redundant. I imagine only very careless users will turn all the way to the Remote or Master without realizing.
The control dial is nice with a gorgeous clicking sound when it is spun, but the groves are a bit painful for me if I spin it a lot. Maybe I have tender skin for a guy.
Nevertheless, I like it so much until I bought a 2nd and a 3rd one, now contemplating whether should I get a 4th one..........
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-4points
Review 7 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Yes, this is the one.
PostedJune 21, 2011
hiwayman
Location Bay Area, California
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 0-1 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I am a passionate amateur photographer. I do not suffer sub-standard equipment very long. While I can't afford the very best equipment, the equipment I buy had better be worth my hard earned money. I originally was going to buy an SB-600, but they were discontinued, so I bought the SB-700. After reviewing the specs, I found that the SB-700 actually has slightly less flash power than the SB-600, and some other minor differences, that would seem to make it a lesser flash for more money. I wasn't too happy, but I needed a flash, and didn't want to go high-end, because the more expensive flashes were quite costly, and had functions I really didn't need. I got the flash out of the box, loaded the batteries, hooked it to my D7000, and started to shoot. I was frankly amazed. The shots looked like natural light shots. I used a snap-on diffuser to soften the light, and angled the flash head at 45 degrees, and the pictures came out really, really well. My first real test of the flash was at a friend's birthday party. No matter if the subject was back-lit by a window, or in shadows, or with a dark wall, the photos were balanced and crisp. None of the usual flash pictures where the foreground is blown out and the background dark. The flash filled in when it should, and fully illuminated when it should. Nikon has figured out how to get their cameras and flashes to work together with perfection. You may need to adjust FV or EV for personal taste, and pay attention to WB (2 colored filters come with the flash to compensate for artificial light spectrums), but the flash really works very well. The only thing I would suggest is to READ THE MANUAL. There are some important settings that make the flash work much better if you pay attention. I have not tried the flash in slave mode, but I would expect it to work as well. It's very well thought out and easy to use. I only have one small gripe. The battery door is rather flimsy, and doesn't open in the way you'd expect it to open, so it could easily break if you get all macho with it. Other than that, this thing rocks!
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+49points
Review 8 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
AF-Assist missing Function
PostedMay 28, 2011
Using the flash unit as a Auto Focus Assist is great but there are AF differences between the SB-700 and SB-900. The 700 has only 2 AF lamps while the 900 has 3 for help in very low light. Also, the 900 has an added feature .... the ability to use the AF-Lamps from the flash withOUT the flash unit firing. The 700 does NOT have this feature. Of course the 700 costs much less than the 900. Overall I love using the 700 on my D7000 with my Nikon CPU lenses. This combo is a joy to use.
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+17points
Review 9 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Good and easy to use
PostedFebruary 13, 2011
Danyk
Age 18-24
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
It`s a good speeding, for good price, and easy to use and change setting on go.
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-10points
Review 10 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Absolutely Amazing for the Price
PostedJanuary 31, 2011
JordanZero11
Location (Near) Youngstown, OH
Age 18-24
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I have only been using this flash for about 2 months now, but i am already in love with it. This flash made my new pictures extraordinary! I can barely even explain it. I haven't had time to fool around with the master and slave settings on it since i have nothing to do it with, but i am looking forward to buying a studio set soon to do such. It is so easy to use, it's practically able to be used out of the box. it just takes time to learn how to position the head around so you get the best bounce.
I can still consider myself an amateur photographer, but i am going to continue my passion and this flash helped renew my love for photography even more. I highly recommend it. Thank you very much Nikon!
I can still consider myself an amateur photographer, but i am going to continue my passion and this flash helped renew my love for photography even more. I highly recommend it. Thank you very much Nikon!
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+21points
Review 11 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
SB-700, a versatile flash
PostedJanuary 15, 2011
Photog
Location Mesa, AZ
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 0-1 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
One of the first tests I made with the new SB-700 was to photograph a proposed electric train layout which I have temporarily set up on a bedroom floor. Using the flash in the EVEN light distribution mode gave very excellent broad-range coverage across the room, a bit better than the SB-600 model flash I had used earlier. The SB-700 has several great features including a built in bounce card and a very easy to use menu system. It also auto-sets the zoom head for different lens formats and focal lengths when switching from DX to FX format lenses. Setting the flash exposure at +1 gives me slightly 'higher' histograms than the center point 'optimum' value, but this which is where I normally shoot flash photos anyway with an SB-600 flash and my D300s/D700 cameras. The photos all look really great. I look forward to utilizing more of the SB-700's offered features.
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+43points
Review 12 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Not a bad Speedlight for the price
PostedMarch 28, 2012
gtwhogger
Location Lawton, MI 49065, USA
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience Less than a month
Role Semi-professional photographer
I just picked up this unit today with another SB910 3-28-2012 and tried it out as a Hair Light and also as back fill on a backdrop, for the price this is a great flash to have in the arsenal, I also want to use it as a subtle not so over powering fill light for when I shoot outdoor night photography coupled to my PocketWizard Flex5's, I see this as a great fill light behind pillars and out of frame fill flash in conjunction with my SB 910'S and 900's on my architectural night shots.
I think this would be a perfect flash for entry level shooters to use in tandem with built in flash bodies to add more unique lighting challenges as well as a great tool for more experienced shooters as well as perfect studio uses.
The reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is the slide switches on both sides (Mode selector) and (Illumination Pattern) I my self would rather have these in sub menus using the dial to select to eliminate 2 potential locations for contaminants from entering the flash body like moisture and dust that in time could render the switches inoperative? also from reviews from other people not necessarily here but they have complained about the battery door being flimsy and break off real easy, I have to agree that yes it could be beefed up a little more but if you miss handle the equipment or rush trying to load batteries or are just a gorilla when handling the flash that you shouldn't break the battery cover off, one other complaint I read was that it was to thin and the contacts didn't make contact with the batteries? well here again if it was within the first year take it back! Nikon will fix or replace the unit, I think that issue was a small isolated instance that things made by man can be faulty and do slip by quality control once in awhile but that is a case I think that someone just wanted to whine and complain for something I don't believe should be used to give the SB700 a bad grade.
Overall it is a pretty good flash, I haven't had enough time to run it through it's paces but the 6 hours I have used it today I think Nikon has a winner.
My product recommendations
D3X
(130)
SB-910 AF Speedlight
(10)
SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander
(3)Share:
+9points
Review 13 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
EASY TO LEAEN
PostedApril 16, 2011
nikon nature lover
Location NEW YORK
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I RECENTLY WENT TO THE PHOTO SHOP WHERE I LIVE TO PURCHASE THE SB-600 ; ONLY TO BO TOLD IT WAS DISCONTINUED AND REPLACED BY THE SB-700 . SO HAVEING BEEN TOLD THAT I WENT AND PURCHASED IT , OWNING SEVERAL NIKON DSLR'S I WAS HAPPY TO HAVE A GOOD QUALITY FLASH THAT I COULD USE ON ALL; PLUS THE ABILTY TO DO MANY CREATIVE FLASH TECHNIQUES I WAS SATISFIED OVER-ALL.
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-35points
Review 14 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Shines in its class
PostedJanuary 30, 2011
Bmogo
Location Mt Hood area, Oregon
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience Less than a month
Role Semi-professional photographer
I'm a retired wedding/portrait photographer, so people continue to be my main interest, although I'm now doing landscapes, etc. I have studio strobes so for really serious lighting work I use those. That being said, having the SB-700 along in my bag as a portable flash is an excellent addition to my gear. I like the included accessories such as the diffusion dome, incandescent and fluorescent filters, and bounce card built in. I quickly navigated the menus and set the custom options as I'd like them without having to take a college course in menus. Bounce flash for portraiture works wonderfully with this flash. One user here complained about having to put pressure on the on/off switch to put the flash in Remote or Master mode, I find that a great precaution against accidentally turning the flash on in a hurry and not noticing what you have it set at. If you want remote or master mode, you have to purposely put it there. All in all I think this is an excellent flash, built to Nikon's usual standards. I would have given it 5 stars except for the fact that in my personal case I wish they would have included at PC type connector like the SB-900 has for connection to external flash or Quantum Battery, but as I said, that's a personal wishlist and yes I probably shouldn't complain. Also, the battery door does seem a bit fragile, although most doors like this need to be approached carefully. Two thumbs up, Nikon.
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+49points
Review 15 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
A Great Investment
PostedNovember 30, 2010
BeachRedneck
Location Virginia Beach
Age 18-24
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Semi-professional photographer
I used this flash and was blown away by the options to use it for, I shoot photography on the beach in Virginia Beach as well as the mountians of Lynchburg, Va and the ways that you can work with the lighting from this flashs was amazing
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-38points
Review 16 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Good Flash however miss TTL mode
PostedMarch 16, 2012
d80man55
Location serious amatuer
Age Over 65
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I recently got this flash. Overall I think it is a good flash, especailly since you can use this flash in Commander mode or Remote mode. However I very much miss the "TTL" or "i-TTL" option on the flash.
I truly think this is a basic standard control that should be on a Nikon flash of this calibler and price range. The flash displays good illumination and the contols are ok, much better in fact than on the (old but very good) SB800.
I truly think this is a basic standard control that should be on a Nikon flash of this calibler and price range. The flash displays good illumination and the contols are ok, much better in fact than on the (old but very good) SB800.
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-1point
Review 17 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Somewhat Dissapointed
PostedJanuary 25, 2011
Chuck
Location Florida
Age Under 18
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Before the flash had even recycled ONCE, before I had even put batteries into it, the battery door broke. It fell into several small pieces which scattered to god only knows where. Not only does the door seem flaky but the on/off button is poorly designed too, as it has a lock that must be depressed if you want to activate remote or master modes. As a flash it works well but it just does not seem like a quality assembled item.
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-29points
Review 18 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Improvement over SB-600? I think not ...
PostedNovember 18, 2011
zanypoet
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Family & Friends
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience 3-6 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I am a long time Nikon user and am quite familiar with most all Nikon gear. I could kick myself for not buying 2 more SB-600 when it was available. Right now, I would buy 1,000 units of SB-600 in a heartbeat at its original price ($180) over SB-700 ($330) and make money hand over fist. B&H is selling used SB-600 for almost $100 more than its original price. I for one do not find SB-700 to be more intuitive than SB-600 and I particularly dislike the new on/off switch. And, it has slightly less flash output than SB-600; I do not consider this an improvement.
Aside from this griping, it's a fine flash and not a big drop-off for most users from SB-900, which have been known to have over-active protection circuitry problem issue for heavy users. A luke-warm recommendation.
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-5points
Review 19 for SB-700 AF Speedlight
Overall rating
Great Ideas, Mediocre Execution
PostedAugust 5, 2011
Coastal Blue
Location Virginia
Age 25-34
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I was excited at first by the intuitive arrangement of buttons, and the new screen & menu system of the SB-700, which promised a vast interface improvement over my trusty SB-600. However, in practice, I found myself frustrated with my new flash.
My biggest 3 complaints are:
1) The battery compartment did not properly tighten itself, forcing me to press in on it when I turned the power on for the unit to actually power about half the times I went to turn it on. Minor defect in my unit? Maybe.
2) The power button itself. While the idea of a switch between Off>On>Remote On>Master On is great, the switch itself is thin/small and difficult for my big fingers to use. To get to Remote or Master, a button in the middle of the switch must be pressed, which was tricky at best, annoyingly difficult at worst. Major turn off in my mind.
3) The rotating dial with OK button in the middle for selecting things was, again, a good idea. However, I found it's operation tricky and difficult to control, and button pushes were difficult to consistently make.
Controls aside, the menu selections, options, etc. were all quite intuitive and easy to understand. It was the difficulty in executing the options which frustrated me, and led me to return the unit and stick with my SB-600's.
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+4points