Metz 45 CT-4 and Nikon D80

[Greg_Nuspel]

I am wondering if anyone has experience with Metz 45 CL-4 flash and the Nikon D80. Will the basic ttl flash work with this camera? I see so many of these on eBay for a good deal so if they work I'd pick one up. I know it would have all the new capabilities but if basic ttl works I'd be happy for now.

[kiley9806]

i have the d80, but sorry i cant be of any help with the flash. i know nothing about using one, and only shoot with natural light for now. as a newbie, im saving my pennies for the sb-600... but i'm interested in where this thread goes, and any info on other hot shoe mounts that are out there...

[Greg_Nuspel]

I'm actually leaning towards a SB-600 as well with all it's features.

[F8&Bthere]

I have the SB-600 and I'm happy with it, but I actually later wished I had pushed the budget a bit more and got the SB-800. There are some good deals out there (like on eBay) for 3rd party flashes- but be careful to research compatibility of course. If googling for a flash's specs and compatibility chart doesn't give you the answer you seek, try using the search function at some other large photo forums like photo.net or nikonians.org. And if you see a given flash is compatible with (older) Nikon film cameras, don't assume it's fine for all Nikons including the newer digitals- there are sometimes voltage incompatibilities that can lead to damaging your camera.

The coolest thing for me about the SB-600 is how you can set it up off camera as a slave to the built-in flash. And the little bracket doohickey it comes with has a tripod mount, so it's like you have an instant little poor man's lighting kit. Add some kind of reflector and maybe some diffuser if needed, and you can do some nice portraits.

Or it is even neat to use in other situations too (other than portrait). I saw a photo on line somewhere of an old Mediterranean house and the photographer used his wireless off camera flash to light up the passageway at the top of the stairs- made it look almost like a HDR shot.