One long lens

I've come back to photography after twenty-five years away so I still think in 35mm terms. I have this lens on my D40 and was very surprised at its long range which will be quite enough for me to take cricket photos this summer. I have a bad tremor but seem to have no problem getting good results with this lens so the VR works. The autofocus is something else but manual focusing is easy enough. For the money I don't think you could get any better but keep your 18-55mm to hand because I think you'll need both.

Nikon's Creative Lighting System is AMAZING

I've been a keen amateur photographer for 35 years and have always been uncomfortable using flash light. Until now.
Flash often meant hit-and-miss results, poor exposure, ghost-like flesh tones, horrid colours, stark shadows, not to mention red-eye. But this changed when I started using a Speedlight SB-800 on my D200... consistent balanced exposure and great colour. But that's just the start of it. Using the D200 as controller of multiple Speedlights opens up a whole new world in photographic lighting. Admittedly the apparent complexity of using multiple Speedlights is, at first, rather daunting! Here Simon Stafford's Magic Lantern Guide"Nikon AF Speedlight Flash System" is helpful. I've added 2 SB-600s to my Speedlight system. I set each Speedlight to"remote", use the SB-800 as key light, one SB-600 as fill, and one SB-600 to light the background. Then all the control is from the camera. In the D200 menu the exposure value of the Speedlights can be dialled up/down in 1/3 ev steps. All TTL-metering and, of course, wireless. After one practise shot it's easy to dial-in the required values and then it's plain sailing... shot-after-shot perfectly exposed with great shadows and wonderful flesh tones. Use bounced light, different positioning/configuration of Speedlights, diffusion dome, coloured gel filters ... all is factored-in by the system to give astonishing results. A veritable portable studio!
Note: I found that while Nikon's user manuals explain the use of each component of the CLS, I had to search around to find a clear & simple explanation of how to use multiple Speedlights! Nikonians.org has an article entitled"Nikon D200 and Nikon's Creative Lighting System" which is most helpful.

Does what it says.

Yes It's a remote control for these cameras, but it's an infra-red shutter release and no more. So if you were expecting to to be able to change settings forget it. Frankly the feel is what you might expect from an up-market christmas cracker but at the price it is worth it.

Not for a Nikon D80

I bought this battery after reading the above reviews. It doesnt fit a Nikon D80 you need a Nikon EN-EL3e. Im sure its a quality product thats why i gave it a 5

Good Flash

I bought this flash for use with my Nikon D40. The 18-200mm lens I have on the camera meant that the on-board flash created a lens shadow in the centre of images, something that this SB-400 flash unit has remedied.

The ability to bounce-flash is great, although this unit only moves in the vertical axis- no horizontal bounce. This means that for shots which require the camera to be tilted 90 degrees the bounce has to be done via a wall or other obstacle.

All in all this is a great flash for the price, but if you're after anything other than a lightweight flash for amateur photography, go for the slightly more expensive SB-600 model.

Does what it says on the tin

Had this remote a few months now and it has already been dropped several times and stepped on but it still works fine. The cord is a good length but not long enough for self portraits and the button is smooth in operation. Recommended

Essential

Well, if you have the camera, and you have lost the lead, there is not a lot you can do short of buying a replacement- which seem to be scarce in the UK. Even Nikon themselves were of little help - just told me to contact a stockist, and hung-up on me.

Great for the first 3 years only

I have been very happy with these batteries for a good few years after buying them with my Nikon 3100 digital camera. That was in 2004, but 2007 the batteries are now next to worthless. They refuse to hold charge for more than a few days, and will only charge to a maximum of around 50% (this is an estimate mind you).

I don't know how long batteries should be lasting for with regards to recharges, but I am pretty sure that these should have lasted longer than the couple of hundred charges I have given them over the years.

Do not buy

Looking to buy my first digital camera I did my research and finally decided to buy the Coolpix L3. Price was my first consideration as I only wanted to spend approx £100 and also I wanted a camera that was easy to use. Well thats the only two good things about this camera. If you want to take a picture of flower or nice scenic shot then its perfect but if you want to take a picture of a child, pet or anything that is likely to move then DO NOT buy this camera. The shutter speed is so slow you could go and put the kettle on waiting for it, also the auto-focus seems to take for ever when you are trying to get the kids to pose for a photo.
Although this camera is easy to use, not too many fancy features, I am afraid I find it very frustrating and would not recommend it unless you only want to snap away at still-life!!