A few years ago I picked up a Nikon SB-30 for a spell on Ebay – a small useful flash for either my Nikon F6 or Nikon FM3A (the camera I paired it often with on outings).
Nikon SB-30
Small and light you would think little of it, using only 1 CR123A battery it proved me wrong by meeting all my flash needs while also offering many features only found in bigger and heavier flashes like the Nikon SB-800 and above like commander/slave, TTL, manual mode. The only things it lacked was faster recycle time and a flash test button -the most common feature on flashes – but not essential, how many of you actually use it
Bottom line if you can find one for cheap (I got mine for USD38 inclusive of shipping) then you have found a bargain. It fits nicely into small corner of any decent camera bag while packing features usually found on bigger models.
Nikon SB-27
I saw a great deal for a SB-27 and quickly snapped it up. From the photos I saw, I had thought the unit would be more or less be as compact just like the SB-30 – was I ever wrong.
When the package finally arrived it was bigger and heavier than the SB-30 teaching me an important lesson – nothing is ever what it seems on the Internet unless there is scale reference.
The the left, SB-27 while on the right, SB-30. The body cap is for reference.
