The SB-400 complements my Nikon D40 and gets great results. Nikon digital cameras automatically control the power output of the SB-400 for great results every time. I bought this speedlight for the ability to use bounce lighting for great photos. The speedlight can be tilted up in various degrees to get the results you want. This product fills my needs and the price is right.

Spectacular little unit for those that do not want the much bulkier, much more expensive models. I use this exclusively for bounce flash and the difference it has made is unbelievable. Highly highly recommended. In fact, many people say to first time DSLR purchasers, get the 50mm prime for low light, since it's so fast and so cheap. But I have to say, if your intention is shooting kids, for instance, I say forget the 50mm and spend your $100 on this instead.

As versatile as the SB-600 is, the SB-400 is a much less intimidating start to flash photography for the beginner. Using the 400 opens your eyes to the possibilities of bouncing and diffusing the flash. When used in the manual or priority modes on the D40 (and D40X), it is also a great introduction to manual flash settings. With this inexpensive flash, you can learn to bounce, diffuse, and balance ambient lighting.

Once you are done with this, you can then go on to Strobist-style off-camera flash photography and spend all that money on the 600s and the light stands, etc.

NB The SC-28 cable allows you to take the 400 off camera but it more than a few bucks.

This is by far one of the best little flashes I have ever used. It isn't excessively bulky, it works great, fast, responsive and light. I use it as a fill, or sometimes as a trigger for a studio strobe. Either way I have no complaints. The flash is a regular flash, not a hyped/hopped up version like its big brothers. If the head rotated it would be the worlds best flash, but at least it has a bounce mode.

Pros - light, small, efficient, effective
Cons - no synch cord

This little flash does a great job with even exposures for a Nikon D-40. Aiming the light up and bouncing it off even 17 foot ceilings will allow for nice soft lighting.

I bought this flash for my Nikon D40 and find this flash great for several reasons. It is very compact (smaller than your fist), comes with a protective case, seems to be pretty fast (hence the name Speedlight I guess), and best of all it is multi-directional so you can bounce the flash off the ceiling for superior looking indoor shots.

I have the Nikon D40x. My brother, who is a professional photographer recommended this flash to me. I was concerned about adding extra weight to my camera. No worries here. The Nikon SB-400 is very light. It uses 2AA batteries (I bought rechargeables). It's very fast to get ready. And the results...Wow! I took some indoor pictures, bounced the light off the ceiling by tilting the flash up and the skin tones were beautiful. Very natural. It makes my pictures look (almost) professional! Even my brother was impressed! So, if you are looking for a lightweight flash to make your pictures look great, then I highly recommend the Nikon SB-400.

If you want to really improve your indoor photography, then an external flash is the best accessory you can buy! The SB-400 is great. It is small enough that it doesnt look out of place on the D40, D60 size cameras. It lets you fire the flash up and bounce it off the ceiling for a much better look in your pictures.

The only thing you need to go along with this flash is a good set of rechargeable batteries. It takes 2, and they last a good bit, but I wouldn't want to be putting alkaline or non-rechargeable batteries in it.

Its great overall. I never shoot indoors without it.

This diminutive little fellow is an outstanding performer. Not high-powered, but fully capable of meeting the needs of most amateur photographers -- much more power than built-in flashes with the very valuable bounce-flash that built-ins lack.

When I bought it, I knew it was "compact" but I was still surprized at its very small profile. Very much easier to carry along than typical automatic flashes. I only wish it were available in a version (slave version)that could be used on other brand cameras.

All-in-all, Ideal for me and many other amateurs.

Here's a review from an average guy...maybe below average in regard to photography. I have owned a Nikon D50 for about a year. I primarily shoot in Auto, but make small jumps into manual-land. My problem is that I do not have time to experiment with family, work, etc.

At any rate, I just got the SB400. After reading Ken Rockwell rave about bouncing the old flash, I had to give it a try. Needless to say, he was spot on. Bounced flash gets rid of the shine and glare that direct flash can give you. It allows for a natural, evenly distributed amount of light in the picture--which hugely reduces shadows.

Even a total novice like me (but an enthusiastic novice!) can appreciate this added dimension to my pics. I think, if I am reading the specs correctly, I am getting double the range of my D50's pop-up. You can also realize the potential of your fps...it is a "speedlight" and this flash can keep up with my camera.

All in all, a superb purchase for the price. BUT...read all the specs on this little guy before buying. Make sure it does what you are looking for. I won't be "commanding" a bunch of these flashes, or rotating it to the side, or shooting from 150 feet away, so this was all I needed.

I purchased this flash unit mostly to supplement the built-in flash on my Nikon D50.The SB 400 is really a gem. Compact,beautifully designed.The flash head has three positions for bounce flash,which I feel produces far more natural photos than direct flash. An extensive instruction sheet & elegant zippered case are included.The flash uses two AA cells [not included].

I have the sb-600 and just got this one! I like how this is compact and easy to lug around. Works great for the normal everyday stuff.
Has the ability to tilt up, but not side to side... that's what the sb-600 is for. =0). Overall, the SB-400 is a nice little upgrade from the weak built-in flash, and fairly priced!

Bought this flash 3 months ago, just after buying a D40. If you are just getting into DSLR, buy this before getting new lenses (but do buy the 50mm 1.8). The flash is awesome. Bounce it off the ceiling and just compare the results to the onboard flash. Very satisfying.

It has enough grunt for the work that I have done and is so easy to use. If you are needing more power than the 400 can offer then you must be in a church. So far, high ceilings have been no issue. However, the best thing about this flash is taking indoor pics of kids or pets. You just will not regret it. It gives your pics a natural look, no red eye, no shadows, great colours etc. OK, it's only a vertical tilt but that has not bothered me at all.

Make sure that you have decent spare batteries. I managed over 100 shots with 2 AAs but the recharge time does start to slow down.

To be honest, I do not think that you can go wrong at this price. I take pics at work events, and with the bounce flash people are always impressed.

This little flash does everything I need. It is compact, light weight and it works great.

While I can bounce it off of the ceiling for indoor use, you can't turn it side to side, so for vertical shots you can't bounce it. It is one con I can surely deal with though.

Unless you're a pro, I'd say this is all you would need in a flash, save your money on more expensive ones.

I bought this flash mainly for hand-help use for strobing while light painting during long exposure night photography. It wasn't very good quality, so I returned it.

I have only used this light once at a wedding reception and my photos came out great. This flash is very compact, not bulky at all. Unless you are a professional photographer I can't see why you would need anything more.

This is the first flash I own but I work at a camera store so I've used a variety on my D40 and this by far is the best. Bounce flash is great if only it would tilt vertical for lengthwise photos. Recycle is really fast. No complaints. It makes me want to give it a hug.

Before I purchased my Nikon D80, I was a Canon-ophile. It took many months of research and thinking before I decided to abandon Canon in favor of Nikon. I am not disappointed with the Nikon D80 nor the Nikkor lenses I bought. I even have the vertical grip that comes in handy. What I can complain about though, is this little flash.

It is true that it is small and looks very cute sitting on top of the camera. The flash tube pivots up with click-stops so that it is easy to get a specific bounce angle. Mine even came with a nicely padded fitted case. The problem I had was that this tiny flash quickly sucks batteries dry.

This flash uses two AA sized batteries. At first I used the rechargeable Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMh) but they didn't last too long--only about 35 flashes (they were new and fully charged). I switched to Alkaline and got about 40 then the recycle time kept getting longer and longer and longer. I supposed if I switched to Lithium batteries I'd get more flashes, but they are too expensive right now.

If you are trying to capture the spontaneity of a party or of little kids being their adorable selves, then this flash will let you down. For the odd snapshot where everyone will stand still until the flash recharges then I suppose it it ok.

I think a better bet would be the SB-600, SB-800 or the new SB-900 for more serious flash work. Both the SB-800 and the SB-900 provide auto-focus assistance that this flash doesn't.

For casual flash photography, this unit works ok. Anything else, save up and buy a better flash. (I know I am.)

This Nikon flash is almost foolproof. The only function on it is the on/off switch. Everything else is done by the camera, D40 in my case. It adds considerable depth to the on-camera flash, and so is just what I needed. However, it isnt the most powerful one available fron Nikon. It suits the design of the D40 since it can be used as easily as a point and shoot, but takes great photos.

I bought the Nikon SB 800 flash for my Nikon D50 after the built in flash stopped working. I quickly realized that it was a wonderful flash, and very powerful, but much too large. I started shopping around for other options, and bought the SB 400 not long after. It is less than half the size of the 800, but just as powerful as far as the flash goes. There are more features and gizmos on the 800, but I found that I never used those anyway. I just wanted a flash that would work! And this does that and still has perks:

-The tilt-up head of the flash is wonderful. You can aim the flash at different angles so that you arent hitting the subject head on. This reduces red eye and harsh shadows.

-It mounts easily and securely, and lights up a whole room without being heavy and in the way.

-It is very quick, you hardly have to wait at all for the flash to recharge after shooting. I rarely even notice a lag.

I would reccomend this flash to anyone!

I just received the SB400 and used it for a family wedding. I discovered the two AA battery power source did not last very long and locked up my D80. I removed the SB400 and the camera work fine. The speedlite was a significant improvement over the on board flash for a large gathering and I was please with the overall performance.

I use the SB-400 with a D40, and it is great. It works exactly the way I need it to - automatically. In general I prefer natural light photography, but when I do use flash for indoor portraits, this unit suits me perfectly. The front tilts for bounce flashing off the ceiling, which is how I use flash 90% of the time. The nice thing is that ONLY the front tilts, not the whole unit, so everything stays wonderfully small and compact. Yeah, you can get a bigger, more powerful sb-600 or 800, but those things are huge. Especially when tilted up for bounce flash. If you need more control and extra options and power, then go with the bigger more expensive flashes, but for most D40 users - this flash fits perfectly. And it's pretty reasonably priced as well.

One thing, pick up some rechargeable batteries as well. Any flash will eat power quickly. I use Sanyo Eneloops and they are amazing - they last a lot longer in between charges than standard alkalines.

In conclusion, if you have a Nikon D40, get this external flash. Your indoor pictures (especially portraits) will be 100% better than if you use the on-camera flash. And once you discover bounce-flash, you'll always avoid having to use standard straight-on flash again.

This little guy is fantastic! I used it to shoot a wedding recently, and was very pleased with the performance, especially when coupled with a flash bracket. This is now my "carry" flash.
If you are shooting an event with this guy, make sure to have plenty of spare AA batteries! The response time starts to lag (expectedly) as the batteries warm up and lose charge, so keep spares where you can get to them and not miss the action.

I am most definetly an amateur photographer, but realized that for some of my indoor shots, the flash on my D40x was not enough to gain the effect I wanted. I don't do photo shoots, I just take pictures of my nieces, nephews, grandchild, etc. The recent photos I took at an indoor church wedding were perfectly lit.

This little flash is extremely simple to operate - it has an on/off switch and a bounce flash head. Angle it up to use the ceiling as a reflector or build a small diffuser or reflector with a sheet of paper. Results are extremely good and consistent, but the real news is how tiny it is for its output, and how many flashes you get from a set of batteries. Comes with a its own little case and takes up no space in your camera bag and weighs nothing. Nikon got it right on this one. Highly recommended.

I bought this for my Nikon D80 and it goes along really nice. Not as big as the bulky SB-600 or 800. Its a great carry around flash for leisure shooting. If your wrking a wedding or something I would go for the upper models but if your just starting out and dont need the big guns then this is for you.

Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras... The Nikon SB-400 flash handles 95 percent of what I want a flash for on a D40x. I have even had good results in large rooms. An off camera cord will come in very handy if you like to bounce and control your shadows.
It has a very low profile, even smaller than the old SB-23 which didn't have the bounce capability. Outdoor fill flash is excellent. I doubt you will be dissapointed with this flash unless you are trying to use it in multiple flash arrays, even then I can see some possibilites... If you need a small flash with bounce capability get this one. If you want full control get an off camera extension cord then you can put the light wherever you want.

Small and still powerful.Saves camara's battery power and with rechargeable batteries i can take more photos

Nice little flash. Makes the lighting looks much more natural.I use the bounce flash up to the ceiling. I got this flah simply because I dont want the extra weight on my D60 Nikon.

Product arrived on time and worked like a charm. No problems noted during the first month of continuous use and I don't anticipate any.

The SB400 is a solid performer--good, consistent output, quick recycling, and lots of flashes on a set of batteries. It's also quite compact, which I appreciate a lot.

I had doubtful opinions when I bought this with my new Nikon D40. I thought the 100 or so dollar flash would turn out to be a piece of junk. And with my extremely miniscule budget of only $650, I can't believe I got great camera with an even better flash! After all, after composition, the most important part of photography is lighting!

I used to have a Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom. It's flash was quite unappealing. It was ugly and made photos look unflattering. But oh, no more.

The best part of this flash is the ability to bounce it at a 90 degree angle. The result is very nice looking, soft images. And only for $100! To experiment, I went to a tall and very dark cave. I brought my D40 and this flash with me, bounced it, and got extremely well-lit pictures. Wow!

This flash is small and I'm glad I did not buy a bigger one, it would be a waste of money (and space). I like that it takes only 2 AA batteries, which I can store easily in my pocket.

So overall, this flash was a very good purchase. If you have the money I recommend it instead of, say, another lens.

For a small portable flash that can overcome the 'wide angle shadows' that the built-in flash can't. I'm taking it with me traveling, and leaving the SB800 home.

The bounce works great in the horizontal position, but not in the vertical. That's the only small con.

I don't do a lot of photography any more, but I love this unit, as it takes up where my built in flash' range ends, & fits my needs perfectly.

I wanted the SB-600 Flash unit for my Nikon D80 but they were sorta expensive. Then I read about the new smaller SB-400 on Kenrockwell.com. He loved it and I really trust his judgement. I tried to get a good deal on eBay but they were going used for the same price Amazon had them new. I'm not a pro but I really have gotten tired of the limited range and redeye associated with the D80's (and most DSLRs') built-in pop-up flash unit. The SB-400, with it's tilt-up bounce flash capability is exactly what I needed. It works well, doesn't add a lot of weight to the camera when installed and fits nicely in my camera bag. It comes with a handy little carrying pouch too. Well done, Nikon!!!