Home > Consumer Reviews > Nikon SU-800 Speedlight Commander

The SU-800 works great, performs as advertised, except that the light is not purely ir, as I had been led to believe. There is a small amount of red light when you take the shot, and my ever-blinking wife reacts even to that. i-TTL preflash never works, of course, but this happens even when on manual. My solution has been to turn the AF-illuminator mode on, which uses a brighter red light to assist focus. Her eyes adjust to the red light, so then the trigger light doesn't cause a blink. The catch there is that once the camera achieves focus the light turns off, so I can't focus-recompose, because in the time it takes to reframe her eyes have adjusted back to no light, and she blinks again. Sigh. Oh, and this still has to be done in manual. I'm thinking a different body with FV lock (my D40 lacks this) might be able to work around this, but I'm not sure. Pocket Wizards would definitely work, but having to walk over to the flashes and set levels manually would be much less convenient.

It is a good product otherwise, but be aware that if you are hoping for a completely invisible trigger, you will be disappointed.

The SU-800 is an essential item when using flash photography. I know the SB-800 can also be used as a 'Master' unit to fire additional flashes, but it can prove to make the camera top heavy. The SU-800 is light and compact. So when you don't need a front flash it doesn't sit atop your camera and become more imposing to someone who may not be comforatable posing to begin with.

I photograph with two(2) D2X's, and this item is making my portrait sessions easier. My cameras are big to start with, so that is why I like the compactness of this unit.

The Nikon SU-800 commander is such a great way for me to create light
from wherever I want. I do not like flash especially from the camera.
This is a very portable way of doing amazing photo's anywhere, even at
night in the dark and form any angle with a few small flashes on stands
or just hand held.
Opens up a new world of photo opportunities. Highly recommended.

ray kennedy

It was hard for me to decide whether to get this SU 800 remote or not. I have 4 pocket wizards that can do off camera shoots but there are several limitations and shortcomings with the pocket wiz....all it does is trigger the flash off camera with the output being manually set. Sometimes you would even miss to trigger when your flash is on standby mode.

When I saw this SU 800 remote I was intrigued to try it since it can do TTL wirelessly and sure it works....very very nice. No more missed shots and no more overexposed shoots because the output adjusts automatically. This is really one great addition to my gear!! Great work nikon....great work...I am really happy with this unit!!

It can remotely control as many as 4 groups of off camera flashes as you wish...no limits and you can even control the flash output of each flash unit, isn't it amazing?? This will be good for location shoots for small groups and will really come handy for all commercial photographers outdoor who thinks pocket wiz is all there is to work with!

The only caveat is that you have to be in the line of sight with the with camera which is not a big deal....great work nikon, great work and keep innovating!

The SU 800 has been a huge help in my photography work. It is simple to use, very versatile & hits the mark every time. I have also been impressed with the distance that is can be away form the commanded flash units. I was thinking about getting a set of Pocket Wizards but this proved to be a much better & less expensive option.

Go Nikon!!!