I have been taking pictures with a Nikon SD-8A battery pack for a few weeks and I’m very pleased with it. This is one of the Most Wanted Nikon accessories among photographers, but the search for it is worth it, trust me. The recycling speed I gained is impresive and very welcome. For the pictures below, I used my SB-800, SB-600 commanded by my trusty Nikon SU-800 flash commander and my recently aquired Nikon SD8a battery pack. I don’t use expensive rechargable batteries because I’m very good at loosing them. Sneaky of my children that they use them without letting me know . Because of that, I use generic (but good performers) 2500 mAh from Digital Concepts on all my flashes. With the 5th battery on my SB-800, (kudos to Nikon for this) plus 6 on my
SD-8A, I had a total of 11 AA batteries in tandem for this shooting.
My eldest son (a Hip-Hop / Reggaeton lover and writer) wanted some pictures taken.
From the very begining he was very specific, he wanted his pictures taken over a black background and something straight simple. So the shoot started with a few yards of black canvas from Walmart in our garage. This shoot was a good opportunity for a first test on the Nikon SD8a. The camera was set to manual with the Nikon SB-800 as the master light and using the SB-600 as fill (see the pictures below). Many shots were done in TTL and many in Manual Mode at 1/8th & ½ power output on my SB-800. Recycling time on the SB-800 was amazingly fast with the help of the 5th battery and of course, the battery pack. The whole thing was done with only 1 set of AA bateries and not only they lasted almost 340 pictures. The flash behaved as it had a fresh set of batteries the whole time. He changed clothes a few times, so we had a window of opportunity to let the flashes cool down without burning them out.
The Nikon SD-8A comes with its vinyl case and cables and instructions as seen above. No buttons to mess with, basically a plug and play item. It has a red pilot light that only blinks when you fire your flash; however, this light is not visible because it is covered by the case. It has a belt loop, so for those of you looking forward to use it during events will be OK. For outdoors picture taking with it, this offers little help. In quickly resolved the minor issue with an old point and shoot camera strap.
I know, you’ve heard about the Nikon SD-8A but you’ve been trying to spot one for months and gave up. This little fellow along with the Nikon MC-30 remote release cable is on of the few hard to find items within Nikon’s accessory catalog. They are in production and yes, they can be found. Don’t just check in your favorite on-line store, actually many folks are doing the same and that makes the item even harder to find if you look in just one place. Try mom and pop’s brick and mortar camera store as well, who knows, it might be a little more expensive than your on-line retailer but hey, personalized service many times is worth it. Maybe next time you need something they’ll look and hold it for you, try that at your on-line store. Try also the big on-line auction place, very often this item pops-up with sellers here in the states as well as reputable sellers from Hong Kong. Since the moment I started my quest, it only took me 2 weeks to get one.
Bottomline: Do I like the SD8A?
Yes indeed, it is a great piece of equipment for every Nikon flash user. I have been using it extensively on the field now and can’t leave home without it.
Compatibility:
The Nikon SD8a is compatible with Nikon SB-800, Nikon SB-80DX, SB-28/28DX, SB-27, SB-26, SB-25, SB-24, SB-22, SB-20, SB-11.
