Nikon Introduces New SB-30 Speedlight

February 24, 2002 - Nikon (www.nikonusa.com), the world leader in photography, today introduced the SB-30 speedlight, offering photographers an innovative, compact and very lightweight pocket sized speedlight to creatively light their subjects. Weighing only 3.2 ounces, the SB-30 is designed to provide users with compact convenience combined with high-performance functionality in a very compact speedlight. “Nikon’s Speedlight Systems have enjoyed exceptional success during the past decade. This is the result of a combination of design elements that include automatic balanced fill-flash and a system approach that makes creative lighting easier to accomplish,” said Richard LoPinto, vice president for SLR Camera Systems, Nikon Inc.

“The SB-30 was designed to be ultra-compact, so that photographers could keep it on the camera nearly all the time, matching the advantages of a built-in speedlight. It’s automatic features offer creativity, and it’s built-in slave flash sensor makes it an excellent second or third flash for multiple flash photography,” he added.

Innovative Design For Versatility
The SB-30 incorporates various innovative design features that enable photographers to fully explore the potential of creative flash photography. At 3.2 ounces, photographers can mount this speedlight on their camera and shoot comfortably, without noticing a significant change in camera weight and handling. To make it less obtrusive, the flash’s shoe allows the flash to be rotated down by 50-degrees, nearly flush with the camera top. The SB-30 covers a wide-angle area of 28mm, consistent with popular wide-angle zoom lenses, and can cover up to 17mm with the built-in wide flash filter. The same 50-degree downward tilt also allows users to shoot on-camera close-ups at 1 to 3.3 feet from the subject. A new safety lock system ensures that the SB-30 is tightly fastened to the camera in use.

Advanced Operations
Encapsulated in the SB-30’s compact body is an advanced circuitry that provides users with features typically found in higher-end flash units. A new built-in wireless mode lets the SB-30 fire synchronously, triggered from as far as 131 feet (manual mode) by other speedlights in the Nikon Multiple Flash System (Maximum range varies with ambient light brightness). Using its built-in infrared filter, the SB-30 can act as a remote commander for triggering other Nikon speedlights during a multiple flash set-up. This compact speedlight has a guide number of 52 (At 28mm setting, ISO 100), and a minimum recycle time of approximately four seconds in full power manual mode, when using fresh batteries.

Seamless Functionality
The SB-30 works seamlessly with Nikon’s Total Imaging System, including Nikon 35mm SLR cameras that feature TTL control, all digital SLR cameras, select Coolpix cameras and a growing family of Nikon speedlights. The SB-30 will be available at retail outlets in March 2002.

SOURCE Nikon