Good flash for travel and/or beginners

I am not at all disappointed with my SB400, it is small, light, and feels like it is solidly constructed. It locks onto the hot shoe securely with only a little play. The cycle time is quiet and fairly fast, and I am satisfied with the AA battery life so far. With this thing being so small and simple to use, it is perfect for travel, smaller SLR bodies like D40(x), and taking pictures just for fun. It turns out great indoor pictures when you tilt the flash upward so that the lighting is indirect. This helps tremendously with eliminating redeye, harsh shadows, and bright reflections off of things like people's glasses and metal.



To be honest, given the $130 price tag that I paid, I am still happy with the product but I find myself wishing that I had just paid up the difference and got the SB-600. If size is not a constraint, or you do professional photography, I would say go for the SB600 instead. It is a small thing, but one complaint that I have is finding low cost flash diffuser options for the SB-400, there are many many more for the SB-600 which seems to be more marketed towards professionals.