Well, let us be clear on what this kit is and what it is intended for: this is not a powerful lighting system designed to meet the demands of a professional photographer taking thousands of pictures in a single session, nor is it intended to be. If you attempt to use it continuously, taking photos at full power at six shots per second, you are going to burn it out.
Instead, it is a well thought out lighting kit that easily meets the needs of an advanced amateur for close-up photography, portraiture, and a lot more. Don't let the name of the kit fool you. This thing does a lot more than close-ups. I can think of no single tool that will improve most photographers' life more.
The SB-R200 flash units which are the heart of the system are dirt simple to use. They have only two dials and two buttons. One dial selects group; the other the channel. One button turns it on and off; the other fires a "target" light to assist with autofocus. That is it. No messing around with bunches of dials and knobs, reading LCDs, or fumbling through menus.
The flash units have special feet that mount in a ring that is attached to the front of your lens with adaptors. Five adaptors are included which fit the vast majority of Nikkor lenses. I could wish that the kit included the UR-5 adaptor for the 60mm Micro-Nikkor, but it does not. Screwing the R1 kit onto the front of this lens will obstruct close focusing. But this is the only lens that has this issue. Other micro-Nikkors do not need the UR-5. I should also mention that with a lens like the 60mm micro-Nikkor you will have to use manual focus (which is how most people use it anyway). The front of this lens travels in and out a couple of inches over the focusing range. As small as the SB-R200s are, they are still too much of a strain on the tiny focusing motor. Anyway, the lack of a UR-5 ring is why I rate the kit only 4 stars instead of 5.
The mounting feet of the SB-R200 will not fit in a normal flash shoe. Neither would you want to do that in normal operation. The whole point of these flash units is to use them off camera. I suspect that most of the time they will be used simply by having the photographer, the model, or an assistant hold in a hand. If you do need to mount them on anything, they come with special shoes so that you can set them on any flat surface or mount them on a tripod or bracket.
The SB-R200 flash units cannot be attached to the camera in any way that will allow them to be used as a primary flash. You have to trip them wirelessly with either the SU-800 Commander unit, the built-in flash on Nikon CLS compatible cameras, or a Nikon Speedlight that has a commander mode, such as the SB-800. The SB-R200s can be also tripped using cables running from the SU-800 Commander unit mounted on any camera, including non-CLS cameras.
Nikon's Creative Lighting System allows flashes to be set up in three groups: A, B, and C. Each 'group' (usually a single light), can have its own exposure adjustments and can be set either for TTL metering or manual firing. A group can have as many flash units as you want, but more than three and they start to interfere with each others' ability to read exposure.
So, you can set up, say, one light mounted on the front of the lens in Group A and another light in Group B held in the hand down and to one side of a subject such as a flower. Group B will give definition and depth to the picture, while Group A will provide the main lighting.
Or you could set up three lights off camera to light a food display on a table -- Group B an SB-R200 from the side; Group C another SB-R200 bounced off the wall on the other side to soften shadows, and Group A your main flash, such as an SB-800, from above. You use the built-in camera flash in commander mode, with the little shield included in the kit so that its light does not get in the way, to trigger the whole thing. The result is a well-lit display with soft, barely visible shadows.
You can do some pretty good stuff with portraits, too, eliminating the shadows behind your subject and even using colored gels to liven up the background a bit by bouncing one of the SB-R200s off the wall behind the subject.
Recycling time has been reported to be slow, but I don't see it. Anyway, this system is targeted toward a photographer who likes to take a shot, rearrange things a bit, and take another one. So recycling time should not be an issue anyway. Its small size, light weight, and many methods of mounting flash units will encourage the photographer to experiment.
Everything is very small and portable. The essentials can easily be packed up and taken into the field in three small pouches included with the set.
The vinyl storage box that comes with the set is not particularly robust. It has a short shoulder strap, but it is obviously not meant to be knocked around a lot or carried for long distances. Use the field pouches for that. They are tough and heavy and appear able to withstand just about anything.
The flexible arm clamp appears to be a little above average quality and strength for such a gadget. The diffuser is unusually thick plastic and seems hardy enough.
The instruction manuals are all geared to using this on a Nikon D70 with the SU-800 Commander unit that is included only in the R1C1 kit. The SB-800 flash does everything that the SU-800 does (except it does not have a specific close-up mode and it cannot fire the target lights of all the SU-R200s simultaneously; features the SB-800 hardly needs) but you will have to study the manual for that flash thoroughly if you want to use the SB-800 with this system. And that is the big weakness of the manuals included with the R1 system. They do not include specific instructions on how to set things up with any camera other than the D70 or any commander unit other than the SU-800, so while you are learning to use this thing you are constantly referring to other manuals.
Everything in this kit uses CR123A lithium batteries. None are included in the kit. The poor Nikon user now has to add these batteries to his kit, along with extra EN series batteries for the camera and AA batteries for his SB-600 or SB-800 flash units. Well, at least the CR123As don't weigh much.
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Nikon R1 Wireless Close-Up Speedlight SystemProduct Description: The Nikon R1 wireless close-up speedlight system enables superb, close-up lighting control with exceptional flexibility and innovative options. Designed especially for use with compatible Nikon i-TTL SLRs digital cameras, such as the D200, D70S, and D70, this system offers wireless control convenience. The built-in speedlights on the compatible digital cameras serve as the system's master controller. The combined result of the speedlights and the camera's built-in flash makes it easy to produce desired close-up lighting effects.
The process and application of the system is straightforward and uncomplicated. It includes two SB-R200 wireless remote speedlights, and it can accommodate up to three remote groups and four channels that can be arranged to enable creative lighting from the left, right, above, or below the subject. The SB-R200 speedlights can be titled up to 60-degrees, making them a perfect choice for lenses with short working distances, allowing you to get the proper lighting on super-close-up subjects. You can even control the flash compensation or flash ratio to fine-tune the system for the most minute lighting effect. The included SX-1 master attachment ring accommodates up to eight SB-R200 speedlights. And don't think you're only limited to the SB-R200; this systems is also ready for the SB-800 and/or SB-600 speedlights for maximum versatility.
What's in the box Nikon R1 wireless close-up speedlight system, two SB-R200 speedlights, SX-1 master attachment ring, 52mm, 62mm, 72mm, 77mm mounting rings, AS-20 speedlight stands, SJ-2 color filter set, SW-C1 flexible arm clip, SW-11 extreme close-up adapter, SW-12 diffusers, and a fitted storage case.
Buy cheap Nikon R1 Wireless Close-Up Speedlight System now
Several years ago, Nikon created the "Speed of Light" DVD, featuring Joe McNally demonstrating the (then) new SB-800 speedlight. Nikon missed an opportunity to create a true educational resource in its quest to quickly highlight the features of its flagship speedlight.
