I had been looking for a easy way to light ultra close-up pictures with my Nikkor 105mm macro lens. Initially I thought of a ring flash, but I noticed that Nik0n had a clever kit for its Creative Lighting System (Nikon CLS) specially designed for its lens and camera systems. Called the R1 Wireless Close-up Lighting System, I was intrigued that the whole thing was put into a nice kit of 2 remote flashes, a ring mount, adapters, filters, defusers, flexible arm, and angle bounces. Rather than go with a ring flash, I decided to give it a try since this kit was only $25 more than a pro-quality ring flash. It was a pleasant surprise!
The system works great D300′s built-in flash which acts a remote commander. It also works great with my SB800 flash as a commander or slave. What I’ve been really pleased with is the versatility of positioning and control. Working in combination with my SB800, I have three free positional remotes in addition to the built-flash on the camera, which is important in those shots where you need to get the light just right.
It’s a nicely portable system and the only minor annoyance is that the SR200 flashes that make up the remotes for the systems use CR123 batteries, which means you need to keep a couple of extras in the field (you get about 280 flashes on a battery.)
If you’re a Nikon owner needing a close up lighting kit, especially for Nikon’s newer cameras which have built-in flash commander modes, the Nikon RC1 kit is definitely worth a look. Even with older cameras, you can use a SB600 or SB800 as a flash commander, or add the SU800 flash control which mounts on a standard hot-shoe.
