Adam Trahan: Nikon Speedlight SB-11

Nikon F3 + Speedlight SB-11

The SB-11 is a real flashgun! I now have my own copy of it and here is the story of how I got mine…

I had seen pics of this type of flash set up in the past yet I was unsure about getting one for myself. I knew that this was a somewhat rare item, I was going to need a little luck to find one inexpensively and in good repair. I found my copy of the SB-11 online at a “buy it now” auction. When I purchased, it was sold “for parts,” I had no idea if it worked.

When the package arrived, it was missing the light sensor. The light sensor is integral to the SB-11 working, I found and purchased the SU-2 and waited for it to arrive.

Finally, having all the components together, I cleaned and inspected each part and assembled the SB-11. I loaded the eight double AA batteries, placed the battery holder into the handle, screwing on the cap and turned the unit on. I heard the tell tail whine of the capacitor charging. The red light turned on. I pressed it to test the flash. I was pleasantly surprised to experience the pop of the flash, the room momentarily filled with white light.

“The flash works!”

So far so good.

I assembled the bracket, attached the F3 at the bottom of the MD-4, removed the cap from the corded flash port and screwed in the sync cable. Previously I had sourced the manual so I knew the steps in readying the flash gun. Our bedroom has a full length mirror so I took the camera over to it and focused, took my first picture with the F3/MD-4/SB-11.

I now have my own working copy!

Subsequently, I also sourced the cord, the SC-12 in order to do TTL (Through The Lens) metering.

With ASA 100, the SB-11 has a a guide number of 60 at 25 feet and 36 at 100 feet.

Now that is some seriously capable lighting.

When I write about my photography equipment, it is my intent to learn the operation and all of the terms and verbiage used to describe the function of my equipment. I do not write my pages as a review so to speak, even though I will review my own pages from time to time, I write about my experiences as an end user. I often re-vist what I wrote and update as I become more familiar. That’s my process and I enjoy all aspects of it.

In my case, I choose a few vintage 35mm Nikon SLR cameras and accessories. Here in Phoenix, AZ, we are a metropolitan area of 100 miles across and five million people. We have four stores that support analog film photography. Only one is a Nikon dealer. Their service department is excellent yet no longer supports much of the outdated equipment. Time is the greatest factor in the reduction of available equipment and support. Very few options for local service drive end users to online support. Almost all of my kit was produced before the internet so even the manufactures made decisions in supporting outdated equipment as they developed their own current online resource.

Often I turn to peer review, people such as myself or the professionals utilizing the equipment, writing about and offering their own experiences yet there is very little available on this particular flash. I am pleased to add to the limited content. Because of the limited availability, some of you may have noticed my inquiries about the SB-11.

The SB-11, it is one of a few Nikon produced companion flashes for the F3. My writing here is not a comparison to modern equipment or different manufactures flash guns. What you read here is my own experience and viewpoint as an amateur photographer and as an end user. I’ll include images of my own copies of the equipment and photography from using it.

The easily sourced online manual is good, the MIR online description of use is excellent too. I’m about an hour into research and 90% of what is available is “out of stock” or “sold” auctions. There just isn’t much about the SB-11 online. All of what is written is quite limited and a link to those articles are here.

The SB-11 is a (vintage) reporters bracket mounted flash. There is even less about the SB-14 which is a later compact version for the amateur and advanced photographer. The SB-11 contains 8 AA batteries within the handle, the SB-14 is a corded external C battery back powered bracket supported flash gun.

The SB-11 and the SB-14 both are powerful (at the time) flash guns that were available at the time.

I enjoy using period equipment for my photography, the F3 is my favorite film camera and I’m moving forward with it and the SB-11, I’ll use it this Friday night to photograph two events, let’s see how I do.