I just picked up a D850 with a 24-120. Looking for a decent flash to go with it.

I’ve been away from photography since high school with my old SLR and looking to get back into it for family photos and what not.

Any advice is appreciated, any other equipment I should look to get, or whatever.

Thanks.

Godox is cheap, decent and everywhere.


I prefer off camera flash to on camera.   I would say Godox trigger, AD200, stand and softbox.  I use cheap ankle weight things to hold it still when it's windy.

Buy once, cry once. You cant go wrong with Nikon, and it was engineered to be fully compatible. I havent been a camera gear junkie for a lot of years now. I have what is now probably a dinosaur SB800 and it works every bit as good as the day I bought it many years ago.

Godox or Flashpoint. Same product, flashpoint is just US/Adorama branded.

Bang for your buck is the AD200/AD200 Pro.

I have Godox for my d850.

SB800 (discontinued by Nikon) is a good choice if you want to really learn how to use a flash, including bounce flash, backlight flash, multiple flash etc. Buying two SB800's is recommended, both can communicate with each other and the camera for TTL (Through The Lens) exposure on various lighting setups.
SB400 (discontinued by Nikon) is the best option if you just want a flash that works like a camera built in flash. It's small, light and takes 2 AA batteries (recommend rechargeable enerloops), decently powerful for it's size. Other small Nikon flashes often use AAA batteries with less power and fewer flashes.
SB-5000, Godox AD200 etc are for when you have already learned what flash can do to improve your indoor studio and outdoor macro pictures; I doubt you would be asking the question if these would be the best for you.
SB-800 and SB-400 can be purchased used off ebay, or B&H Photo etc. There is an SB-400 and one, two SB-800's available now in the used section at B&H.
Edit to add: Try to get a manual if you pick the SB-800 flash as it can be problematic trying to correctly configure the flash for some lighting setups.