In article <55rraj$ntq@comet3.magicnet.net>, jbh@magicnet.net says...
>funfeit@his.com (Todd Feit) wrote:

>>I have been using a Nikon N90S with a SB26 and the quality of light
>>that this flash produces is not very appealing for portraits.

> First off, the Sunpak is somewhat less powerful than the SB-26. IMHO
>it's just barely enough power for workable barebulb flash for medium
>format, but will work much better for 35mm simply because you can use
>a wider aperture for the same effective DOF.
> Barebulb flash isn't quite what so many think it is. The _quality_
>of light obtained from a barebulb entirely depends on surroundings; if
>you're in a small room with light walls and ceiling, barebulb can
>result in rather soft light, but otoh if you're in a huge room or
>outdoors barebulb results in a very harsh, point-source light.
> Before investing in a new flash I'd strongly recommend that you look
>into make the apparent light source from your SB-26 bigger; try using
>a _big_ bounce card, Westcott Mini-Apollo or something of that sort.
>The key to softer light from an on-camera flash is to make the
>apparent source bigger, and the bigger the softer.
> Also, before getting into softboxes etc, if you're not using bounce
>flash if at all possible you're doing it the hard way. It's been years
>since I pointed an on-camera flash directly at a person.

The above is excellent advice, to which I would add:
Try a medium-size white styrofoam cup placed over the upturned
flash head - this works remarkably well for closeup flash shooting,
allows placing the light source above the lens in vertical photos,
and gets rid of some power, making fast-film/wide-aperture/close-up
TTL shooting possible with the powerful SB-24/5/6 flashes. (The one disadvantage is having to constantly answer the question, "What's
the cup for?" ;-) Also, using a wide aperture and a slowish shutter
speed often permits mixing flash and available light, for a more
natural look (think of what everything in a room would look like
if illuminated only by a lightbulb parked next to your ear, with
or without a reflector....;-).
Hope This Helps