Flash?

[paul911]

I know didley squat about flash photography, but fancy having a play. I’d like to have a go at taking some decent family portraits, and maybe some off camera stuff.

Camera: Cannon 50D
Budget: Couple of hundred quid, but aware of the more you spend… bla bla...

Basically what do I need to buy?

Many thanks
Paul

[andy-xr]

Aaaaa-aaaaaaaaaar

Cheap and cheerful heads would make sense. They'll probably break but at roughly the same cost as a branded speedlight theyre worth considering

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Portrait-Photogra...

[paul911]

andy-xr said:

Aaaaa-aaaaaaaaaar

Sorry

Hmmm I hadn’t even thought of a complete home kit, more towards a single flash. Both are around the same money. So would the lighting kit be the best option then?

[JJM]

Hi Paul

After months of research I bought the 580ex ii this week and am very pleased (I could not decided on whether to get the 430or the 580).

For your budget you could get the 430 which is meant to be very good.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-4...


Cheers,

Jon

[Kermit power]

I recently bought a Yonguo (sp?) YN460 flash off Amazon to go with my 450D.

OK, it's never going to match the capabilities or build quality of my 580 EX ii, but it tilts and swivels, has a wide angle diffuser and a catchlight screen, eTTL and manual control, plus fires up rapidly enough.

It's not beautiful, but if you're using it off camera, you'll be able to see what power you've set it at from the other side of a field in bright daylight as the LED display burns itself into your retinas.

The real clincher, though, is that at £40 including p&p, you could get something like 8 of these for the price of Canon's high end flashes, and having both, I wouldn't say there's anything like 8 times the difference.

At that price, you can just try it, and if you don't like it, flog it on Ebay, and you'll hardly have lost a penny.

[paul911]

Thanks JJM the 430EX was about the price I was expecting to pay, but think KPs idea of a much cheaper Yongou (!) may work better particularly at a throw away (ish) price of £40! So I’ll get that one and see how I get on.

Many thanks for the input chaps.

[SamHH]

I'd buy a proper Canon compatible E-TTL (i.e. auto metering) flash like the 430EX. Having a fully manual flash is OK when someone's patiently posing for you and you've got plenty of time, but you'll probably find yourself wishing for something a bit easier in other situations.

[xrrr]

You also need some way of getting it off camera and softening the light. You could bounce onto a white wall or ceiling but a reflector or umbrella is what you need. After months of faffing I caved in and bought a sync cable and umbrella kit - £130 for the pair.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-lastolite-off-...
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-lastolite-100c...

If you don't want to fork out for the brolly or you want to be more portable and you have someone to hold them then you would be able to get away with bouncing off a reflector.

I have this one:
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-lastolite-stan...

[Pixel-Snapper]

Paul, Kerso is your man if you want a flash....

I recently got a 430ex mk2 for the cheapest I could find anywhere, and delievered pretty much next day.

Would recommend him to anyone if they dont know already.

Edited by Pixel-Snapper on Friday 10th September 14:13

[MartinP]

Starting with the 'throw away' 40 quid one would be a good start so long as it has a means of manually adjusting the output level. If you really get into off camera flash you'll still be able to use it as part of a multi flash set up.

All you need to know about off camera flash is here: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101....

[Kermit power]

SamHH said:

I'd buy a proper Canon compatible E-TTL (i.e. auto metering) flash like the 430EX. Having a fully manual flash is OK when someone's patiently posing for you and you've got plenty of time, but you'll probably find yourself wishing for something a bit easier in other situations.

That's a good point. I've already got a 580 EX ii, so I'll only ever be using my Yongnuo as an off camera manual unit, but if you want to combine dirt cheap with eTTL, there's also a Yongnuo YN465 which has eTTL for £55.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Speedlight-Spee...

[paul911]

Many thanks for the input all, muchly appreciated. I originally had in mind a single flash (camera and off camera use). And gave a fair bit of thought to andy-xr suggestion of a dedicated lighting kit. But recon I would use the kit one or twice and not bother again (me being me). A single flash unit in my mind would get more use. So considered the cheaper £40 job but the thought of “you pay for what you get” adage sort of pushed me into purchasing a 430EX II. New from Kerso £185. Hope I’ve made the right decision (think I have). I can also get a 3.6m TTL off-camera cord new from TP for £18. Just need to look further into lighting umbrella or soft box now. But considering xrrr suggestion, as it seems to have rave reviews?

Many thanks all

[muppetdave]

paul911 said:

New from Kerso £185. Hope I’ve made the right decision (think I have).

Be incredibly surprised if you're disappointed with Kerso - top chap and I've bought quite a bit from him. I'm on a 430 as well (bought elsewhere - in fact it cost me nothing ), with a view that when I properly get sorted off camera I'll buy a 580 to act as a master flash for multi-flash setups.