Cheap Flash for 400D

PD_BARBS

PD_BARBS

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Peter Barber
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Hello Folks

I am looking for a cheap flash for a 400D, I realy don't want to spend a £150 on a canon speedlight, incase I don't use it. So I am looking for something that will do the job and is cheap.

I saw a Sunpak PF-30X for under £50, and just want to know if they are any good or would it be a waste of money, and what alternatives are available.


Thanks
 
If you can stretch I would seriously recommend the 430 EX II. I got a few days ago and am absolutely blown away at how well it exposes my images. My old flash had three settings, low, medium and nuke.

If you are worried you won't use it because of the quality then don't, this is something else. The feature list is good and there are no compatability issues.
 
A quick question from a complete lighting numpty, related to this thread. Is it possible to fire a 430 EX II manually without it being attached to a camera? I'm thinking of a long exposure (20-30 seconds), then firing the flash from a couple of different points around the subject while the shutter is open.
 
If you can stretch to a 430 EX I would. I was a similar quandary when I was looking for a flash (would I really use it) but luckily at the time I had a little money spare and Canon had a cash back off on speedlight so I bit the bullet and bought a 580 EX II .

The build quality of Canon flash is excellent and as an investment it's a one time only purchase, and I've been surprised at how often I do use it.


Yes Richard you can fire a Canon flash without it being attached to the camera, I intent to do just what your talking about, I just have to find an empty build in the right location for what I want to do.
 
Thanks for the responses. I may need to reconsider, I do find that I am using the built in flash more and more and it just isn't cutting it. So hence the desire for something better, but also don't want to throw money away on something I will regret.
 
RichardC27 said:
A quick question from a complete lighting numpty, related to this thread. Is it possible to fire a 430 EX II manually without it being attached to a camera? I'm thinking of a long exposure (20-30 seconds), then firing the flash from a couple of different points around the subject while the shutter is open.
Click to expand...

If you have your camera locked off on a tripod simply walk around with the flash in your hands. Press the pilot light to discharge the flash. This is called painting with light.

If you wish to control the flash from the camera then you will have to buy the Canon Speedlite ST-E2 which is an infra-red control module. This is about 130 quid so isn't cheap. You can also buy third party radio triggers which go from 15 quid for the cheap ebay ones to hundreds of pounds for the pocket wizards. What these lose you is the e-ttl capabilities of the flash (though with a bit of experience this doesn't really matter).

Good luck.
 
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