cheap flash to use off camera ?

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Name
Richard
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Hi
basic Q.
:bang:
can I buy off a well known auction site;), an 'older' model flash, even possibly for 35mm not dslr, and use this off camera, with either a cable and is it possible to remote an older flash with a wireless trigger.

I want to do some table top / photography in kitchen and have't got any flash at the mo and budgets are really tight, as we all know.

I dont mide having to use it wires and i wouldn't intend putting this on my Canon 350D, as i would probably exclusive use this for indoor 'still life' stuff.

any comments V welcome.
thanks in advance.
 
If you get one which doesn't have such a high trigger voltage that it'll fry your wireless triggers and has the necessary connectors for however you're triggering it (a shoe mount or some sort of sync socket) then it should be fine. You might also want to be able to manually set the power level which is probably something you'll have trouble finding cheaply, all the manual ones I've seen are well known items so the prices go fairly high.

You might be better off with something like a Yongnuo YN460.
 
Thanks, ill look into that model.

I just didn't want to get a £20 bargain and not be able to tigger it in any way, by lead or remote.

Also if I wants to 'side light' i didn't want to use my pop-up flash to trigger it. as I know on some model ( may be all I dont know ) when pop-up goes off, the speedlite trigger auto.
please comment if poss.
 
I've not heard of any old models of flash using optical triggering other than by having an add on optical trigger unit (though my knowledge is far from exhaustive). I'd expect any model that did to have an option to turn it off or you could do what I do with my cheap studio type lights and just cover the optical sensor up so they don't pick up the flash.

Some of the Yongnuo models have an option to use optical triggering but it's exactly that, an option.

Cheap wireless triggers are probably going to be the easiest option rather than wires, you'd have to get a wire that mounted on your camera's hotshoe which tend to cost more than the cheaper wireless triggers do.
 
I think the older Canon EZ range are safe, combined with a cheap ebay radio trigger should give results for ~£50.
 
I think the older Canon EZ range are safe, combined with a cheap ebay radio trigger should give results for ~£50.

I'd check out whether there's an option to disable the standby mode on old Canon speedlights - pretty sure there are a few that can't be altered.... just means you can't shoot instantly after a rest period...
 
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Canon 430EZ and Yongnu RF-602 triggers..

The 602s will wake the 430EZs from sleep mode, so no need to disable it. I've been using this set-up a while now (since the 602s came out), along with a couple of Yongnuos own cheap flash units. The 430EZs are solid and reliable, I think I picked my pair up for around £40/each.
 
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