Beginner i'm looking for another flash any recommendations?

[Alex Pritchard]

i'm looking for another flash any recommendations? (canon)

Neewer® NW-561 Speedlite Flash is the one I'm currently using
amazon-(https://goo.gl/n5sq54) 1st result

 

[Deleted member 49428]

For what and for how much?
Godox WING 860II?

 

[Byker28i]

What do you want to do with it. Do you want canon or happy with another make. What features do you want? Do you mind secondhand?

I have a canon 580 ex2 bought new, a 430 and 420 bought secondhand and a pair of yungnuo cheap manual flashes,plus a bunch of wireless triggers.
I've bought these to do different things, light cars, home portraits etc.

So unless we know price range and your requirements it'll be hard to suggest models

 

[Alex Pritchard]

For what and for how much?
Godox WING 860II?

for my Canon Eos 700d, and id like to spend no more than £70

 

[Alex Pritchard]

What do you want to do with it. Do you want canon or happy with another make. What features do you want? Do you mind secondhand?

I have a canon 580 ex2 bought new, a 430 and 420 bought secondhand and a pair of yungnuo cheap manual flashes,plus a bunch of wireless triggers.
I've bought these to do different things, light cars, home portraits etc.

So unless we know price range and your requirements it'll be hard to suggest models

I'm happy with any make/model as long as its a trusted company eg. canon, Nikon, or 3rd party.
I'm looking to do water droplet photography, studio and outdoor work. I would need a good bright all around flash (with hss)
my current flash was a knock off from China (neewer) it does the job as a beginner. but I'm looking to move forward and my flash is what I've decided I need to upgrade next, so i can move foward and do more.
my current flash limits me to 1/200sec whereas that's fine for portraits i'd like something faster around 1/700sec or 1/1000sec so I can freeze fast moving objects like water falling.

 

[Alex Pritchard]

i was looking at some canon flashes but they're expensive (and I'm not employed still in education)

 

[Alex Pritchard]

For what and for how much?
Godox WING 860II?

I'm looking to spend no more than £70 - £80 if i can help it

anyway, thanks for the recommendation ill keep that flash in mind.

 

[DemiLion]

If you want to upgrade your flash, then your budget needs upgrading as well.

The Godox 860II is an excellent flash and hardly expensive at around £160.

 

[Alex Pritchard]

If you want to upgrade your flash, then your budget needs upgrading as well.

The Godox 860II is an excellent flash and hardly expensive at around £160.

ok https://goo.gl/bHWoFi is this the one

 

[Deleted member 49428]

The wing is a Li-Ion battery flash but there is the AA powered TT685 which is closer to your budget.
http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_TT685C.html

This is the Ving
http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_V860II.html

 

[Alex Pritchard]

The wing is a Li-Ion battery flash but there is the AA powered TT685 which is closer to your budget.
http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_TT685C.html

This is the Ving
http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_V860II.html

thanks, i'll get the
GODOX TT685C
its the closest to my budget and the specs look great!

and thanks to everyone else who helped, much appreciated.

(I know creativity is always over gear but having the right gear can sometimes help.)

 

[khakoo]

The wing is a Li-Ion battery flash but there is the AA powered TT685 which is closer to your budget.
http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_TT685C.html

This is the Ving
http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_V860II.html

You can get all the features and specification you want at your initial price, but possibly compromising on build quality, reliability, and control interface. if you're prepared to consider raising your budget, I thoroughly recommend the TT685C, whose praises I've sung on a similar thread (the C indicates Canon dedication, TT685N is Nikon compatible). As already stated, the Ving is the same except it uses a proprietary battery. That battery may outperform a set of AAs, but I didn't want lumbering with another charger and narrow-purpose batteries. Then once I had a chance to try it out, immediately bought another.

 

[khakoo]

thanks, i'll get the
GODOX TT685C
its the closest to my budget and the specs look great!

and thanks to everyone else who helped, much appreciated.

(I know creativity is always over gear but having the right gear can sometimes help.)

I see you made a decision while I was typing. You won't be disappointed!

 

[Alex Pritchard]

I see you made a decision while I was typing. You won't be disappointed!

haha saved you typing im gunu follow you all btw

 

[PhilH04]

Should be receiving a TT685C today... purchased despite owning a 580EX and a MT-24EX. I have been expanding my portable lighting setup and have upgraded the triggers on my Safari 2's to 2.4Ghz, have purchased an AD200...The TT685 fits right in there nicely for a good price.

 

[Phil V]

Should be receiving a TT685C today... purchased despite owning a 580EX and a MT-24EX. I have been expanding my portable lighting setup and have upgraded the triggers on my Safari 2's to 2.4Ghz, have purchased an AD200...The TT685 fits right in there nicely for a good price.

Just bought a TT685
upgraded the triggers on my Safari 2 and Godox monoblocks to 2.4Ghz
have purchased an AD200

Now need to sell my AD360, Yongnuo triggers and flashes , then buy a couple more Godox speedlights.

 

[Deleted member 49428]

Im really lusting for some AD200's myself, just need the last GAS inducing comments and feedback on how amazing they are Im not sure Ill Sell my 360 though even if its gonna live a more withdrawn life.

 

[Mrg]

I have just bought the Pika200 which is a UK rebranded version of the Godox AD200. I have only been using it for a few days but am really happy with the results.. The reason I bought from PixPro? It is a few pounds cheaper than the Godox and comes with a 2 year UK warranty. Godox doesn't have a good reputation when it comes to customer service, which is another reason why I bought from PixPro based in the west midlands. Here are a few shots taken with the AD200/Pika200. I used a 24" collapsible beauty dish for the shot of my mother.

 

[Faldrax]

My current flash limits me to 1/200sec whereas that's fine for portraits i'd like something faster around 1/700sec or 1/1000sec so I can freeze fast moving objects like water falling.

When using flash, it is the flash duration, not the shutter speed, that freezes motion.

The actual flash pulse is very short, the maximum shutter speed (ignoring HSS for the moment) - referred to as the maximum synch speed, is actually dependant on your camera, rather than the flash.

The reason for this is the way the camera shutter works, and how high mechanical shutter speeds are achieved.
The shutter consists of 2 'curtains' - you start with the first closed, and the second open.
When you take a shot, the first curtain opens to expose the sensor, then the second curtain closes to stop the exposure.
Since these are mechanical operations, they take time to occur.
For higher shutter speeds, this means that the second curtain actually starts closing before the first curtain has fully opened - so the whole sensor is only partially exposed at any given instant.
The Max synch speed (1/200s in your case) is the maximum speed at which the first curtain is fully open before the second curtain starts to close (plus a small margin).

HSS works by the flash firing a lot of lower power flashes very quickly - so that even though the sensor is never fully exposed, the multiple flashes ensure that the whole sensor sees the scene illuminated by a flash.

The downside of HSS is that while you can have a much higher shutter speed, the flash power has to be significantly reduced (so the flash can fire lots of times very rapidly).

 

[RichardMills]

I really like the YongNuo YN-560 III. Use mine all the time.

 

[Deleted member 49428]

I really like the YongNuo YN-560 III. Use mine all the time.

While the Yongnou speedlights may be great value and effective at what they do I would never look at a speedlights only brand (again)
Offcource one may never need another flash but who knows in 6 months studio like portraits, more powerfull lights and big modifiers may be IT.

 

[IanD]

I have a Canon G1X which I use for taking trophy shots whilst fishing. I asked a friend who previously worked for Amateur Photographer, and he recommended a Nissin flash, which I bought and have not been disappointed with

 

[f/2.8]

Im really lusting for some AD200's myself, just need the last GAS inducing comments and feedback on how amazing they are Im not sure Ill Sell my 360 though even if its gonna live a more withdrawn life.

Do it I got one delivered the other day and straight away went and ordered a second really great bit of kit so flexible in terms of use.

Got mine from Lencarta. I am in the process of switching all of my lighting over to Godox.

 

[Alex Pritchard]

When using flash, it is the flash duration, not the shutter speed, that freezes motion.

The actual flash pulse is very short, the maximum shutter speed (ignoring HSS for the moment) - referred to as the maximum synch speed, is actually dependant on your camera, rather than the flash.

The reason for this is the way the camera shutter works, and how high mechanical shutter speeds are achieved.
The shutter consists of 2 'curtains' - you start with the first closed, and the second open.
When you take a shot, the first curtain opens to expose the sensor, then the second curtain closes to stop the exposure.
Since these are mechanical operations, they take time to occur.
For higher shutter speeds, this means that the second curtain actually starts closing before the first curtain has fully opened - so the whole sensor is only partially exposed at any given instant.
The Max synch speed (1/200s in your case) is the maximum speed at which the first curtain is fully open before the second curtain starts to close (plus a small margin).

HSS works by the flash firing a lot of lower power flashes very quickly - so that even though the sensor is never fully exposed, the multiple flashes ensure that the whole sensor sees the scene illuminated by a flash.

The downside of HSS is that while you can have a much higher shutter speed, the flash power has to be significantly reduced (so the flash can fire lots of times very rapidly).

yeah, i know this already it's my current cheap flash that limits me. not my camera, my camera the Canon Eos 700d can go up to 1/4000sec

here's an excellent video on youtube by the slomoguys that explains shutter duration very well. he uses the next camera up from mine the Canon Eos 70d. its a great video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmjeCchGRQo&t=10s

 

[Deleted member 49428]

yeah, i know this already it's my current cheap flash that limits me. not my camera, my camera the Canon Eos 700d can go up to 1/4000sec

here's an excellent video on youtube by the slomoguys that explains shutter duration very well. he uses the next camera up from mine the Canon Eos 70d. its a great video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmjeCchGRQo&t=10s

If available on your camera you could use HSS with the TT685 though that eats up power as in "GN" fast.

 

[Alex Pritchard]

If available on your camera you could use HSS with the TT685 though that eats up power as in "GN" fast.

unfortunately my camera doesn't support hss on its own but can support it with a transmitter.

 

[Phil V]

unfortunately my camera doesn't support hss on its own but can support it with a transmitter.

Your camera supports HSS, but not the internal flash. Any HSS enabled flash or transmitter is supported by your camera, it’s not a Nikon

You still haven’t really explained why you need HSS, freezing drops of liquid doesn’t need it (in fact HSS would mess them up) HSS is generally used to balance with bright light.

 

[Alex Pritchard]

Your camera supports HSS, but not the internal flash. Any HSS enabled flash or transmitter is supported by your camera, it’s not a Nikon

You still haven’t really explained why you need HSS, freezing drops of liquid doesn’t need it (in fact HSS would mess them up) HSS is generally used to balance with bright light.

other than freezing things I'd use hss and hsf to do paintball photography or airsoft...

it’s not a Nikon...sligh lol i almost read over that haha

 

[Deleted member 49428]

Gavin Hoey has some good video tutorials on the Adorama youtube channel. One of them is about freaking (Edit: no freezing ) water droplets.

 

[Faldrax]

yeah, i know this already it's my current cheap flash that limits me. not my camera, my camera the Canon Eos 700d can go up to 1/4000sec

You've misunderstood what I've written.

When using flash as the light source, it is the Flash Duration that matters, not the shutter speed, when it comes to freezing motion.

Your shutter speed might be 1/200, but if the Flash duration is 1/2000 (as an example, the actual duration will depend on the individual flash and power settings), then the motion will be frozen as if you took a shot with a shutter speed of 1/2000 - because it's dark the rest of the time!

As Phil said, HSS is when you have lots of ambient light (such as outside on a bright day), and so need a high shutter speed - not to freeze action, but to avoid overexposure in the parts of image lit by ambient.
To provide fill flash, you then need to use HSS to get even illumination.

 

[Alex Pritchard]

You've misunderstood what I've written.

When using flash as the light source, it is the Flash Duration that matters, not the shutter speed, when it comes to freezing motion.

Your shutter speed might be 1/200, but if the Flash duration is 1/2000 (as an example, the actual duration will depend on the individual flash and power settings), then the motion will be frozen as if you took a shot with a shutter speed of 1/2000 - because it's dark the rest of the time!

As Phil said, HSS is when you have lots of ambient light (such as outside on a bright day), and so need a high shutter speed - not to freeze action, but to avoid overexposure in the parts of image lit by ambient.
To provide fill flash, you then need to use HSS to get even illumination.

yeah, i didn't reed at another message right.
I know that its the flash that can freeze the subject. this is the reason I'm looking for a new and better flash that's faster than my current flash which maxes out at 1/200sec
ill be getting the GODOX TT685C
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TT685C-Cam...&ie=UTF8&qid=1515187183&sr=1-1&keywords=TT685

 

[PhilH04]

yeah, i didn't reed at another message right.
I know that its the flash that can freeze the subject. this is the reason I'm looking for a new and better flash that's faster than my current flash which maxes out at 1/200sec

I believe you are still misunderstanding flash duration, I am sure even with your current flash the duration will be a lot shorter than 1/200th, typically at full power flash durations are around 1/1000th second (not always mind, just typically) as you reduce power this duration generally will get shorter.

It appears you are confusing synch speed with flash duration. High speed synch is something completely different...

 

[Alex Pritchard]

I believe you are still misunderstanding flash duration, I am sure even with your current flash the duration will be a lot shorter than 1/200th, typically at full power flash durations are around 1/1000th second (not always mind, just typically) as you reduce power this duration generally will get shorter.

It appears you are confusing synch speed with flash duration. High speed sync is something completely different...

999% confused
can you send a video link explaining this has Adorama or frow knows photos done any videos explaining this? i wouldn't know what to search for to find video myself.

 

[Phil V]

yeah, i didn't reed at another message right.
I know that its the flash that can freeze the subject. this is the reason I'm looking for a new and better flash that's faster than my current flash which maxes out at 1/200sec
ill be getting the GODOX TT685C
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TT685C-Cam...&ie=UTF8&qid=1515187183&sr=1-1&keywords=TT685

The flash is great, but please understand you don’t need HSS for freezing motion.
As I said earlier, HSS will probably create a worse image, as it’s a longer flash duration of pulsing light that lasts for the whole of the shutter travel.

In a dark room you can have a shutter speed of 1 sec and your current speed light close to your subject will give a crisp image.
The shutter speed is irrelevant as Phil says.

The other (more important) point being that for best results you want your flash off camera (getting triggers might be more beneficial than a new flash)

 

[Alex Pritchard]

The flash is great, but please understand you don’t need HSS for freezing motion.
As I said earlier, HSS will probably create a worse image, as it’s a longer flash duration of pulsing light that lasts for the whole of the shutter travel.

In a dark room you can have a shutter speed of 1 sec and your current speed light close to your subject will give a crisp image.
The shutter speed is irrelevant as Phil says.

The other (more important) point being that for best results you want your flash off camera (getting triggers might be more beneficial than a new flash)

ah ok. so what would be the best hss trigger in my case? i had a quick look on Amazon (Amazon is my preferred seller). and thiss is what i found (based on 1 review its 5*)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pixel-Wire...sr=1-7&keywords=high+speed+sync+flash+trigger

 

[PhilH04]

You only need HSS (High Speed Synch) if you are using higher shutter speeds in brighter ambient light it will not help 'freeze' motion as the flash pulses over the period that the shutter curtains are doing their business, you need a short flash duration to freeze motion...

HSS will probably not help in your other scenarios either....

If I wanted to freeze a water drop, work in a darkened room, shutter speed is not important, but I would set around 1/125 just to kill any ambient light there may be and use my flash on a lower power setting in order to get a short flash duration, it is that that will freeze your water drop, not your shutter speed... i.e. HSS not needed.

If I was shooting say paintball in bright sun and wanted to shoot with a narrow DoF hence a wide aperture and a shorter shutter speed (lets say an exposure of 1/1000 @ f2.8) because of the shutter speed is now above your 'normal' synch speed you would then enable HSS.

You obviously need triggers if going for off camera flash and if buying the Godox flash all you need is a Godox transmitter (the flash has built in wireless)

 

[Alex Pritchard]

You only need HSS (High Speed Synch) if you are using higher shutter speeds in brighter ambient light it will not help 'freeze' motion as the flash pulses over the period that the shutter curtains are doing their business, you need a short flash duration to freeze motion...

HSS will probably not help in your other scenarios either....

If I wanted to freeze a water drop, work in a darkened room, shutter speed is not important, but I would set around 1/125 just to kill any ambient light there may be and use my flash on a lower power setting in order to get a short flash duration, it is that that will freeze your water drop, not your shutter speed... i.e. HSS not needed.

If I was shooting say paintball in bright sun and wanted to shoot with a narrow DoF hence a wide aperture and a shorter shutter speed (lets say an exposure of 1/1000 @ f2.8) because of the shutter speed is now above your 'normal' synch speed you would then enable HSS.

You obviously need triggers if going for off camera flash and if buying the Godox flash all you need is a Godox transmitter (the flash has built in wireless)

ok. i know what you mean. godox make there own sink but do you think it would it be better to buy a 3rd party one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Godox-8000...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XQ2B9F1QSMVEH5WJAM1B
the main reason i want this new flash is to do paintball and or airsoft photography where ill freeze the paintball midair I think Adorama did a video on this. and i don't live far from a place that does paintball so... that's one benefit dont have to travel far so
if i did mess up somehow... not that i ... nevermind.

 

[PhilH04]

ok. i know what you mean. godox make there own sink but do you think it would it be better to buy a 3rd party one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Godox-8000...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XQ2B9F1QSMVEH5WJAM1B
the main reason i want this new flash is to do paintball and or airsoft photography where ill freeze the paintball midair I think Adorama did a video on this. and i don't live far from a place that does paintball so... that's one benefit dont have to travel far so
if i did mess up somehow... not that i ... nevermind.

Godox... stick with Godox... HSS will not help to freeze your paintball, only a very short flash duration will do that!!!!

 

[chris malcolm]

yeah, i didn't reed at another message right.
I know that its the flash that can freeze the subject. this is the reason I'm looking for a new and better flash that's faster than my current flash which maxes out at 1/200sec
ill be getting the GODOX TT685C
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TT685C-Cam...&ie=UTF8&qid=1515187183&sr=1-1&keywords=TT685

It's not your flash which maxes out at 1/200th sec. It's your camera. The flash duration is very much shorter. The 1/200th sec is the minimum shutter duration your camera can provide which has an interval in the middle at which the shutter is fully open and during which the flash can fire. That's a limitation of your camera's shutter design. Iris-type shutters, rarely found in DSLRs, can flash sync at much higher speeds. Whether that 1/200th sec limitation of your camera matters for motion freezing depends on how much proportion of the image exposure comes from the ambient (non-flash) light. For water drop photography it's easy enough to make the ambient light contribution negligible.

 

[Deleted member 49428]

ok. i know what you mean. godox make there own sink but do you think it would it be better to buy a 3rd party one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Godox-8000...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XQ2B9F1QSMVEH5WJAM1B
the main reason i want this new flash is to do paintball and or airsoft photography where ill freeze the paintball midair I think Adorama did a video on this. and i don't live far from a place that does paintball so... that's one benefit dont have to travel far so
if i did mess up somehow... not that i ... nevermind.

Not sure at all but i think youll need something more powerfull than a speedlight for that. To get the Short exposure time using the flash youll have to turn down the power so the flash duration is only e.g. 1/4000 sec or faster. Youll need an apperture small enough to darken the ambient so your Main exposure of the paintball/waterdroplet is the 1/4000 sec at f/xx meaning your 1/200sec shutterspeed will effective lead to underexposure of the ambient light. Your shutter only task is to leave All of your sensor exposed to the flash (flashsync speed)