Good non-ETTL plash

[bnpndxtr]

I'm looking for comments on a good powerful, economical, non-ETTL flash for the 10D. I have used the built-in autoexposure/thyristor models and really don't need anything fancier than that. My old model is a non-Canon type so I'm looking for a good autoflash that has a guide number of at leat 100, swivel tilt head, probably three auto exposure modes, voltage safe for the 10D. I've looked at the popular voltage saftey web sites, and there are scads of models listed there. So I'd like to skip to the chase- Could anyone share info about an autoflash that they are tickled with on the 10D, and what model is it? Thanks!

[PrimoFelis]

bnpndxtr wrote:
I'm looking for comments on a good powerful, economical, non-ETTL flash for the 10D. I have used the built-in autoexposure/thyristor models and really don't need anything fancier than that.
...

I feel the same way about E-TTL. For MY use, manual and auto flashes are fine, in some ways probably better. The instant feedback you can get on a DSLR makes all the difference...

I'm not sure if this will be a good flash for you, but I have a Sunpak Auto 555 (a.k.a. G4500DX), and I like it a lot. It is a grip-type versatile flash that I bought for wedding shoot some years back, and it is working fine with DRebel. I forget the price, but I'm sure it's not that expensive, especially compared to Canon speedlites.

The stated GN is 150 (@ISO100/ft) with the default coverage of 35mm. (This is for a full frame sensor. It would be equivalent to about 22mm for the 10D sensor). Provisions exist for attaching tele/wide "diffusion" panels, available separately. One of those I have is for a 20mm full-size sensor coverage, which is about 12.5mm equivalent on a 10D.

It has a swivel & tilt head, has 7 auto exposure levels and 7 manual levels. Runs on 6AA or a high voltage power source. Being a grip-type flash it is a bit on the heavy side, though.

WARNING: The trigger voltage. Mine measured 7.12V, although I see that a few others reported slightly lower voltages as you see on the Botzilla.com website, earning a "Your Call" rating there.

http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

For many I'm sure this is a reason enough for an instant disqualification, so I do want to emphasize it. And I'd agree that avoiding it would be the safest thing to do. But FOR MYSELF I'm not worried. And here are my reasons:

For one thing, personally, I'm a bit skeptical about the often-quoted 6V maximum as an accurate figure based on real engineering facts. The figure seems too low a voltage to be credible, at least to me. The figure is often attributed to Canon USA, but I wonder if the figure didn't come from somewhere other than the Canon Engineering department in Japan. (Marketing...?)

For another , the actual voltage my DRebel sees is about 0.6V lower because of a diode inside the flash cord that I'm using for connection. So if I were really worried, I could easily insert another diode in series to make it