best flash for general use and macro

[The_Camera_Poser]

Hi all, I'm buying a macro rig for my wife, and I'm looking into getting a flash to go with it. It'll go on a delta arm. Please bear in mind that I'm a teacher, and POOR!

What would the best flash be for macro and also general use, on a budget? I was thinking of a Sigma 500 Super, but they seem to get panned in reviews.

Thanks all!

[Lightstream]

Seriously? The best low-cost (remember: LOW COST) macro flash I have ever come across is the popup flash. No joking. I use this combo with my EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro a lot.

The popup casts a very broad, smooth swath of light that will more than cover your macro subject. The primary complaint about the popup arises when it is used at normal working ranges and casts hard shadows behind the subject. You can mitigate this at macro ranges, especially since your popup flash surface area is much larger relative to the subject. For even more diffusion, tissue paper works just fine.

Yes, the light is relatively 'flat' but then again, this is ALSO an issue even with specialized macro ringlights like the MR-14EX. Lots of folks have commented on the flat lighting produced by this US$450 flash system - so, not a whole lot of difference here!

MR-14EX:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=MR-14ex&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

Give the popup a try. Won't cost you anything.. :)

The standard hotshoe flashes are good for general use but not for macro. I find that in macro you want a light that has LESS clearance between the flash head and the lens. Hotshoe flashes tend to sit very far up and do not cast enough light downwards onto your subject. For a general purpose flashgun I recommend the 430EX. I shoot events with this and power is almost never an issue ("If you're running your flash at max power all the time you ARE doing something wrong")

[Jim M]

Almost any ETTL flash with an off-shoe ETTL cord will make macro flash very easy. I normally hand hold my flash, often with the head right against the lens barrel, but being able to move the flash wherever you want it nice. However, as was noted before, the built in pop-up flash will do a credible job as long as the camera is held in a horizontal "landscape" orientation. If the camera is tilted up to a vertical "portrait" orientation, the flash will be coming from the side, although this is not always a bad thing. The only negative about ETTL, whether the camera pop-up or external, is that the preflash that determines the exposure, while rarely seen by us, will sometimes make animals flinch or jump. Birds often flinch (not macro, though) and I have sometimes seen it with lizards and frogs. Overall, the risk of a flinch does not outweigh the convenience of ETTL.

[The_Camera_Poser]

Thanks guys! You may have saved me some serious $$$$!