Help with S80 flash choice

[bamboomer]

I need to get a flash to supplement the built in on my Canon S80. Wondering which way to go, HF-DC1 from Canon or perhaps one from a third party that would be compatible. I've seen mentioned a METZ 28CS-2 and a Vivatar DF120.

Does anyone know if there are others i should look at. If anyone has an S80 or similar P&S and a slave flash i would love to hear your experience with it.

I have to take some indoor shots in a large room of about 8-10 people doing some theatrics. My S80 doesn't have enough umpth so i need to add to it. I'll graciously take any advice on using this camera to get the best flash shots as i can. I've never been very successful taking flash shots... either too far away and dark or too close and washed out.

thanks!

[JustShootin']

Can't speak for the Metz, but I did have the Canon HF-DC1 for my S2, and was not impresssed at all. I kept it too long to return it and ended up selling it on ebay. It gave some exrta power okay, but the lack of control was bad news. The settings were Low, med and high. Getting proper exposure seemed to be mostly guesswork. I have to agree with tgelston that you would probably be better off to get a Vivitar 283 or 285, and a slave trigger. That way you would have all the control in the world, providing your camera has a complete manual mode.