Mini slave with manual adjustable output?

So I want to buy a cheap mini slave to throw in my bag for impromptu OCF. The problem is that I can't find what I'm looking for for less than $50. The mini slaves that I find are all fixed-output. From there, I get into the $30 to $50 cheapo hot-shoe flash units. Many of those have some outstanding features like zoom heads, auto-exposure , focus assist beams, tilt, and swivel. But again, none with manual adjustment of flash output. It's not until I get to the $100 mark that I can find a flash that has manual adjustment (ie 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, etc.) which is what I'm really after and those of course have all of the other features as well.

It seems to me that all of those other features are more expensive to produce than a simply slide switch that steps down the output of the flash and I'm sure that I'm not the only person ever wanting such a thing. I just need a simple, battery powered slave flash like the morris mini slaves but with the ability to reduce the output manually for less than $50.

Does anyone here know of such a thing?

Don't the 285 or 283 have manual power adjustments? Buy them used for much less than $100.

Yes, I have an old vivitar 283 and it has manual mode. I have a flash zebra optical slave on it and it fires everytime for me. You can find these 283's and 285's on ebay for cheap.

http://cgi.ebay.com …ashes&hash=item​53e55afa8c

Although I understand EXACTLY where you're coming from, I believe you will eventually find good use for the zoom/tilt/swivel features, at not much additional cost.

So another +1 here for used 283's / 383's w/ Zebra cables and inexpensive radio slaves. (In fact I just bought a set right here on POTN for this very purpose.)

Also, invest in (good) rechargeable AA batteries - you WILL be glad you did.

http://cgi.ebay.com …ashes&hash=item​43a33a61da Might be on the edge of your price range, but its got full controls.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11541697
http://cgi.ebay.com …ashes&hash=item​43a33a61da Might be on the edge of your price range, but its got full controls.

Someone posted an amazon link for same flash for $60.

klynam wrote in post #11541664
Although I understand EXACTLY where you're coming from, I believe you will eventually find good use for the zoom/tilt/swivel features, at not much additional cost.

So another +1 here for used 283's / 383's w/ Zebra cables and inexpensive radio slaves. (In fact I just bought a set right here on POTN for this very purpose.)

Also, invest in (good) rechargeable AA batteries - you WILL be glad you did.

That was my first thought, but then again, the thing will be on a light stand and adapter of course which already has tilt and swivel. What I really want is the slave built in rather than using an adapter or controller. The zoom would be partially convenient but wouldn't give me anything I couldn't do any other way. I was just curious if there was anything out there with this set of features. With all the other crap and many duplicated products you would think this combination would come up somewhere.

I do have plenty of good rechargeable batteries and a very nice Sunpak PZ42X with an E-TTL cable. I'm just looking for an inexpensive flexible option to have available if I need it and I don't want to spend extra money for features that I don't need for that purpose.

I'll have to check out these used Vivitars mentioned here, but the "flash speedlight" link is to a flash that doesn't appear to have slave capability. I'm thinking I need to design my own product if no one else is going to do it!

kfreels wrote in post #11542683
What I really want is the slave built in rather than using an adapter or controller...I'm thinking I need to design my own product if no one else is going to do it!

Maybe I don't understand...don't most of these flashes have small built in slave/sensors to trigger the flash? If not, I certainly agree that would be helpful.

Personally, I'd like low-profile flashes (like the old Metz MZ-40) that put the source nearer to the center of the umbrella rather than sticking up 4-5 inches. I don't know, maybe that doesn't really matter much...

klynam wrote in post #11543560
Maybe I don't understand...don't most of these flashes have small built in slave/sensors to trigger the flash? If not, I certainly agree that would be helpful.

Personally, I'd like low-profile flashes (like the old Metz MZ-40) that put the source nearer to the center of the umbrella rather than sticking up 4-5 inches. I don't know, maybe that doesn't really matter much...

No. It looks like I have three choices - Flash with manual adjustment and no slave, flash with slave and no manual adjustment, or spend a bunch of money. My PZ42X doesn't have a slave function. Canon speedlights do but only work with a mouch more expensive master. I can use radio wireless transceivers and increase the number of pieces I need to deal with as well. But these less expensive models around the $100 mark and less don't have slaves until you get to the small units that don't have manual control. Those go down to $20. It really seems to be a gaping hole in the product market.

kfreels wrote in post #11542683
That was my first thought, but then again, the thing will be on a light stand and adapter of course which already has tilt and swivel. What I really want is the slave built in rather than using an adapter or controller. The zoom would be partially convenient but wouldn't give me anything I couldn't do any other way. I was just curious if there was anything out there with this set of features. With all the other crap and many duplicated products you would think this combination would come up somewhere.

I do have plenty of good rechargeable batteries and a very nice Sunpak PZ42X with an E-TTL cable. I'm just looking for an inexpensive flexible option to have available if I need it and I don't want to spend extra money for features that I don't need for that purpose.

I'll have to check out these used Vivitars mentioned here, but the "flash speedlight" link is to a flash that doesn't appear to have slave capability. I'm thinking I need to design my own product if no one else is going to do it!

If you are referring the link I posted it clearly says it has two slave modes. one for regular slave mode and one that accomdates the canon preflash

gonzogolf wrote in post #11544014
If you are referring the link I posted it clearly says it has two slave modes. one for regular slave mode and one that accomdates the canon preflash

Actually I was referring to some other flashes in general. The flash that you linked to is about twice what I was expecting to pay for the usage, but since no one seems to make what I want I think I'll go ahead and plan to spend a bit more and get something more versatile. The flash you linked to looks very nice and seems to be an ideal unit for a secondary light and for backup in case my primary fails. Do you have any experience with this brand? I've never heard of them.

You missed the best sale ever earlier this year:
http://www.hcfx.com …a-ttl-digital-zoom-flash/

I bought 6 of them and they are great....

Here's the link to my post in Market Watch on the YN560's for ~$60 at Amazon. There seems to be some concern over the reseller, but I've already ordered myself a few days ago, so if you can wait it out a few days it might be cost effective for you.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=978517

kfreels wrote in post #11545355
Actually I was referring to some other flashes in general. The flash that you linked to is about twice what I was expecting to pay for the usage, but since no one seems to make what I want I think I'll go ahead and plan to spend a bit more and get something more versatile. The flash you linked to looks very nice and seems to be an ideal unit for a secondary light and for backup in case my primary fails. Do you have any experience with this brand? I've never heard of them.

Just do a search here for YN flashes and you will find some reviews. They were developed to fill a niche created by the strobist movement. As for them not fitting your budget, you have some pretty high expectations for your price point.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11553533
Just do a search here for YN flashes and you will find some reviews. They were developed to fill a niche created by the strobist movement. As for them not fitting your budget, you have some pretty high expectations for your price point.

I went ahead and ordered one from Amazon. We'll see how it goes. The price is excellent for the capabilities advertised. If i needed all of the features on it I would pay twice as much. The only features I really need though are an optical slave and a manual adjustment and I really didn't think that $50 would be too much to ask for such a device.

Doesn't matter though. If this flash works, that will be a much better value.