Cheaper alternatives to 430EX II and suggestions for flash photography

I am looking for cheaper alternative to 430EX II flash. Any recommendations please? Is flash better investment to improve photography than Tripod.

I am getting underexpose pics with on camera flash. I have to pull them up a lot in DPP.

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There are very good reviews for yongnuo flashes on Amazon. Wondering which one is similar to
430ex II.

I just got a YN568EX II for about $185. It has all the same functions and feature of Canon's 580EX II except the external power port. It's bigger and a little more powerful than the 430 but I like it very much. I also invested in some YN622C triggers to get it off camera. Very sweet, relatively inexpensive system.

Recently bought the YN-565 EX, excellent flash. You can see lots of comparisons on youtube with the much more expensive Canon flashes and it equips itself very well. This model doesn't do HSS, if you need that, the next model up has it. I didn't need HSS so opted for the cheaper one, very happy so far.
http://www.amazon.com …dlite-Canon/dp/B00844N5OC

khwaja wrote in post #16506866
I am getting underexpose pics with on camera flash. I have to pull them up a lot in DPP.

the camera's on board flash is more than powerful enough to light your scene. You might want to try another metering mode, such as evaluative, or using FEC (Flash Exposure Compensation) to cause the flash to put out more light.

I would probably suggest using lower ISO and a bit higher shutter speed as well. Shutter speed won't effect the amount of light captured from the flash, but it might help convince the camera that it needs more light from the flash.

I will second, or it is third, the Yongnuo flashes. I have the yn 565 and it is by far the best investment I made initially to my camera set up. The 565 should work just fine for what you need. As others have mentioned it does not do HSS, but it does do ETTL. I have found I use it in manual more than anything else. I also invested in a couple of Yongnuo 622's triggers as well. You can get a 565 and two triggers and still have money left over versus buying a Canon 430.

sirquack wrote in post #16509415
I will second, or it is third, the Yongnuo flashes. I have the yn 565 and it is by far the best investment I made initially to my camera set up. The 565 should work just fine for what you need. As others have mentioned it does not do HSS, but it does do ETTL. I have found I use it in manual more than anything else. I also invested in a couple of Yongnuo 622's triggers as well. You can get a 565 and two triggers and still have money left over versus buying a Canon 430.

In terms of price, I guess it depends. I was considering between yongnuo 568 II and Canon 430 II then on Black Friday 430 II was on sale for 229CAD. When 568 II is 180USD with current rate 1.066 and paypal markup, I went to 430 II right away...

But my next light will be a yongnuo. I just hope over time yongnuo's quality can be more stable.

GeeMack wrote in post #16508535
I just got a YN568EX II for about $185. It has all the same functions and feature of Canon's 580EX II except the external power port. It's bigger and a little more powerful than the 430 but I like it very much. I also invested in some YN622C triggers to get it off camera. Very sweet, relatively inexpensive system.

Thanks GeeMach. Looks like YN568EX has everything like 430EX II. Price is also closer to 430 EX II. Any reason not getting 430EX II. How important are HSS and wireless TTL (setting slave flash levels from camera) .

omeyas wrote in post #16509303
Recently bought the YN-565 EX, excellent flash. You can see lots of comparisons on youtube with the much more expensive Canon flashes and it equips itself very well. This model doesn't do HSS, if you need that, the next model up has it. I didn't need HSS so opted for the cheaper one, very happy so far.
http://www.amazon.com …dlite-Canon/dp/B00844N5OC

565ex looks nice in terms of price (without HSS). It does have wireless ttl compared to 468ex. Is it possible to adjust this flash setting when used off the camera. Thanks.

hes gone wrote in post #16509388
=he's gone;16509388]the camera's on board flash is more than powerful enough to light your scene. You might want to try another metering mode, such as evaluative, or using FEC (Flash Exposure Compensation) to cause the flash to put out more light.

I would probably suggest using lower ISO and a bit higher shutter speed as well. Shutter speed won't effect the amount of light captured from the flash, but it might help convince the camera that it needs more light from the flash.

I need to learn about using flash. Does canon support ttl with on board flash. I took them in manual mode. I was expecting camera to set flash. Camera never showed me any flash exposure information.
Thanks

sirquack wrote in post #16509415
I will second, or it is third, the Yongnuo flashes. I have the yn 565 and it is by far the best investment I made initially to my camera set up. The 565 should work just fine for what you need. As others have mentioned it does not do HSS, but it does do ETTL. I have found I use it in manual more than anything else. I also invested in a couple of Yongnuo 622's triggers as well. You can get a 565 and two triggers and still have money left over versus buying a Canon 430.

I am also looking at 565 and 468. These two are within my budget. yn-568 supports HSS but it is priced closer to 430EX II. How difficult is to setup flash manually. How do we manage to setup manually for each shot. is it possible to trigger HSS flash for 430EX II using camera on board flash. Or do we need to buy canon wireless trigger?
Another thing I noticed from reviews, same YN flash will work with Nikon as well.

khwaja wrote in post #16511693
I need to learn about using flash. Does canon support ttl with on board flash. I took them in manual mode. I was expecting camera to set flash. Camera never showed me any flash exposure information.
Thanks

Yes the on board flash is ttl. The on board flash will act the same as an external flash in ttl mode.

khwaja wrote in post #16511649
Thanks GeeMach. Looks like YN568EX has everything like 430EX II. Price is also closer to 430 EX II. Any reason not getting 430EX II. How important are HSS and wireless TTL (setting slave flash levels from camera) .

I use fill light outside a lot and find HSS allows me to shoot wide open with a really fast shutter for a nicer bokeh.

take the second shot above.

the white cloth in the exact middle of the frame would cause underexposure, and underpowered flash, if you were spot metering in the center of the photo. This would fool both the on-camera OR external on-camera flash. Using Evaluative metering would help dramatically.

I'm not saying you won't often have better results with the off camera flash, but in the examples you posted, I don't think it would make a huge difference. Most folks are wanting to bounce an external flash, and that option generally isn't available when outside.

How about a *used* 430?