A few questions about speedlite ex flashes

i will be making a purchase soon on a used 550ex speedlite and i just had a few questions about it.

what is the life expectancy of the bulbs?

are replacement bulbs readily available if they go bad?

easy to replace yourself?

sorry i never owned an external flash

any info is greatly appreciated thanks

alex

I've used electronic flashes since my high school days and I'm in my fifties now and I still have every one of them in my closet someplace. I have yet to replace any of the bulbs in any of my flashes. Unless you expect to be using (or abusing) your flash very heavily, I doubt you'd have to worry about replacing the bulb unless it was defective to begin with.

buy some good NIMH and a good charger. then get a white index card and a rubber band and bounce the flash when you can. check out 'demb flip it' on a google search.

elader wrote in post #2866448
buy some good NIMH and a good charger. then get a white index card and a rubber band and bounce the flash when you can. check out 'demb flip it' on a google search.

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PacAce wrote in post #2866799
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hahah co-sign


thanks PacAce for your help. i can't wait to get my speedlite

Was I being obtuse? I was only suggesting that the advantage of the speedlight over the popup flash is enormous when you learn when to bounce the flash and use some little add on device (free to maybe $25) to direct a little of the flash forward to generate catchlights in peoples eyes. I use a Demb flip it - basically a hinged index card.

I am amazed how well this works out. So well in fact, I am wondering why canon doesnt design a popup flash where the reflector can tilt upwards to bounce..