cheap flash for newbie

I need a cheap flash since im low on money right now. i was thinking about the sunpak 383. but can that fit on the camera or must that be off the camera?

It can fit on the camera; but in all honesty, you will be disappointed. It does not have ETTL, so you will have to guess at a few shots to get exposure or get a flash meter. If you get a flash meter and a $80 sunpak 383, you will end up coming close to the price of the 430 canon flash with ETTL. I've gone the sunpak route with cactus triggers; and it is OK if you are shooting portraits where someone is sitting still in the same light for all the shots. But if you want to shoot in room for a birthday party or a wedding with changing light everywhere you aim, the sunpak will only dissappoint you and will have you chasing answers.

Look into a Sigma EF-500 DG Super, Sigma EF-530 DG ST or Super, used 380EX, 420EX, or 550EX. All of those are ETTL.

Ty G wrote in post #5520079
It can fit on the camera; but in all honesty, you will be disappointed. It does not have ETTL, so you will have to guess at a few shots to get exposure or get a flash meter. If you get a flash meter and a $80 sunpak 383, you will end up coming close to the price of the 430 canon flash with ETTL. I've gone the sunpak route with cactus triggers; and it is OK if you are shooting portraits where someone is sitting still in the same light for all the shots. But if you want to shoot in room for a birthday party or a wedding with changing light everywhere you aim, the sunpak will only dissappoint you and will have you chasing answers.

if you have a basic understanding of how flash exposure works the sunpak 383 will be more than worth the $80.

when i'm indoors, i pick a power output based on how much light i think i'll need. i set the iso to 100-400; again, depending on how dark the room is. stick the camera on manual mode and take two or three test shots.

takes 5-10 seconds, but you only really have to do it once.

not saying ETTL is worthless, i just dont see manual flash as being that much of a hurdle. especially when a sunpak 383 costs 1/4th the price of a 580exII.

I think the 383 does have an automatic feature. It just does it the old fashioned way, namely with a sensor on the flash itself rather than using the camera for through-the-lens flash sensing. You won't have to use manual flash for everything, but the camera and the flash won't talk to each other about the exposure. It's all on what the flash sees. I (and many, many others) used this style of flash for years and years. It will work very well in most situations and you only have to do a little bit of thinking.

The least expensive Canon flash is the 220ex for around $120.

i read a review saying the built in flash on a xt is stronger than the 220

im stuck between the sunpak 383 or the vivitar 285 hv

also when you buy a flash will it come with everything i need for it to be on the camera except batteries?

i like to shoot sports including snowboarding.

also will you tell what ill need to buy for the flahs to be off camera.

THIS is about as cheap as you can get. I had a similar flash and it works well, you just put it on and it does everything for you. The problem is that it doesn't have manual, so as you learn more about flash photography, you will have to upgrade.

There are times when you won't have time to think about every shot and just want the camera to do the thinking for you, this flash will do well in those situations. If I remeber right, you can always adjust FEC in camera to add or decrease light with these flashes. Not a bad alternative for around $75. But...be very gentle with it, mine has electrical tape holding the red lens cover on the and the battery door shut from dropping it once. My Sigma has fallen off my camera twice and had no effect on it..

If I were you, I would go with the Sunpak 383 and force yourself to learn as much as you can quickly. At some point you will want to expand your capabilties and adding another 383 with wireless triggers can give you a portable 2 light setup for another $120.

Good luck!

The Sunpak PF30X is a good basic flash with E-TTLII.

a521 wrote in post #5525917
THIS is about as cheap as you can get. I had a similar flash and it works well, you just put it on and it does everything for you. The problem is that it doesn't have manual, so as you learn more about flash photography, you will have to upgrade.

There are times when you won't have time to think about every shot and just want the camera to do the thinking for you, this flash will do well in those situations. If I remeber right, you can always adjust FEC in camera to add or decrease light with these flashes. Not a bad alternative for around $75. But...be very gentle with it, mine has electrical tape holding the red lens cover on the and the battery door shut from dropping it once. My Sigma has fallen off my camera twice and had no effect on it..

If I were you, I would go with the Sunpak 383 and force yourself to learn as much as you can quickly. At some point you will want to expand your capabilties and adding another 383 with wireless triggers can give you a portable 2 light setup for another $120.

Good luck!

hey thanks im think im gonna with the sunpak. im gonna order it when i get out school

It is really worth it to get the 430 EX. I would wait until I had enogh to but one.

I have a Bower SFD728C and it is TTL dedicated. Works great for most applications but now that I have practice with it I want to upgrade to a speedlight. The manual zoom on the Bower is a bit cheap feeling and annoying when you forget to match the zoom to the lens zoom. However if you set it to 50mm and toss on the nifty fifty at 2.8 you can get some fantastic, sharp shots in low light. It's a fantastic starter lens to get your feet wet with flash until you can afford one of the big boys.

Real world use: I have used it for two college dinner events, a graduation and will be using it for a wedding next weekend.