flash or lens

i will prob get some money for crimbo so thinking do i get a flash 430 II or new lens . I take most pics of kids and landscape . got 30d nifty fifty and 28-135Is.
I dont use onboard flash much only when really need it . but often wonder if flash used properly will help my pics even using as fill in . Or something like 85 F1.8 to make most of natural light .
Cheers shane

If you do a lot of shooting of kids indoor where you can bounce the flash, the flash will do a lot more for your pictures than a fast prime. The flash will give you a lot of choices compositionally and allow you to shoot at a reasonable aperture to have enough DOF.

Fast primes can be used acceptably as well (someday you may want to have both and use the two styles differently) but as the only option to low light shooting I tend to find them very limiting due to the very shallow DOF.

Since you have a 1.6X body you may also not wish to go to an 85mm lens as a first prime. This is very long for indoors usage. I would start with something between 28mm and 50mm.

Flash! I'm hoping I have one under my tree. I certainly dropped enough hints.

The external flash makes a world of difference. It also helps with AF (has a build in AF assist that blows the one in camera body away).

I doubt you'd see as much impact replacing Nifty with a better prime - it's main shortcoming is in AF, not IQ, and flash will help with that.

Amamba wrote in post #6938762
The external flash makes a world of difference. It also helps with AF (has a build in AF assist that blows the one in camera body away).

I doubt you'd see as much impact replacing Nifty with a better prime - it's main shortcoming is in AF, not IQ, and flash will help with that.

Yup, and if you want to shoot ambient light shots in low light with the 50/1.8 the flash can still help.

There are two custom functions. On my 5D:
C.fn.05 - Set AF-assist beam to 0:emits
C.fn.07 - Set Flash firing to 1: Does not fire

With this set the Speedlight will aid focussing but not fire. Super handy in low light.

A couple of months ago I would have said lens, but at the beginning of this month I bought a Sigma EF-500 flash I finally saw what I couldn't do even with a faster prime.
Shooting indoors has become a huge improvement with a flash and I do wish I had bought one long ago.

JeffreyG wrote in post #6938896
Yup, and if you want to shoot ambient light shots in low light with the 50/1.8 the flash can still help.

There are two custom functions. On my 5D:
C.fn.05 - Set AF-assist beam to 0:emits
C.fn.07 - Set Flash firing to 1: Does not fire

With this set the Speedlight will aid focussing but not fire. Super handy in low light.

Unfortunately XXXD (at least up to XTi) don't have these settings - either you use flash or you don't...

Get the flash. I didn't know how much I would like to use a flash, so I put getting one off for a while. But I use a flash for nearly every indoor shot now.

If you shoot your kid pics indoors, then the flash for sure. Bouncing flash indoors makes a world of difference and will improve your photos far more than a faster lens will....


PS: Get the lens too!

Get the flash...

Here's what I think the priority is in photography...

Light
Lens
Body

Being able to control the light is the tip of the spear!

Flash!it opens up a whole new world.

I would say flash because it takes a while to learn to see the light and a fast prime is not only pricey but theres a learning curve at when close to open and then you have to be able to recognize when the light is right and when its not which is the real secret to using fast primes and no flash.

cheers for replies looks like flash it will be .now to see if any bargains in the sales not that there normally is everywhere else you look at moment 50% off . Now do you see that in photographycheers shane

+1 Flash!

When I first started up into DSLRs my wedding photographer suggested getting a flash before anything else. I took his advice and bought an older 550EX which I still use all the time. I love flash and playing with light. With a flash, you can use a cheap telephoto indoors no problem! Just put the camera in manual with the shutter speed 1/200 and ETTL will take care of the rest.

I recently got my second flash, a 430EX to use as a slave because flash photography is so much fun.