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11/28/2003 01:30:47 PM · #1 |
I'm looking for a flash for my camera. I realized today that I don't know much about it - my camera has a "hot shoe" mount on the top. But, I understand that some flashes have a different number of pins, or whatever, in their hot shoe mount area? Sony makes a flash that would obviously work, but the manual also says "commercially available flashes" will work, if they have a hot shoe mount capability. So, somebody level with me - how do I choose a flash that will work with my camera? I already know what features I want in the flash, but I need to make it work on my camera. So, fill me in.
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11/28/2003 02:01:07 PM · #2 |
Does anyone use a hot-shoe flash?
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11/28/2003 02:25:08 PM · #3 |
Surely somebody here uses an external flash unit?
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11/28/2003 02:33:23 PM · #4 |
| Good Q. I also have the hot shoe on my camera but I wonder if a flash that works on it would still be too close to the camera to do a good job. perhaps the best photographers here use a separate light on a stand. |
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11/28/2003 03:43:26 PM · #5 |
Steve,
With your recent help in understanding how to post thumbnails, I will give you my thoughts.
Get the sony if it is affordable. If not then go to a reputable camera store in your area where the other pro's go and ask the counterperson for a flash that is compatible with your camera (take your camera). Get at least a tilt head. Some also have swivels. Sometimes called swivel and tilt heads. Get one that takes AA bateries as these are available worldwide.
Plan on between 150 and 200 dollars US.
Message edited by author 2003-11-28 15:47:02.
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11/28/2003 03:47:19 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Flash:
Steve,
With you recent help in understanding how to post thumbnails, I will give you my thoughts.
Get the sony if it is affordable. If not then go to a reputable camera store in your area where the other pro's go and ask the counterperson for a flash that is compatible with your camera (take your camera). Get at least a tilt head. Some also have swivels. Sometimes called swivel and tilt heads. Get one that takes AA bateries as these are available worldwide.
Plan on between 150 and 200 dollars US. |
Also, many manufacturers make cables that will allow the flash to be held away from the camera, while still maintaining full TTL capability. If you find the flash, as mounted on the hot shoe, is still not far enough away from the lens axis, get one of these cables and possibly a flash bracket as well.
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12/02/2003 04:25:45 AM · #7 |
| I bought a cheap vivitar at walmart for aroud $16, has a tilt head, 3 modes. I used it for the first time on thanksgiving, at 90 degrees to get a fill effect from the white ceiling. Once I got my camera adjusted, what a difference, I really like it. I may look into an FL20 or FL50, but for now I am getting studio flashes for portraits. I would recomend this way to try for alot less money. My dad tried an external flash on his E10 and hated it, so better to put out $16 than $150. |
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12/02/2003 05:23:37 AM · #8 |
| Hi Steve, you might want to e-mail our good buddy Refracted. I know he bought a flash for his F717. Might have been from Sunpak. You want a flash that has a swivle head so you can bounce the light off ceilings and walls in order to reduce harsh shadows. I know he had built some diffusers himself too. |
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12/02/2003 08:27:44 AM · #9 |
Just for an FYI, my film Nikon uses a Promaster FTD 6500M flash unit. It has only the tilt function, however it is TTL metering and fires as a wireless slave, activated by the on camera flash unit. Meaning that I can use it as a slave for my 4300.
I looked at Nikon flashes at the time I was shopping and just couldn't afford them. This unit priced out at 189 and has been a very useful piece of equipment. Sigma had a couple of flash units that I was very interested in, however the shop I bought from didn't carry them.
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