External flash...

[TamiAz]

Is an external flash a good investment for a beginner? I'm asking because I thought I needed a tripod and did a bunch of research on it, but after the advice I got here I ended up buying a new lens instead. This is a hobby, but I would like to take the best pictures I can.. Is the flash in the camera good enough or would you recommend an external flash that can be adjusted?

 

[pen]

I'm a newb as well for the most part and my answer would be yes. It doesn't take much to start using a flash to help enhance outdoor and indoor work. I picked up one of the last SB600's for my D7000 and have been learning to use it off camera in commander mode. I don't know which body you have so I don't know that you can do that. The flash on the camera is always pointed directly at the subject as well and a good external flash can be angled. The SB700 can be swiveled around two axes and even pointed backwards. iTTL has worked well for me so far but I want to start using it in manual modes to get a better feel for it and there just isn't much you can do with the onboard flash if you want to start doing this sort of thing.

 

[MissCream]

A tripod and three flashes are with me at all times You can get some cheap YN-460ii 's on ebay to learn with.

 

[sanderso]

Is an external flash a good investment for a beginner? I'm asking because I thought I needed a tripod and did a bunch of research on it, but after the advice I got here I ended up buying a new lens instead. This is a hobby, but I would like to take the best pictures I can.. Is the flash in the camera good enough or would you recommend an external flash that can be adjusted?

I've enjoyed my SB600 for years. As others said, an external flash is much more flexible than the camera's internal flash. Plus, in the people snapshots I've taken over the years, I found the internal flash to be a major cause of redeye. The extra few inches of separation of the light source from the lens tends to minimize the redeye.

 

[Village Idiot]

Read:
Strobist: Lighting 101

It also gives you some examples of what you can accomplish. It's a little outdated in the gear factor, so newer offerings can be had for cheaper, but otherwise the information on what type of items and the techniques you need are still accurate.

It gives you the opportunity to get creative.

 

[KmH]

The essense of photography is recording light, so yes having a strobe light (flash) gives you more control of the light in a scene.

 

[KmH]

Most built-in flash units are adjustable as far as the power setting.

The main problem with the built-in flash is that it is so close to, and directly on the lens axis, and is a very small light source.

The smaller a light source is the harsher the light it produces and the sharper the shadow edges it produces. photographers use photographic umbrellas and softboxes to make their light source apparently larger, which softens the light and makes the shadows 'wrap' a lot more makeing the shadow edges more diffuse.

Most decent external flash units let the photographer bounce the light off of ceilings or walls. That is another way to make the light source apparently larger, but the photographer has less control over the color and direction the light hits the subject from.

Learning to use strobed light (flash) manually, is actually much easier than learning to use it in TTL auto modes.

 

[LuckySe7en]

I bought a cheapo Promaster bounce flash and it dramatically enhanced my photos. Best $120 I've spent so far.

 

[jwbryson1]

MissCream, those YN-460ii units you are using, can those be used as slaves with my D90 and used in conjunction with my SB-700? I'm thinking of getting a couple more OC flashes and I'd like to avoid spending the $$ on 2 more SB-700's. Any limitations on those?

Thanks.

 

[Village Idiot]

No. You may be able to find a TTL enabled third party flash from someone like Sigma what will work with the CLS mode of the camera. Generally though, if you're shooting with multiple off camera flashes (OCF), you're going to be shooting with the flashes in manual mode. You can pick up cheaper sets of radio triggers to use with your flashes in the mean time.

 

[KmH]

You don't have to spend $120, if you can do manual mode.

Vivitar 285HV Auto Professional Flash

NEEWER Speedlite YN560 Flash for Canon, Nikon Cameras

and others.

 

[KmH]

No. You may be able to find a TTL enabled third party flash from someone like Sigma what will work with the CLS mode of the camera. Generally though, if you're shooting with multiple off camera flashes (OCF), you're going to be shooting with the flashes in manual mode. You can pick up cheaper sets of radio triggers to use with your flashes in the mean time.

The YN 460 II in S1 mode will trigger from the flash of light from any other flash unit (including the camera popup unit) that does not emit any pre-flashes.

 

[MissCream]

Yeah I use them as slaves, I don't have any triggers

 

[Destin]

MissCream, those YN-460ii units you are using, can those be used as slaves with my D90 and used in conjunction with my SB-700? I'm thinking of getting a couple more OC flashes and I'd like to avoid spending the $$ on 2 more SB-700's. Any limitations on those?

Thanks.

If you're using your camera as a commander to trigger the flashes, then no, they won't work. They are manual only.

They have an optical slave mode, but I've found it to be extremely unreliable.

To use them, you really need a set of radio triggers.

(I have an sb-600, and 3 YN-460 II's)

 

[TamiAz]

Read:Strobist: Lighting 101It also gives you some examples of what you can accomplish. It's a little outdated in the gear factor, so newer offerings can be had for cheaper, but otherwise the information on what type of items and the techniques you need are still accurate.It gives you the opportunity to get creative.

Wow...love the picture!! Thanks for the link.