Seeking love - will pay!

Discussion in 'Photography Equipment & Products' started by Overread, Jun 15, 2009.

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  1. Jun 15, 2009 #1
    Overread

    Overread has a hat around here somewhere Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Ok guys I need some help here because I am just not having any luck on my own - I keep finding them, but gah if the small ones are not all so lacking in many ways!

    All I am looking for is:
    A nice lightweight model
    Full manual handson control of things
    usable in a multi model setup - I will accept by cable
    a decent recycle time and life span
    good power output
    support for ettl (canon)


    Take the Canon 270Ex - no controls outside of in camera menus, ok, but it has no way of functioning in a multiflash setup at all - its light and has the power and compatabilty, but its just not going to adapt to my changing needs

    Then there is the Sunpack RD2000 - nice and small again, but only 3 stops of exposure control, no manual hands on features and it apparently crashes every time you change the aperture setting - needing a restart....


    Is it too much to ask for?
    Please TPF members help me find flash love!


     
  2. Jun 16, 2009 #2
    Mike_E

    Mike_E No longer a newbie, moving up!

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    Metz- 45cl or the 70 if you want studio power you can walk around with.

    There is one for the hotshoe but I don't know about the recycle times.
     
  3. Jun 16, 2009 #3
    Overread

    Overread has a hat around here somewhere Staff Member Supporting Member

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    hmm I have seen that flash around, but its not really going to work well I think for what I need - which is macro lighting. That flash would not give enough light at very close distance and plus terrible onesided lighting issues

    thanks for the suggestion though :)
     
  4. Jun 16, 2009 #4
    Montana

    Montana TPF Noob!

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    Why not the MT-24EX? I loved mine when I was into macro.
     
  5. Jun 16, 2009 #5
    Chris of Arabia

    Chris of Arabia Herding cats since 1988... Supporting Member

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    The 430EX seems the obvious choice if you want to retain all the Canon ETTL capabilities.
     
  6. Jun 16, 2009 #6
    Mike_E

    Mike_E No longer a newbie, moving up!

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  7. Jun 16, 2009 #7
    musicaleCA

    musicaleCA TPF Noob!

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    Well, no-ones said it, so:

    Recycle times are more about your power supply than the flash itself. Alkaline and Lithium batters are by far the slowest, NiCads are decent, and NiMH are the freaking bomb (I get 5-6 second recycle from zero to full power on my 550EX with those new type of NiMH batteries Panasonic is putting out). Plus, NiMH's are rechargable, and the new ones do a fantanstic job of keeping their charge while being stored (just don't use a NiCad charger on NiMH batteries, or bad things will happen).

    By far the fastest solution is to get a battery back. That can cut recycle times to 2 s from zero to full. Thing is, the flash likely wasn't built to keep firing at full power so quickly; using a battery pack you have to remember to slow down sometimes, otherwise you might risk damaging the flash (smoke means "stop right now").
     
  8. Jun 16, 2009 #8
    JerryPH

    JerryPH No longer a newbie, moving up!

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    Well, there is always the question of price vs performance/functionality.

    If you want TTL, original brand name is #1, Metz #2, Sigma #3.

    If you want off camera flashes for budget use:
    1. Vivitar 285HV
    2. Sunpack 383
    3. LumoPro MP120
    4. used older Nikon units (if you can find them!)
    5. and back to OEM flashes for you (new or used)

    My new workhorse flash is a Nikon SB-80DX... great on battery power, adjustable from 1/1 to 1/128th, built-in optical slave and external sync port, powerful for a battery powered unit... reliable and indestructible. Best part? $40Cdn at a used camera fleamarket!
     
  9. Jun 16, 2009 #9
    Overread

    Overread has a hat around here somewhere Staff Member Supporting Member

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    wowow slow down a sec lets get a few things straight ;)

    1) Yah I have seriously considered battery packs, but currently the price of a good one is outside of the amount I am willing to spend at this stage. For me they are like pocketwizards - a really nice thing that I can think of uses for, but not something essential to my work that I need it right now.

    2) The idea with this flash primarily is to mount it on a flash braket with a forward position so that the flash will be set above the lens pointing down at the insect in question - this will need to be out infront of the lens by a decent amout (I work with the 150mm macro) as well as work closer for when I have the raynox attached.

    This is why weight is a key component.

    ettl and manual flash controls are the key part which is giving me problems though - quite a few cheaper flashes offer one or the other or just offer 3 way exposure compensation. A slave feature is also important since I want the flash to retain its worth to me over time rather than just be waste - I am not pushing for wirelss on this just slave function.

    3) longterm plan is the MT-24EX flash but at £750+ its out of my current reach

    I will have a look at the suggested metz flashes
     
  10. Jun 17, 2009 #10
    blash

    blash TPF Noob!

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    Am I the only one who thought OP was saying something different until that very last line in the quote?
     
  11. Jun 17, 2009 #11
    wiredhernandez

    wiredhernandez TPF Noob!

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  12. Jun 17, 2009 #12
    Overread

    Overread has a hat around here somewhere Staff Member Supporting Member

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    yah I have been meaning to move to sanyo batteries - mostly though as the keep charge inbetween shoots rather htan the lithium sort which die out - not fun if you suddenly want to use the gear and have not charged it in a few days!
     
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