Stock flash vs After Market

[Ballistics]

What is it that after market flashes do that warrants a requirement for them over the stock flash?

 

[TheBiles]

It produces a non-****ty flash. You should never use the built-in flash.


--
Sent from my HTC Pyramid.

 

[Josh66]

For one, a speedlight is much more powerful than the pop-up flash. You can also bounce it and get it off of the camera, among other things.

 

[Ballistics]

It produces a non-****ty flash. You should never use the built-in flash.


--
Sent from my HTC Pyramid.

Its really that big of a difference huh?

 

[Ballistics]

For one, a speedlight is much more powerful than the pop-up flash. You can also bounce it and get it off of the camera, among other things.

So is that where the price comes in? power?

 

[Josh66]

For one, a speedlight is much more powerful than the pop-up flash. You can also bounce it and get it off of the camera, among other things.

So is that where the price comes in? power?

Well, I'm sure that's a factor - but there's more to it than that.

The price of the pop-up flash is included in the cost of the camera, so who knows what it really is...?

Most on-camera pop-up flashes either have very limited manual controls, or none at all. A speedlight gives you options.

You can aim it where you want to, give it the power you want to, get it off of the camera and put it wherever you want to...

 

[highergr0und]

power, complicated circuitry (syncing with the camera), etc

The difference is night and day "IF" you plan on doing a decent amount of shooting that requires flash. In terms of cost, spending $250 or even $450 on a good flash is way less than trying to compensate with some crazy, super expensive 1.x prime lens

 

[Ballistics]

For one, a speedlight is much more powerful than the pop-up flash. You can also bounce it and get it off of the camera, among other things.

So is that where the price comes in? power?

Well, I'm sure that's a factor - but there's more to it than that.

The price of the pop-up flash is included in the cost of the camera, so who knows what it really is...?

Most on-camera pop-up flashes either have very limited manual controls, or none at all. A speedlight gives you options.

You can aim it where you want to, give it the power you want to, get it off of the camera and put it wherever you want to...

What I mean by what I said about price, was in comparison to aftermarket flashes. Not to the pop up. In other words, the difference in flash comes down to a difference in power. Doing a little reading on the specs, it seems as if that is the case. So the pop up flash really is useless?

 

[baturn]

Seems to me that the difference between flashes is more about learning to use them than whether they are prorietary or after-market.

 

[KmH]

Camera maker hot shoe flash units have a lot of bells and whistles (like TTL), which add to the cost.

A 3rd party manual flash has few, if any, bells and whistles and can be made and sold for substantially less money.

In between are the 3rd party TTL units that are reverse-engineered, making them only partially, and often on reawardly, compatable with camera maker TTL and off camera communication systems.

 

[jake337]

Depending on your camera you can use your pop-up flash to trigger off camera flashes.

 

[Ballistics]

Seems to me that the difference between flashes is more about learning to use them than whether they are prorietary or after-market.

What do you mean?

 

[Ballistics]

Camera maker hot shoe flash units have a lot of bells and whistles (like TTL), which add to the cost.

A 3rd party manual flash has few, if any, bells and whistles and can be made and sold for substantially less money.

In between are the 3rd party TTL units that are reverse-engineered, making them only partially, and often on reawardly, compatable with camera maker TTL and off camera communication systems.

The science behind TTL is fascinating. I read an article about it and the type of engineering even 30 years ago is mind boggling. Back on topic, I see positive reviews on 3rd party flashes, but I also see people that are anti-3rd party products(particularly in photography). Where do you stand?

 

[KmH]

Doing manual flash is a lot easier to learn than learning how to effectively use TTL flash. The results from using manual flash are also much more consistant than the results from using TTL flash.

When using strobed light shutter speed is used to control the ambient light exposure, lens aperture controls the strobed light exposure, and the short duration of a flash of strobed light can take over the task of stopping motion.

I rarely use TTL flash.

 

[Ballistics]

So does that allow the use of a slower lens when the environment permits a flash? More specifically, can you get comparable IQ between a cheap manual flash w/ a cheaper lens and a faster, more expensive lens with out a flash?