This much fun for $26 should be illegal!

[stsinner]

So I bought this cheap optical slave bounce flash made by Digital Concepts on eBay brand new for $26 because it is also hot shoe mountable.. I wanted a better one than the $15 Quantarays I bought that I haven't had much luck with.. This flash is a bounce flash resembling a speed light, but it doesn't talk to the camera. It even has the red lens on the front that my SB-600 has, but has non of the capabilities of the SB-600. It's just an optical slave, and it cycles fast due to the 4AA instead of the 2 AAA of the Quantarays.

What I was really amazed at is that it fired every single time I took a picture, and I was only using the on-board flash.. Even inside the basket you'll see and facing sideways..

This is my first time playing around with a very responsive slave, and I can't wait to do more.. I know these pictures all suck, but I haven't edited them, and I haven't any idea yet how to do this type of photography effectively.. I will, though..

These were really fun:

1.
Some bowls in my kitchen-I placed the flash in the middle bowl

2.
In a basket

3.
Behind a radiator

4.
In one of my CD towers

5.

6.

7.

8.
I asked my daughter to hold it on her lap

9.
My wife was doing something with my baby on her lap, so I set the flash on the table in front of them.

10.

 

[AlexColeman]

Nice, but it is blotto in some of the pictures. Could you post a link?

 

[Mgw189]

You can also soften the light coming out of it by putting some wax paper over the flash.

 

[inTempus]

I just bought a new one from Amazon for $14.66 due to your review. I'll let you know how it works for me.

 

[stsinner]

I just bought a new one from Amazon for $14.66 due to your review. I'll let you know how it works for me.

Awesome! You got the Digital Concepts one? I'm really amazed at the quality for the price! I'm loving this cheap thing! It even comes with a tripod-hot shoe mounting bracket so you can use it for a hair light or for fill light! This is one of my favorite pieces of crap that I've ever bought.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Concepts-418-AF-Bounce-Bracket/dp/B001118L0I]This is the very one I bought. [/ame] How about you?

 

[inTempus]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Concepts-318-AF-Slave-Bracket/dp/B000PIL9AM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1231643577&sr=1-1]This is the one I bought[/ame]. It appears to be the same thing including the bracket. I'll let you know how it works.

 

[stsinner]

This is the one I bought. It appears to be the same thing including the bracket. I'll let you know how it works.

Not to be a pain in the ass, but I'd cancel that one if you can.. The one I bought for about $10 more has a bounce head, meaning you can point it up at every angle, and the lens telescopes like the motorized head of a speed light that you hear when you zoom with your lens, but this one is manual in and out.. It just has much more functionality.

That one you bought looks like a flash that just points straight forward.. Check this thing out-it looks cool for under $30 bucks...

 

[LarissaPhotography]

It's like a fun game. Kinda like where's Waldo. Where's the new flash? =)

 

[inTempus]

What's the model number on yours? If they're different, I can cancel.

 

[inTempus]

Oh, yours is a 418AF. I'll go see if I can find that one.

 

[Mgw189]

Adorama sells this flash around $30 or so.

 

[stsinner]

Oh, yours is a 418AF. I'll go see if I can find that one.

Actually, I mounted this flash on my camera, and the on board flash still popped up, meaning that my camera didn't know it was there.. Since I have the SB-600, I never plan to mount it to my camera, anyway, so no biggie-I just wanted a nice optical slave since my camera can't do wireless flash..

I also never intend on moving the telescoping head of this flash off of Normal, so ....

Having said that, the one you ordered is probably all I needed, because all I plan to do is put it on a tripod and use it as a hair light or umbrella light.. The one you ordered will do that, so I wouldn't worry about it...

And I'll share a little secret with you... While the back of that flash looks sophisticated, the top two sliding buttons merely slide numbered pieces of paper back and fourth past each other to give you advice on placement on the flash/ISO, etc.. and they're useless.. They're just there to make the flash look sophisticated.. The only functional switches on the thing are the two at the bottom and the test button..

So I'd just let the flash you ordered come and have fun with it.. Digital Concepts seems to have this optical slave thing figured out, and I'm sure the two flashes use the same circuitry... For the price, there's no way they'd engineer two separate circuits and sensors/flash bulbs..

I look at it like this-it's cheap money, ,so have fun with it.

 

[KD5NRH]

Hmmm...looks like I may have to supplement my pair of Sunpak DS20s. They're useful, cheap, and very lightweight, but they do look kinda cheesy, especially in the bounce configuration.

For diffusers, check WalMart's craft section; I cut some blank stencil material ($3-4 for 3 sheets) into strips with Velcro dots ($2-3) on the ends, then put Velcro on the DS20s so that the stencil sheet curves across the front of it. It makes a world of difference, and there's enough materials to do at least six diffusers for about $6.

 

[stsinner]

Hmmm...looks like I may have to supplement my pair of Sunpak DS20s. They're useful, cheap, and very lightweight, but they do look kinda cheesy, especially in the bounce configuration.

For diffusers, check WalMart's craft section; I cut some blank stencil material ($3-4 for 3 sheets) into strips with Velcro dots ($2-3) on the ends, then put Velcro on the DS20s so that the stencil sheet curves across the front of it. It makes a world of difference, and there's enough materials to do at least six diffusers for about $6.

Awesome! Thanks for the idea.

 

[mrodgers]

Hmm, this could be something I might be interested in as I just have a little ole superzoom and nothing to attach a flash unit to.

I've always wondered about slave flashes that can be triggered by the popup flash. I'm wondering what happens with redeye from the popup flash when you also use something like this. Obviously, with the type of camera mine is, I have a major redeye problem. So, would I still get redeye from the popup when using it with something like this slave flash?