Derek Zoolander
TPF Noob!
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- Dec 15, 2008
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what would have determined whether or not i could use it?
and yes ive got the umbrella and stands!
The only real problem with the flash is that it doesn't have any manual power settings.
The manual for the 283 is online here. Page four says, "Range Selector -- Four color-coded auto ranges ... plus "M" for manual operation."
For off-camera, really anything with a hotshoe or PC outlet will work (or any other connectivity option).
The big issue with the 283 is that you can't set the power manually. Those VP-1s are expensive (relative to the $35 flash) and hard to come by, and unless you're a bit of an electrical tinkerer the do-it-yourself modifications may be over your head.
A $33 Nikon SB 20 is going to give you a lot more to work with. I won't tell you what I'm getting in a similar vein because I want to continue to buy them for $9 well into the future, but I've done a ton of research and an SB 20 is a much better deal than a $35 283.
So it DOES have a manual setting?
Nice, so this has all the manual settings I need? I'd buy two right now if that's the case. What's the recycle time on this?
The reason I'm looking into a better flash is because I find myself missing moments with my $20 cheap mini flashes. I think it's because of the recycle time as opposed to my Cactus V2s not triggering correctly.
So I'm reading 6 seconds minimum for recycle time. That is a pretty long amount of time wouldn't you say? That's at full manual though. What situations do I need to use full manual? My mini flash currently has about a 6 second recycle time, so this may not really solve my problem at all...
No no, six seconds maximum. Cranking the power down will improve this significantly.
Adjusting your flash's power is important any time you want balance it with another light source, be it ambient light for the background, more flashes, or the sun for outdoor shooting. What exactly are you doing with your off-camera lighting setup that recycle time is more important than control? I may have the wrong application in mind entirely and the SB-20 may in fact be a horrible be choice (but, to be fair, I would bet it recycles pretty quickly at 1/16).