I'm thinking of finally getting a new flash for my Canon EOS 50D. I've currently got a Speedlite 380EX which is quite old, takes an age to recycle and only twists one way.
Any suggestions of what I should go for? Canon or third-party? Anyone any experience with the Nissin, Sigma, Metz, Sunpak kit? The only thing I need to have is a head that twists both ways so I can shoot landscape or portrait. I've already got a remote flash trigger so no need for the new flash to have that feature.
Would welcome any suggestions or experiences :tup:
thanks
Steve
I have a sigma 500dg ? and 2 yongnuo flashes never had Canon to compare, I cant pretend I understand the Sigma and use it on manual occasionally with a wireless trigger for hair light or outside pointing at the bird table. The yongnuo's are great for the price and I use them on a bracket with wireless triggers for macro shots. I could live without or learn to use the Sigma but the cheapies are great for my needs. Horses for courses i suppose.
Simon
I have a Sigma 500 DG Super and a 530 DG Super. Never had a problem with either of them except for a broken hotshoe which was my fault. As ever it all comes down to money which is why I went down the Sigma road in the first place instead of Canon. I would not use anything cheaper than Sigma though. I have seen a Chinese wannabe which was not very impressive.
I'm not a Canon owner, but I didn't feel like coughing up the higher price for a proprietary flash, so I went for a Metz 58AF.
It's been really good, and I especially like the secondary reflector which can be used to get a catch light in a subject's eyes when the main head is being bounced elsewhere, or otherwise defused.
I also have a Yongnuo as a secondary portable light - it's a 460 so it is a manual not dedicated unit, but it has an optical slave trigger and it was a cheap as can be. That has also worked flawlessly.
if the 380exII has been fine up to now, i wouldn't go above a 430exII.
That said, the yongnuo canon-a-likes are extremely good value and you can get a 580 equivelant for much less than the price of the genuine article.
A lot of strobists use them - surely they can't all be wrong?
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, they are very useful.
I've just had a chat with a friend who has set himself up as a photographer (http://www.somethingnewphotography.net/) and he has a couple of the Nissin speedlites and couldn't recommend them enough! Having a quick look at them you get a lot for your money - they seem much better value that the Canons and seem to have more features than the Sunpak etc.
This was the one I was looking at, it's got an extra forward facing spot flash which kicks in when your bouncing off the ceiling :D
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nissin-di866-professional-flashgun-canon-fit/p1031356
My only decision now is do I go with Warehouse Express or do I go for the Hong Kong based eBay store that sells the same unit for £70 less??!?
On a completely seperate note - isn't the weather rubbish today!!! :-[
Steve
Quote from: stevebedder on October 18, 2011, 09:44:05 AM
On a completely seperate note - isn't the weather rubbish today!!! :-[
Steve
No. Here it's blue sky with lots of sunshine at present. :P
Quote from: stevebedder on October 18, 2011, 09:44:05 AM
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nissin-di866-professional-flashgun-canon-fit/p1031356
My only decision now is do I go with Warehouse Express or do I go for the Hong Kong based eBay store that sells the same unit for £70 less??!?
It's about £40 cheaper on amazon than it is on Warehouse Express, grabbed this link from the CC amazon shop, http://astore.amazon.co.uk/camercrani-21/search?node=1&keywords=Nissin ;)
Interesting......How does that work then Mick, is it your shop or is it an affiliate type scheme?
Thanks for the link
:tup:
Quote from: stevebedder on October 18, 2011, 10:20:18 AM
Interesting......How does that work then Mick, is it your shop or is it an affiliate type scheme?
Thanks for the link
:tup:
Steve, yes it's a affiliate program supplied by Amazon. https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/ I've added a few banners and adds throughout the site, and a link to the aStore in the quick links on the front page. All products come through Amazon as normal.
I know quite a few people that went the Nissin route, and they all love them. Stay away from the cheaper Nissin models I have been told.
Done quite a bit of looking round the t'interweb today and there's a lot of positive noise about the Di866.
At £250 on warehouse express I was thinking twice, but at £190 on the CC Amazon store it's on my shopping list
:D
Quote from: admin on October 18, 2011, 06:58:54 PM
Quote from: stevebedder on October 18, 2011, 10:20:18 AM
Interesting......How does that work then Mick, is it your shop or is it an affiliate type scheme?
Thanks for the link
:tup:
Steve, yes it's a affiliate program supplied by Amazon. https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/ I've added a few banners and adds throughout the site, and a link to the aStore in the quick links on the front page. All products come through Amazon as normal.
Mick you need to be making your shop more well known. Funding is always difficult - but don't set it up and keep it a secret. C'mon - you do a great job with this site and are entitled to blow your own trumpet a bit. Even garner a bit of sponsorship...
Andrew thanks.,
edited your post above to bring your reply out of the quote. ;)
Re: the shop links. I'm now wondering if you guys can see them, they should be visible at the top of the forum index page, and down the left hand side of the home page, via a vertical banner, and from the Quick links menu. Plus a couple more dotted about in various places.
I can see them. :tup:
Thanks OB, that means at least I have the permissions set correctly. :tup:
I see them Mick, but would a banner be better for the shopping link to help with the site costs?
Quote from: Hinfrance on October 19, 2011, 08:33:00 AM
I see them Mick, but would a banner be better for the shopping link to help with the site costs?
Thanks Howard, but there should already be a banner at the top of this forum, if you scroll up. ;)
Sorry Steve, I seem to have hijacked your thread. Let me know if you want it cleaned up.
Don't worry about it Mick, it's no problem.
I agree with OB and Hinfrance that the links and banners need to be more prominent. If I'd have seen them yesterday I wouldn;t have bothered looking on Warehouse Express, Amazon, eBay etc - I'd have gone straight to the CC shop first to look.
Personally, having a link to a CC shop gives you more reason to enhance the banners and links as it is something that benefits everyone on the site so you can make them bigger and stand out more.
My 2p worth
Steve
Thanks for the feedback. I have added another (slightly bigger) one at the bottom of the pages. To be honest I don't like putting adds on the site at all, I know how much they can annoy people, that's why I never push them.
That all said, I don't think any of my adds have earned anything yet (at all), with exception to Google addsense, which has raked in a massive £60 over a total of four years. I would use more of those, but they don't let you choose the content, and anything can show in their adds. :doh:
If anyone has any tips on this stuff, it would be appreciated.
Well, you lost a sale on 4 x 8gb Sandisk Extreme CF cards, 3x 4packs 7day shop AA rechargeable batteries, 2 books on photography and Photoshop editing, and a few bits of software.
We are not in favour of fighting the adverts to get to the site, but we are aware that you do not have the resources of Future Publishing to fund this site. I think you can have a banner on the front page some where to help. Also, where threads like this one come to being, you could pop in and remind people of the amazon price through this site!
Quote from: picsfor on October 19, 2011, 09:42:47 AM
Well, you lost a sale on 4 x 8gb Sandisk Extreme CF cards, 3x 4packs 7day shop AA rechargeable batteries, 2 books on photography and Photoshop editing, and a few bits of software.
:doh: :'(
There should be link and banner down the L/H side of home page, and a banner at the bottom, I've also added a "CC Shop" button to the main menu. ;)