Are cheap and cheerful slave flashes any good?
Discussion
I've got a Neewer TT520 which was about £25. It's manual (no E-TTL) but that's fine for me as it doesn't get used often.
Missus has a Canon 420EX which does do E-TTL but doesn't do manual, so if you use cheap triggers that don't pass E-TTL it fires at full power :\
I've bought her the Neewer NW680/TT680 for Christmas which does both manual and e-ttl. It's not as good as the Yongnuo units but that is reflected in the price.
Missus has a Canon 420EX which does do E-TTL but doesn't do manual, so if you use cheap triggers that don't pass E-TTL it fires at full power :\
I've bought her the Neewer NW680/TT680 for Christmas which does both manual and e-ttl. It's not as good as the Yongnuo units but that is reflected in the price.
Last Christmas I bought my girlfriend the Chinese equivalent of a 320ex ii (I think that's right I'm drunk) honestly, it's about £75 and mine was 350. I'd buy hers again any day. Ettl and all features except the af assist isn't ad accurate as the canon. Still at the price difference hell of a bit of kit.
Thanks, all really interesting insights and I've looked at the models mentioned. I suspect i shall be using the flash remote from the camera. I'm trying to work out what my options are. The 1200d is yet to arrive. Am i right in thinking there is no wireless option as standard? So if I would be triggering the slave flash off the onboard unit. Does using E-TTL remotely require extra wireless addons to the flash and the camera hotshoe?
Budget creep is going to punish me here I suspect.
Budget creep is going to punish me here I suspect.
To balance this discussion a little:
My 430EX II decided to start malfunctioning and I couldn't afford to replace it (and couldn't find anywhere to fix it). I heard good things about the Yongnuo Speedlite YN560-II and so I bought one brand new as they're cheap. It arrived and it wouldn't turn on no matter which batteries I used. I sent it back and they sent me a new one. It was brilliant the first time I used it. The second time I used it was as my primary flash on a job and it said it had low battery and turned off after maybe 4 uses. I thought it was bizarre but I always carry many batteries so I opened a new pack and stuck them in to find it was saying the same thing. Of course it was out of their 30 day return period too.
My 430EX II decided to start malfunctioning and I couldn't afford to replace it (and couldn't find anywhere to fix it). I heard good things about the Yongnuo Speedlite YN560-II and so I bought one brand new as they're cheap. It arrived and it wouldn't turn on no matter which batteries I used. I sent it back and they sent me a new one. It was brilliant the first time I used it. The second time I used it was as my primary flash on a job and it said it had low battery and turned off after maybe 4 uses. I thought it was bizarre but I always carry many batteries so I opened a new pack and stuck them in to find it was saying the same thing. Of course it was out of their 30 day return period too.
Simpo Two said:
RobbieKB said:
I used it was as my primary flash on a job and it said it had low battery and turned off after maybe 4 uses.
If there's money at stake buy proper stuff; the work is supposed to pay for the kit I don't do much paid work so I have to use man maths for kit at the moment!
How you trigger it depends on what you want to do.
You can set the slave flash to go off when it detects the main flash, but that means that you have to have one on the camera to act as the master. It can also be unreliable if the main flash is not powerful enough, if there is something obscuring the slave's view of the subject or if other people are using flashes in the same room.
Next step up would be a sync-cable. Plug in to flash, plug in to camera - job done. Fine in a studio environment, not so great for just messing about at home.
Stepping up again we have simple wireless triggers. I highly recommend these. One clips on the top of the camera, the others clip on the bottom of the flashes. When the camera fires, the master trigger sends a radio signal to all the others telling them to fire the flashes. No limitations on line of sight and very long range. Can also do some fun tricks like triggering the camera from the flash, which is actually really handy for macro/product work. Main downside is a possible slight loss of sync-speed - I can only shoot at 1/200 using the triggers rather than 1/250 with a direct connection. I have 3 Yongnuo RF603 triggers which are cheap and effective - cost about £30 for the set (iirc) but there are more expensive options for pro- use from PocketWizards and the like.
Finally, we get to wireless ETTL triggers. Maintains full ETTL ability while using multiple flashes off camera. Divide flashes up in to groups and then control the power levels and balance remotely from the master. Very clever bits of kit, but with an increased price-tag to match.
You can set the slave flash to go off when it detects the main flash, but that means that you have to have one on the camera to act as the master. It can also be unreliable if the main flash is not powerful enough, if there is something obscuring the slave's view of the subject or if other people are using flashes in the same room.
Next step up would be a sync-cable. Plug in to flash, plug in to camera - job done. Fine in a studio environment, not so great for just messing about at home.
Stepping up again we have simple wireless triggers. I highly recommend these. One clips on the top of the camera, the others clip on the bottom of the flashes. When the camera fires, the master trigger sends a radio signal to all the others telling them to fire the flashes. No limitations on line of sight and very long range. Can also do some fun tricks like triggering the camera from the flash, which is actually really handy for macro/product work. Main downside is a possible slight loss of sync-speed - I can only shoot at 1/200 using the triggers rather than 1/250 with a direct connection. I have 3 Yongnuo RF603 triggers which are cheap and effective - cost about £30 for the set (iirc) but there are more expensive options for pro- use from PocketWizards and the like.
Finally, we get to wireless ETTL triggers. Maintains full ETTL ability while using multiple flashes off camera. Divide flashes up in to groups and then control the power levels and balance remotely from the master. Very clever bits of kit, but with an increased price-tag to match.
bernhund said:
If I wanted to try some of this myself over Christmas, what exactly would I need to buy? I have a D7100 with SB910 flash at the moment, but if I wanted to set up a slave flash, do I need something to trigger it or is that built into the slave flash already?
The SB910 should support every function under the sun as part of the Nikon CLS lighting system. I don't use multiple speedlights but think you need to investigate 'commander' setting. It's very complex so get the manual out and make some coffee! Try to keep things Nikon if you can, it's one less step to go wrong. For starters: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nikon-sb-r200-c...Thank you gentlemen. I might invest in the sb-r200 to be sure it's all compatible and reliable.
My daughter needs me to take some 'head shots' for her musical theatre uni course, so thought this could be the way to go. Any advice on distance from backdrop to avoid strong shadows? I'm hoping a flash each side will cancel one another.
My daughter needs me to take some 'head shots' for her musical theatre uni course, so thought this could be the way to go. Any advice on distance from backdrop to avoid strong shadows? I'm hoping a flash each side will cancel one another.
bernhund said:
My daughter needs me to take some 'head shots' for her musical theatre uni course, so thought this could be the way to go. Any advice on distance from backdrop to avoid strong shadows? I'm hoping a flash each side will cancel one another.
No, you'll just get a shadow on each side. What you need is a diffuse light source - the quickest and decently effective way is to point your 910 skywards about 60 degrees and pull the white card out (if it has one, not sure) for a catchlight in the eyes.Simpo Two said:
bernhund said:
My daughter needs me to take some 'head shots' for her musical theatre uni course, so thought this could be the way to go. Any advice on distance from backdrop to avoid strong shadows? I'm hoping a flash each side will cancel one another.
No, you'll just get a shadow on each side. What you need is a diffuse light source - the quickest and decently effective way is to point your 910 skywards about 60 degrees and pull the white card out (if it has one, not sure) for a catchlight in the eyes.Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff