I need a flashgun for my Canon 400D, and looking online at new ones, well, they ain’t cheap.

So I’m thinking of a used one, and ebay chucks up a few below £100 (I can’t afford any more, so don’t even suggest it, OK?!)

Sigma EF500
Canon 540EZ,(Possibly) 420EZ, 430EZ (Last 2 can be bought for £50-£60)

Those are the main ones.
I just can’t afford £100+ but what do I need to know. I know pretty much nothing about flashguns. Would the cheap Canons do the job and work properly with my 400D?
Aything else I should know or look at?

Ta muchly
🙂

older flashes used a higher trigger voltage that could fry a newer camera, check their compatibility

Flashes do degrade with use so beware of buying one that has been well used. i’d have thought you could get a Centon or Jessops own brand for sub £100 that’d be better than risking s/h

i used a Centon one on my nikon 35mm for years and it was great

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Accessories/Flash/Flashguns/products/Jessops/360AFD%20Digital%20Flashgun%20for%20Canon%20-67557/Show.html

The EZ range aren’t e-ttl compatible, so avoid them – you have to use them in manual mode, so you;re as well buying something completely manual for less money. YOu might pick up a 420 eX for around that price, one went on here for under a ton the other day

look out for the Nissin Di-622 – new for less than 100 quid. Check jacobs, warehouseexpress, 7dayshop

Hmm. Just found out the 420 isn’t compatible with digital cameras….

So EZ isn’t digital, whilst EX is, yes?

None of the EZ range is compatible with Canon DSLRs unfortunately. Anything suffixed EX is fine though.

I’d look at a 2nd hand 420EX or the Sigmas if it were me.

That’s the bloody trouble with dijical; you’ve got to get specific dedicated bits, as older stuff dun’t work.

Peter; you’ll need a decent one, it’s not worth getting a cheapo ime. Sigma guns are pretty good, actually, and a lot cheaper than Canon’s own ones.

Jessops own ones are ok, too, and good value for money.

Jessops 360 AFD

something like that will give you a lot of flexibility, and is pretty powerful. Might not give you all the fancy Canon features, mind.

I’d avoid s/h personally, unless I can hold it and try it out.

Apparently the Nissin flash takes 4 seconds to recycle?

Is that for one flash, or do you get 2-3 before recycling?

That’s the bloody trouble with dijical; you’ve got to get specific dedicated bits, as older stuff dun’t work.

No that’s called progress.

that’ll between full power releases

No that’s called progress.

Is it bollocks. It’s called ‘let’s squeeze as much money as we can, from our gullible customers’.

I have a Nikon SB-24, and SB-28. Neither are fully compatible with Nikon’s dijical cams, as far as I can understand. Won’t allow TTL flash control. Why not? Both are superb bits of kit, and work brilliantly with my 801s, FM2 and F5.

I’ll tell you why; so’s I’d have to splash out £300+ on a completely new gun, which would be virtually the same, xept for the dijical compatibility. S’just to get more money out of people. I don’t call that progress, I call it skanking.

**** rip-off…

There’s a few of those Sigmas about. The Canon EXs seem to fetch big money, even used….

i tried to use my modern Nikon SB800 on this the other day, bloody thing wouldn’t work. damn those capitalist barstuards

Oi! Chill! No arguing in MY thread!

😉

that’ll between full power releases

Is that to be expected? I was hoping a proper flash gun would be a bit quicker than the onboard flash, which will do 2-4 before I have to pause, which is a pain when there’s 10 riders coming though and I can only take 5 flash shots…..

Is it bollocks. It’s called ‘let’s squeeze as much money as we can, from our gullible customers’.

Sorry I don’t recall any flashes from back in the day that use i-TTL, which for modern camera users offers automated lighting for most situations. I could go on and list a whole other heap of features that modern flashguns offer over old guns.

That isn’t to say that all old guns are rubbish, they aren’t, but they are certainly not as versatile.

my (formerly) top of the range nikon gun takes 2.7 sec at full power with an extra AA battery attached to the side

you won’t get a lot quicker without an external power supply. you can fix the flash power lower in manual mode to get quicker

in reality you’ll get a few shots off before it stops all together, usually i’ll get 1 or 2 shots off exposed normally and then a couple under exposed

MrM – OK, fairy nuff, thanks for the info

I’m beginning to think I might be better with one of those old-style disposable flash cubes that fitted into the top of the camera!
😉

I’m not objecting to them making new guns, with new features; I’m objecting to companies like Nikon making their new cams only compatible with a whole new range of flash equipment. No reason for this. They could easily have made the cams compatible with older guns.

It’s a conspiracy, and I think Dame Edna is behind it…

I mean, look at that face. Consummate evil.

I’m objecting to companies like Nikon making their new cams only compatible with a whole new range of flash equipment. No reason for this.

You mean like shimano/campag/sram making 9 speed groupsets that only work with 9 speed components, not 8,7 or 6………..

No, ittud be more like making a new, slightly lighter 9 speed system, with improved shifters or something, and preventing compatibility with other 9 speed stuff. Or making a new XTR crankset, still 9 speed, but with a completely different ring BCD pattern…

Basically, leaving perfectly good, functioning (and bloody spensive) kit, redundant.

At least they kept the F-mount. So I could use my old AI lenses on a D3. Good stuff.

Oi! Chill! No arguing in MY thread!

Sorry, PP; has to be done.

Still, look on the bright side; could turn into a 300+ post thread, with people having blazing rows about politics, war, education or Jade Goody.

Which woodunt really help you with your question, would it? 🙁

ive got a 420ex somewhere in the classifieds if thats any use?

Sorry, PP; has to be done.

No. It doesn’t.
Did you do well in your exams at school? The first thing we were taught was READ AND UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION BEFORE ANSWERING, and I don’t remembering asking about what you’re arging about. So sod off. Sling yer hook. Take a hike.

😉

Coming back to the OP.

I’d look at an off camera flash set up where you could use eg Vivitar 285hv and a phottix radio remote trigger. Which would allow a more creative use of the flash light.

You should get that lot for under £100 on that auction site.

i’d just be glad sfb isn’t around today

Sod this. I’m just going to stick to taking photos in sunlight. It’s cheaper and it looks nicer.

See?

Did you do well in your exams at school? The first thing we were taught was READ AND UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION BEFORE ANSWERING, and I don’t remembering asking about what you’re arging about. So sod off. Sling yer hook. Take a hike.

(Runs off sobbing)
😥

ah but now you need a grad ND filter to stop those clouds blowing out

it’s a never ending story i tell thee. nice pic

Coming back to the OP.

I’d look at an off camera flash set up where you could use eg Vivitar 285hv and a phottix radio remote trigger. Which would allow a more creative use of the flash light.

You should get that lot for under £100 on that auction site

Thank you. That’s good advice because that was going to be my next question (Remotes)

Go secondhand – but buy from a dealer like ffordes.co.uk or mxv.co.uk that offers a guarantee.

Off camera flash

I took that pic with my old Canon 4mp compact…….

I took that pic with my old Canon 4mp compact…….

Nice shot. The sky is a bit blown though.

Sorry, what’s a ‘blown sky’?

Blown = Overexposed

OK, cool. I thought so.
How do you avoid that? Polorising filter?

The benefit of going for a Canon 430EX or a 430EX II will mean much faster recycling times. Try seconmd hand through places like MXV as has been suggested or maybe save for a few months? I wouldnt buy second hand off ebay. You never know what they are going to be like.

The Jessops 360AFD isnt bad, Ive used them and they can be wirelessly linked to a Canon master flash like a 580EX or 580EX II. They have a lower flash power rating than the Canon 430EX and are not as fast at recycling but for the money they are a good bet. The E-TTL compatiblity is a good feature, and they have a wide angle diffuser built in (might have a catchlight as well)