external flash's

[trendkill]

are they worth it to spend big bucks on? any opinions on this ?

thx

[BerserkerCatSplat]

That highly depends on what you want to shoot. Are you talking about studio strobes (Alien Bees and the like) or off-camera hotshoe flashes like the SB-800 and 580EX?

I personally use a Nikon SB-800, Vivitar 283, and 2 Vivitar 2800's. Generally, I use the SB-800 on-camera with the Vivitars as off-camera slaves mounted on tripods, feet, or light stands. I love off-camera flashes, as they allow you to create your own lighting conditions whenever you want!

Big bucks? Not really. It you want full TTL metering for all multiple flashes, Nikon's CLS system works great, but costs a ton. $300 or so for an SB-600, $400 or so for an SB-800. I got my SB-800 for balanced i-TTL while on camera, but I shoot in full manual mode when using off-camera lights. The Vivitar 2800's cost me $10 each used, and the 283 was $20 used - and it's more powerful than the SB-800! Add a couple of optical slave adapters for $20 each, and you've got a full-manual off-camera lighting setup.

Here's one of mine, taken a while ago with the SB-800, 283, and one 2800. There was no ambient light, the shot was taken in nearly complete darkness.




If you're talking about studio strobes, Ekliptix has a studio that he uses very effectively. I don't have any of his shots on file, but you might be able to find them on Beyond somewhere.

[trendkill]

damb u know ur stuff dude, i am fairly new to this but like the idea of slaves... just to get that odd angle light ya know.

ok thx for ur help man.

[turboMiata]

External flashes usually are 3-4 times more powerful than on camera flashes. They usually have a built in zoom function which can adjust between a wide angle spread or narrow beam. they can also be angled for bounce to minimize shadows.

When I first started using external flash, the learning curve was very steep and it took many months before i got good results. if you take the time to learn how to use it properly then it is a great tool for all sorts of situations. i highly recommend it.

[muse017]

They are worth every penny you spend. period.

[trendkill]

good good, thx for the replys....