Question on external flashes

[HVWphoto]

I have a Canon XS Rebel Digital SLR
I have been pricing flashes lately. There are so many kinds, brands, types, prices.
I do not know that much about the quality of flashes and if getting a cheaper one would still be worth it.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
My husband found this $200 one and it was said to be "the best", but I don't want to spend that much on a flash. Do I need to spend that much to get a good one?

Any responses would be very appreciated.

[Free]

Originally Posted by HVWphoto

I have a Canon XS Rebel Digital SLR
I have been pricing flashes lately. There are so many kinds, brands, types, prices.
I do not know that much about the quality of flashes and if getting a cheaper one would still be worth it.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
My husband found this $200 one and it was said to be "the best", but I don't want to spend that much on a flash. Do I need to spend that much to get a good one?

Any responses would be very appreciated.

Can't help you with choice, but you guys in the states seem to get your gear cheap as, I'm dreaming about a Nikon SB-900 - approx AU$900!!! (somewhere around US$700 with current exchange)

I know with Nikon you can get second hand flashes made for old film cameras at a reasonable price, I'm sure Canon will have something similar out there.

Good luck.

[ericw]

It depends on how you want to use it.

If you want to use it exclusively in manual mode, off-camera on a stand, doing strobist stuff then you can get quality speedlights on the cheap. on ebay for around $60 (vivitar 285, sunpak 383, sb-24, etc.) or new at mpex.com for $120 (lumopro 120).

If you want to use automatic TTL (Through The Lens) capability then you will have to pay up. The popular ones for canon are the 430ex and 580ex.

I guess there's a middle ground option but I don't know anything about that.

[Samanax]

Originally Posted by HVWphoto

I have a Canon XS Rebel Digital SLR
I have been pricing flashes lately. There are so many kinds, brands, types, prices.
I do not know that much about the quality of flashes and if getting a cheaper one would still be worth it.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

You'll be using the flash on-camera, right? You're not looking for a flash to use off-camera only for strobist work, right?

Originally Posted by HVWphoto

My husband found this $200 one and it was said to be "the best",

The best? It's not a Canon flash since the 580EX II goes for around $420 normally. What brand and model did he find?

Originally Posted by HVWphoto

but I don't want to spend that much on a flash. Do I need to spend that much to get a good one?

It depends on what and how you shoot. The more expensive models tend to have more features and more power. For most amateur shooters the $270 Canon 430EX II would be fine. Maybe even the newer $160 Canon 270 EX would work for you. Canon has the $125 220EX flash but that one isn't much better than the built-in pop-up flash on your XS.