Wanting to purchase a Flash to Experiment?

[GMAN]

I'm interested in purchasing a flash for my canon Xsi but the speedlight flashes are a bit to expensive for me. I was on Youtube and saw a few people using the Vivtar 285HV which I thought was reasonably priced....

I've been wanting to try some of these off camera flash techniques and was hoping to get some advice on this particular flash, or maybe there are some other reasonably priced flashes that you could suggest?.....Also, was wanting to purchase something like a pocket wizard, but less expensive, that would still do the job.

Thanks...!

[zona5101]

Sure the 285 will work fine. Really any flash with decent power and the ability to be fired in manual mode will work. I am not familiar with your camera but if it has a pc sync port you can use a pc cord to fire the 285 until you get a radio unit. For radio units that won't break the bank take a look at Cactus4s from Gadget Infinity, Cybersyncs from Paul C Bluff/Alien Bees & JRx from Radiopopper.

[inkista]

With the 285HV, you get what you pay for. It's not really a Vivitar any more, it's a Sakar. Build quality is ... variable. There's no 1/8 power setting. It doesn't swivel. And the PC port is proprietary--it's not a standard PC connector. It's also not a great choice for on-camera work or bouncing. If you want cheap-cheap and you're willing to risk bad build quality, I'd say a Yongnuo YN-460 II might be a better buy.

Just me, but for manual off-camera work, I think the LumoPro LP120 is a better choice.

Suggest reading this Strobist entry which describes the LP120, the Cactus KF360 (rebadged version of the 285HV), and the YN-640 and gives you most of the skinny.

However, none of these three are going to be great for run'n'gun on-camera bounce work. No auto modes. If you want eTTL, maybe a $100 YN-467 will do you (no PC, but two optical slave modes). But no idea on the build quality/reliability of these things.

As for "like a PocketWizard but cheaper", Cactus V4s or Yongnuo RF-602s.

[stevoarnold]

I recently bought 2 Cactus flashes from gadgetinfinity.com (they have bought out and rebranded the 285s) along with cactus v4 triggers and am having a great time learning all that I can do with them. I like to follow the idea of buying the basic stuff, getting to know it really well and learning the limitations and then understanding the reasons why you might need the more expensive gear through experience, rather than just jumping in with the top notch gear and not knowing where to start with it.
yeah you might lose a bit of build quality and not have a 1/8th power setting with the vivitars and they might not be great actually attached to your camera, but you'll learn more by using the gear that comes with limitations.

[TheMoons678]

I think I'm almost in the same boat. Just getting started with my Nikon D80, have my 3 basic lenses, and I think what I need next is a flash + diffuser.

Quick background of the photography that I am interested in: My wife and I may have our first child here in the next year and I would love to take the newborn shots. I am interested in becoming an assistant shooter at weddings/receptions. I'd also interested in sports photography.

I'm looking to sell my extra 50mm f/1.8 lens and pay a little bit to get a flash that will fulfill these needs. I don't see myself setting up strobes on tripods, just a nice shoe mount that will get the job done. If i'm only looking to spend ~$100, should I stick to a Nikon SB-400, or a nicer 3rd party flash with more features for around the same price?

Bower SFD926 compare to SB-600
Bower | SFD926N Digital Autofocus TTL Power Zoom Shoe | SFD926N