Help! Which flash should I buy??

[RenDuH]

Hello! So, in a week or so, I will be coming into some money, and I want to buy an external flash, as I am in terrible need of one (especially since I photograph weddings quite often, and using an in-camera flash doesn't work nearly as well). The problem is, I don't know much about external flashes. This can be proven by the fact that I was naive enough to purchase my first one, which was a Sunpak brand. Over the course of a year, it continued to break (wouldn't charge up anymore, even with using new batteries), and I sent it back and forth to the manufacturer (who refused to replace it--only repair it, which didn't work) until I got fed up with paying the shipping.

Therefore, I am asking for your advice. I have a Canon EOS 40D, and I'm looking for an external flash that is $350 or less (new or used, doesn't matter to me as long as it's in working condition), and one that I can rotate at least 180 degrees (from front to back). Name brands are preferred, obviously I do NOT want a Sunpak, I would prefer to have more features than this, but I'm not going to be very picky Also, I would also like for these recommendations to be based on personal experience as opposed to "oh, I heard from a friend of a friend of an uncle of a relative that this flash is good."
lol



Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! ♥
Also!
Happy Valentine's Day/Single Awareness Day (whichever you celebrate )

[Samanax]

Canon 430EX II

Canon 580EX II

Flash Photography Techniques

Stroboframe Flash Brackets

[LeeR]

It has been a while since I shot a wedding so a lot of the equipment I once used would not be appropriate now. I used a Metz unit and they are still available, though I don't know if they are the industry standard the way they used to be.
What is important is this; the Metz had tremendous power and ridiculously fast rechage times. I could bounce the light off ceilings or walls, shoot through a soft box or into an umbrella and no that I would never have to wait more than a couple of seconds for a complete recharge. My life as a wedding photographer was sooo much simpler when I got a better setup.
Also, it is important to find a flash that has an adapter for your camera. Modern flashes have the capability of reading the light bouncing off the CMOS and will shot down when it thinks you have properly exposed the image. This is especially handy when you are mixing light sources like daylight with fill flash.
Get a great flash and spend the time to master it and your wedding images will improve exponentially.

[OsmosisStudios]

If you can afford it, always go big. In this case, that means the 580EXII.

[voltech]

I agree witt the 580exii
gives more ranges.
i have the 430exii now am regretting.

[inkista]

Given that you can only blow $350, look for a used 580EX if you can find one. It should be around that price range. A new 580EXII is going to be around $450.

You could get a 430EX or 430EXII, but you'll only get 180° swivel on the left, and 90° on the right. And they have those four-way buttons on the back. Both of the 580EXs, however, do the 360° swivel thing, and have a control dial on the back instead of four-way buttons.

I would also say that if you can stretch the budget to a new 580EXII, it will certainly be worth it, particularly for shooting weddings, for the autothyristor mode (they're calling it the 'external automatic flash exposure sensor', but essentially it's just an autothyristor) and the PC port. It's essentially letting the flash do a form of spot metering for its illumination (not the camera). A lot of brides wear white dresses and are going to be shot in mostly-white setups. At this point your camera metering (and therefore eTTL) are going to be off. The autothyristor is going to be helpful in getting an accurate exposure more quickly. And the PC port (which means a wider variety of possible methods for triggering than the hotshoe alone gives you, and combining with studio lights for the posed shooting).

[archersdad]

If there is ANY way to stretch your budget, go with a 580EXII. I recently upgraded from a cheap-o YN manual flash to the 580 and man this thing has a bunch of power. Besides my camera body it has been the most expensive piece of gear I have purchased so far and I don't regret it at all.