Which flash?

[BexJarratt]

After some dark family group photos from Christmas, I've decided to purchase a hot shoe flash to boost my pathetic built in one on my Samsung NX5. I'm looking on ebay and I've seen a couple which suit my budget/hobby price-range. I was wondering if some-one with a bit more experience and understanding of all the numbers could advise me which one is best/better?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YN460-Hot-shoe...ht_2908wt_1078

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YINYAN-CY-28A-...ht_2836wt_1078

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEAGULL-SG-100...ht_2260wt_1078

Or if there are any more about the same price which are better, please post.

Thanks in advance for your help, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[jml79]

The YinYan is an old style thyristor flash. It has 3ish power levels. To operate this flash you set it to low or high then adjust your camera's aperture according to the chart and the flashes internal light meter measures the flash and turns it off at the right time. You also have a manual full power. This is the only one with any sort of zoom or auto like settings.

The seagull is full power all of the time and I doubt it is any more powerful than your onboard flash.

The Yongnou is the only name I recognize. It has been making some waves amongst off camera strobists. It is a full manual flash that has multiple power levels. It also has an internal slave sensor. I think this is more usable but not as convenient as the thyristor flash. It also will let you use it off the camera. Definitely my pick of the 3. For a little more you could get the more powerful 460-II or even better the 560 with a manual zoom as well.

JMHO.

[BexJarratt]

Thanks very much for the advice. I opted for the yungnou 560. It was about £15 more but it's probably worth it if it covers a few more possibilities, otherwise I'll only end up buying another one in the future.

[jml79]

This looks like a great flash with a ton of power and zoom, just remember it is full manual all the time. No TTL but none of the flashes you were looking at were.

I would like to know your experience with it and the buying process.