Flash for the Canon T1i

[CRP626]

Hi,' I just bout the Canon T1i and was wondering if I could get some help in choosing a good flash. i've been told to stick w/a conon flash and not go w/an after market. Any suggestions for one that's around the $200 price?

[inkista]

Maybe a used Canon 430EX?

What do you want to use the flash for? That will determine if you're better off sticking with a Canon flash or going third-party. Do you want to use it on-camera for event photography? Or off-camera for a studio lighting setup?

The reason you'd want a Canon flash for on-camera event photography is that it will do eTTL. (A few Sigma and Metz flashes do this, too, but they're not a whole lot cheaper). eTTL is where the camera and flash communicate. Before you take a picture, the flash throws out a "pre-flash" burst, and the camera meters off of it, and then sets the power of the flash automatically to what's needed. It's extremely handy in run-and-gun situations where you don't have time to chimp-adjust-retake a shot, and much simpler than having to adjust the power manually based on bounce distances and the like. You also have high-speed sync, where you can use a flash over your X-sync speed, and wireless communication with other Canon speedlight flash units (although the 430EX can only be a slave in the system, not a master). The Canon EXes will also swivel and tilt so that you can bounce the light to diffuse it.

But. If you plan on using the speedlights primarily off-camera on light stands for Strobist work, and you're on a budget, you're likely to lose all the eTTL, wireless-signalling, and high speed sync capabilities anyway, because most triggering systems can only communicate the "fire" pin signal, whether you're using a sync cord, optical triggers, or radio triggers. In that situation, you may just need a cheap manual flash that lets you set the power externally without the camera. The 430EX can do that, but so can the LumoPro LP120 ($130), and the Cactus KF36 (aka Vivitar 285HV; $90). The LP120 and KF36, however, don't have any of the fancy eTTL or auto mode stuff, so on-camera, they're just as cumbersome to use as off. (And the KF36 doesn't swivel and is missing the 1/8 power setting).