Advice on an off-camera flash

[SamuelHearn]

Ok well.
I am looking at buying a flash to use off-camera (Nikon D60) And i have no idea what exactly i would be looking for. I would like to be able to mount it on a tripod, and run it off batterys. I would like to know what i would need to do this (cable wise/any other options?) and what kind of flash i would be looking for? (probably second hand would be best. Cheap as possible, since i'm on a pocket money budget!) And im not talking about a big studio flash kind of thing, just something like the nikon SB series (is this a decent option? Anywhere i can pick them up for cheap?)
I really need all of this explained, the bits i'd need. Its all jargon to me right now.

P.Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, wasn't sure wether to put it in lighting or equipment.

Thanks for reading
Sam

 

[HoppyUK]

You want a flash gun compatible with your camera's CLS flash system, and an off camera cord.

Nikon flash is best, and the bigger the better, but there are cheaper alternatives. Others are better placed than I am to advise on that. If you go the CLS route, FlashInThePan does a dedicated cord for £18 - see the For Sale section where he has loads of cool stuff at bargain prices

 

[photon]

You may be 5 - 10 years too late, but the way to do it on the cheap a while ago was to get one (or more) of the several Sunpak flashes with manual as well as auto settings. They used to cost £10 - £40 2nd-hand. The Nikon SBs were if you wanted to spend more.

The flash has a swivel/bounce head, but not enough adjustment to point downwards from up high (unless you hang or mount it upside-down), so you need a tripod head or, better still, a flash swivel/umbrella adapter and a cold or hot shoe to screw it into to mount the flash. The Sunpak flashes from a few years ago had a modular foot system, one of which had 1/4-inch threaded socket. You can still find this gear on eBay, but will have to wait longer and pay more than in the past.

Firing the flash from a distance is accomplished with the aid of a PC sync cable; optical trigger; or radio trigger. A dedicated cord would be useful for a dedicated flash and would be more reliable than the other three options. You have to pay a lot more for a long dedicated cable, or cut a shorty and get soldering.

 

[singlespeed]

You want a flash gun compatible with your camera's CLS flash system, and an off camera cord.

Nikon flash is best, and the bigger the better, but there are cheaper alternatives. Others are better placed than I am to advise on that. If you go the CLS route, FlashInThePan does a dedicated cord for £18 - see the For Sale section where he has loads of cool stuff at bargain prices

The D60 doesn't support CLS (Creative Lighting System). CLS would allow you to use the camera inbuilt flash to trigger off camera flashes by a burst of infra red, to comunicate with compatable speedlights, having control of the flash power from the camera menu. Edit- The D60 does support CLS, just not comander mode operation through the cameras menu and inbuilt flash like the D300 and D90... read on

However fitting a radio transmitter onto the hotshoe and a radio receiver attached to the flash would get you off camera, without any cable restrictions, though being totaly remote, you loose the TTL (Through The Lens) metering and flash settings will have to be done manualy to adjust power settings.

The other method would be a TTL cord from the camera hotshoe to the flash. But theres obvious limitations on distance, though this does allow the TTL metering to work.

FITP has some radio triggers for sale in the clasifieds forum, under Strobist gear.

 

[HoppyUK]

The D60 doesn't support CLS (Creative Lighting System). CLS would allow you to use the camera inbuilt flash to trigger off camera flashes by a burst of infra red, to comunicate with compatable speedlights, having control of the flash power from the camera menu.

However fitting a radio transmitter onto the hotshoe and a radio receiver attached to the flash would get you off camera, without any cable restrictions, though being totaly remote, you loose the TTL (Through The Lens) metering and flash settings will have to be done manualy to adjust power settings.

The other method would be a TTL cord from the camera hotshoe to the flash. But theres obvious limitations on distance, though this does allow the TTL metering to work.

FITP has some radio triggers for sale in the clasifieds forum, under Strobist gear.

D60 does support CLS - you just can't use the on-camera flash as a Commander unit - that's why you need a dedicated cord.

 

[singlespeed]

D60 does support CLS - you just can't use the on-camera flash as a Commander unit - that's why you need a dedicated cord.

True, it does support CLS... but it is VERY limited in it's function when compared to the higher spec bodies.

Surely the main convenience of CLS is being able to adjust and trigger the power outputs for a couple of groups of flashes, from the camera. which as far as I can see, the D60 can't do ( yes, I have just dug out the D60 and had another look through the menus)

 

[HoppyUK]

True, it does support CLS... but it is VERY limited in it's function when compared to the higher spec bodies.

Surely the main convenience of CLS is being able to adjust and trigger the power outputs for a couple of groups of flashes, from the camera. which as far as I can see, the D60 can't do ( yes, I have just dug out the D60 and had another look through the menus)

I wouldn't have said it is "very limited" as the fundamental workings of CLS are fully enabled with all Nikon DSLRs. You just can't control multiple flash units from some cameras.

You can't do that with the top models D3 and D3x either, as they don't have a flash at all. Same as Canons - none of their cameras will control multi flash at all without a separate master unit.

 

[singlespeed]

I wouldn't have said it is "very limited" as the fundamental workings of CLS are fully enabled with all Nikon DSLRs. You just can't control multiple flash units from some cameras.

You can't do that with the top models D3 and D3x either, as they don't have a flash at all. Same as Canons - none of their cameras will control multi flash at all without a separate master unit.

Very good point about the D3 and D3x. I stand corrected

So is this correct >>> with a commander unit, like a SU800 or SB900, theres not much difference in the CLS capabilities between a D60 and D3

I have just added an edit to post 4 for anyones future reference.

 

[JasonRS]

In answer to the OP, I'd look at ignoring the need for any TTL, and just get to grips with lighting without the camera doing the work.

Nikon SB 24/25/26/28 (is there a27?) from ebay, or secondhand from somewhere like LCE (got a 25 for£50 yesterday) £50-100 dependant on bidding fever.

Cheap wireless trigger from FITP in this thread here £25-30.00

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=157807

The it comes to where to mount the flash.

Either get some cheap ball bungees (mine were from a camping shop) to strap it to something, they're a few quid

or...

Light stand - tenner upwards, more height than a tripod, quicker to adjust too.

That gets you started, then add an umbrella mount (£11) and a convertible umbrella (£16) as the next stage.

Worth a read to put it all in perspective.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

 

[photon]

Here's an example of a potentially cheap and adequate Sunpak flash: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sunpak-Auto-Flashgun-36-FD-Canon-Mount_W0QQitemZ170375551992

The manual setting slider is above the indicator lamps which are at the base of the back of the unit. There's a colour-coded range indicator with the vertical white markings, for when the auto-thyristor mode is used, which relies on a sensor on the front of the flash. Above that, there's the ISO selector.

And here's a Sunpak 383, with an annotated photo of the controls: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sunpak-Auto-383-Super-Digital-Camera-Flash_W0QQitemZ150367904700