Flash advice please..

lugworm

lugworm

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Tony
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looking for a small, inexpensive flash unit to go with my newly acquired Fuji xt-1. I'm not bothered about make, I very rarely use a flash, but would like to have one "just in case". As someone wiser than me once said...I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it" !

Suggestions welcome....

Thanks in advance.
 
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Meike do one for about £60. Has bounce and swivel.
 
I know this looks ridiculous, but this works for using the humble flash you get with the XT-1 to bounce the light. I have improved it since, looks a little better now lol. but I've taken some shots of the kids using it and it does a good job. Surprise Fuji haven't come up with some kind of add on for it, would be cool. It's that simple to bounce the light from it for much better results. You need tinfoil [reflects a lot more light than say, white card], but for cosmetic improvement, with a little DIY skillz, you could make a black outer wrap for it.

ZcckNUw.jpg



An example shot where I used it: You can actually see the light bounce from the ceiling in the Teddy's eyes :)

Fuji EX-F8 bounce tester2 by Enticing Imagery, on Flickr
 
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Cagey75 said:
I know this looks ridiculous, but this works for using the humble flash you get with the XT-1 to bounce the light. I have improved it since, looks a little better now lol. but I've taken some shots of the kids using it and it does a good job. Surprise Fuji haven't come up with some kind of add on for it, would be cool. It's that simple to bounce the light from it for much better results. You need tinfoil [reflects a lot more light than say, white card], but for cosmetic improvement, with a little DIY skillz, you could make a black outer wrap for it.

ZcckNUw.jpg



An example shot where I used it: You can actually see the light bounce from the ceiling in the Teddy's eyes :)

Fuji EX-F8 bounce tester2 by Enticing Imagery, on Flickr
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Look like something from Blue Peter ;) I take it you found it powerful enough for bounce then?
 
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snerkler said:
Look like something from Blurle Peter ;) I take it you found it powerful enough for bounce then?
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Haha, yeah, make and do with cagey :D It can easily be made to look a bit smarter though, this is just a proto-type :D I seen someone else do similar when I searched it. That little speedlight is more powerful than it looks for sure. It throws off plenty of light to bounce. In the example I show, that was ISO 400 @ 1/60 in a fairly dark room. Just a small bed side lamp on.
 
Cagey75 said:
Haha, yeah, make and do with cagey :D It can easily be made to look a bit smarter though, this is just a proto-type :D I seen someone else do similar when I searched it. That little speedlight is more powerful than it looks for sure. It throws off plenty of light to bounce. In the example I show, that was ISO 400 @ 1/60 in a fairly dark room. Just a small bed side lamp on.
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Well it's only GN8 do not that powerful, but if it can work in some situations that could be all I need (y). Shutter speed doesn't really affect flash until HSS, only the background light, so what aperture was it shot at as that will affect the light from the flash?
 
snerkler said:
Well it's only GN8 do not that powerful, but if it can work in some situations that could be all I need (y). Shutter speed doesn't really affect flash until HSS, only the background light, so what aperture was it shot at as that will affect the light from the flash?
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Yeah I know the shutter speed isn't really relevant, just threw that in there. It was shot at 2.8, the widest the 27mm will go. If I'd taken the same shot without flash it would be an almost full black image at ISO 400. I've taken pics of Emily in the same room at ISO 3200, f/2.8 and had to boost exposure in LR. I don't tend to touch any higher ISO than that.

I don't pay attention to GN, if it gives the light I desire, it's good enough :) It's never going to be used as a studio shoot flash, but for home shooting it's just fine. And OP seems to be after something simple. He's already got this.

I plan on buying another yongnuo personally, got the old 560 already, so I can use that for more power. But the MK IV can be remotely adjusted using the yongnuo 560 TX, looks about what I'd need.
 
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Cagey75 said:
Yeah I know the shutter speed isn't really relevant, just threw that in there. It was shot at 2.8, the widest the 27mm will go. If I'd taken the same shot without flash it would be an almost full black image at ISO 400.

I don't pay attention to GN, if it gives the light I desire, it's good enough :) It's never going to be used as a studio shoot flash, but for home shooting it's just fine. And OP seems to be after something simple. He's already got this.

I plan on buying another yongnuo personally, got the old 560 already, so I can use that for more power. But the MK IV can be remotely adjusted using the yongnuo 560 TX, looks about what I'd need.
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Yeah sorry, was thinking about my own needs ;) I've been considering the meike for travel but ideally I wanted something the size of the included one. It's a shame they didn't give it a bounce feature like the one bundled with the EM5-II.
 
I reckon they would sell them by the bucket load if they did make a bounce attachment for it.

Which Meike one is that?
 
The Meike is a good little unit with a great power to size ratio. Batteries can be charged inside the flash too using a micro usb lead, so handy for traveling light.
 
Barrysprout said:
The Meike is a good little unit with a great power to size ratio. Batteries can be charged inside the flash too using a micro usb lead, so handy for traveling light.
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Useful, thanks. For me it's between this and the Fuji EF-20. The EF-20 looks smaller, especially when packed away as the hotshoe folds inside the flash unit, which is a big plus for me as one of the main criteria is portability. However it only has tilt vs tilt and swivel of the Meike plus is 'only' GN20 vs GN32 of the Meike.
 
boliston said:
efx20 is very good - the only thing that annoys me is there is no way to disable it turning off after 15 minutes
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But has no bounce or swivel. Certainly looks a lot better than the Meike, but for functionality I'd save money and have the Meike.
 
Barrysprout said:
But has no bounce or swivel. Certainly looks a lot better than the Meike, but for functionality I'd save money and have the Meike.
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Agreed. IMO the X20 is only useful for fill flash, any other direct flash just looks hideous imo ;) TBH it surprises me the X20 sells so well as I would never buy a flash that doesn't bounce, using indoor just gives horrible light otherwise imo.
 
I've said elsewhere before, for an off camera flash system with full control from camera position the yongnuo 560 system is hard to beat. I used a 3 flash system for quite a while. The only reason I changed was that I got fed up of the charging regime of AA batteries.
 
snerkler said:
Agreed. IMO the X20 is only useful for fill flash, any other direct flash just looks hideous imo ;) TBH it surprises me the X20 sells so well as I would never buy a flash that doesn't bounce, using indoor just gives horrible light otherwise imo.
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I must be one of the few photographers who actually likes the "direct flash" look :cool:
There is even a site dedicated to it http://fullfrontalflash.com/
 
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boliston said:
I must be one of the few photographers who actually likes the "direct flash" look :cool:
There is even a site dedicated to it http://fullfrontalflash.com/
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Fair enough if its what you like but the Meike can do that too [emoji1]

But yes if you only ever use direct flash the little fuji unit is very nice quality, if a little slow to recycle. If you can get a good used one at a good price they are great, but no way I would pay full retail.
 
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