Flashguns

milster

milster

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Hi, I'm looking for some good articles and help on flashguns and what they do, so I can make an informed decision as to what to buy. I can't really afford a Nikon flash at the moment so I'll be looking at third party flashes. The trouble is I was sort of thinking a flash was a flash, but I've soon realised they're not. I'm coming up against phrases I don't understand, for instance "slave" "manual" "dedicated" "ttl", well pretty much everything really :lol: So I think it's best if I try to find out the basics before jumping in :)

Thanks for any help.:thumbs:
 
I came on to ask a simular question so i'll be keeping an eye on this thread :)
 
what sort of shots are you wanting to take???....

in very simple terms (im sure others will add the relevant details as necessary)...

*manual- a flash when flashlite connected to the body of camera (all flashlites)

*slave- is a secondary flash unit, which once acknowledges another flash, triggers the flash on the slave flash speedlite.... the cheaper brands tend to not have this function.. i know my jessops (£70) one didnt, however my newer ebay effort (£30) does..... but not of the quality as a nice branded flashlite...

*ttl- through the lens.... some camera body able to evaluate subject/subjects for shot taking etc

there many other abbreviations which are no doubt on here somewhere....

main thing really is that you have an idea of what sort of thing you'd favour taking shots at as some are better than others for certain shots, although generally fairly universal also...
 
I'm thinking I'd really want to be using it off camera mainly? I want to try water drop shots, also for fill light with close up stuff I think. This is why I need some advise, not sure how I'd use it for certain situations. Really need to read up :D
 
would be worth a read up.... also have a look at light filter kits/ flash gels.... im experimenting them now and am finding them quite handy...

for water drop shots in general having a 2nd flash anywhere would relocate/remove shadows.... but better to use diffusers or light reflecting discs.... depends on original light source etc- but bare in mind too much flash can be overpowering....
 
milster said:
I'm thinking I'd really want to be using it off camera mainly? I want to try water drop shots, also for fill light with close up stuff I think. This is why I need some advise, not sure how I'd use it for certain situations. Really need to read up :D
Click to expand...

Mmmm! :thinking: Well, for water drops you need a flash with a fast speed (simple terms coming out) look for a flash that will do better than 1/60th and that should work!.. perhaps 1/32th at a push may do it?.... Faster the better :cool: 1/128th and you've sorted it. Good luck!
 
Uncle Ken (bless his heart), has a decent page on Nikon speedlights.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/flash.htm

Also, on your D3100 it doesn't have commander mode built-in, so you'll need to buy extra kit to get any flash unit working off camera. :thumbsdown:
 
sevendayshop do some basic wireless flash remotes ( not I-TTL ) and you also use to remote trigger the camera via the supplied cable.
slave units are also sold separately so you can trigger loads.
 
There is a wealth of information and video tutorials about the Nikon CLS system on the Nikon web site. It's well worth a look :)
 
I've been out and bought Understanding Flash Photography today to see if that will help me with a direction. Don't know if it's any good but I liked Understanding Exposure so went with it :)

p.s. what does OP mean? I've seen it a few times, is it opening post?

Cheers
 
I use 3 vivitar 285hv's for off camera stuff, I drop them and break them fairly often and keep a couple of old broken ones for spares, they're easy to fix and cheap to buy in! If you can deal with the manual settings on it and deal without TTL then I'd consider them!
 
Hi Guys.
I am totally new to photography and have have just bought a used D7000 kit, and got various bits of equipment with it.

One of the items is a Metz Mecablitz 44 AF-1 Flash gun.

Now because I am new i dont know much about it.
The guy i purchased it from said the D7000 has a built in wireless command mode... the way he described it was the flash can be fired by the camera without it being connected.

Is that correct?
In the grand scheme of Flash guns how does this particular one stand?

Thanks
 
tezmed said:
what sort of shots are you wanting to take???....

in very simple terms (im sure others will add the relevant details as necessary)...

*manual- a flash when flashlite connected to the body of camera (all flashlites)

*slave- is a secondary flash unit, which once acknowledges another flash, triggers the flash on the slave flash speedlite.... the cheaper brands tend to not have this function.. i know my jessops (£70) one didnt, however my newer ebay effort (£30) does..... but not of the quality as a nice branded flashlite...

*ttl- through the lens.... some camera body able to evaluate subject/subjects for shot taking etc

there many other abbreviations which are no doubt on here somewhere....

main thing really is that you have an idea of what sort of thing you'd favour taking shots at as some are better than others for certain shots, although generally fairly universal also...
Click to expand...

Sorry but that definition of manual is very wrong. In this case in means manual exposure rather than automatic exposure. In full intensity manual, the flash discharges fully and gives its maximum light output. Some flashes can be set to give 1/2, 1/4 1/8 of maximum output.

If the flash is mounted directly onto the camera, it's known as on camera flash. It's also possible to have the flash and camera separated; this is known as off camera flash, and the flash is fired either by a cable or a wireless trigger.

Dedicated means that the flash is matched to a particular camera make to offer extra automation. Eg a flash can be dedicated to work with either Canon or Nikon but not both.

TTL means Through The Lens; the flash exposure is determined by the camera's own TTL metering system
 
Last edited:
mortimerhill said:
Sorry but that definition of manual is very wrong. In this case in means manual exposure rather than automatic exposure. In full intensity manual, the flash discharges fully and gives its maximum light output. Some flashes can be set to give 1/2, 1/4 1/8 of maximum output.

If the flash is mounted directly onto the camera, it's known as on camera flash. It's also possible to have the flash and camera separated; this is known as off camera flash, and the flash is fired either by a cable or a wireless trigger.

Dedicated means that the flash is matched to a particular camera make to offer extra automation. Eg a flash can be dedicated to work with either Canon or Nikon but not both.

TTL means Through The Lens; the flash exposure is determined by the camera's own TTL metering system
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.. there are so many acronyms!
On TTL, will the camera tell the flash what to output to fire at?
 
*manual- a flash when flashlite connected to the body of camera (all flashlites)
Click to expand...


were on different wavelengths.... i was basically- very basically explaining the functions on the flash unit....

manual / s1 / s2

by manual i meant by operator in connection with camera
 
tezmed said:
were on different wavelengths.... i was basically- very basically explaining the functions on the flash unit....

manual / s1 / s2

by manual i meant by operator in connection with camera
Click to expand...

Still off the mark. Manual flash can be on-camera or off-camera. You're right thought that power adjustment is user-defined (i.e. inputted manually).
 
Last edited:
CrazeUK said:
Hi Guys.
I am totally new to photography and have have just bought a used D7000 kit, and got various bits of equipment with it.

One of the items is a Metz Mecablitz 44 AF-1 Flash gun.

Now because I am new i dont know much about it.
The guy i purchased it from said the D7000 has a built in wireless command mode... the way he described it was the flash can be fired by the camera without it being connected.

Is that correct?
In the grand scheme of Flash guns how does this particular one stand?
Click to expand...

Just had a look at at that flash and it does state it'll do wireless TTL but there's very little on how you actually set it up. There is a 'SL' button on the rear of the flash that I expect clicks it into lave mode but I can't see how it would communicate with your D7000's pop-up flash unless it reads pre-flashes, a'la Nikon CLS.

Is there a user manual with the flash? That should help out...
 
tezmed said:
*slave- is a secondary flash unit, which once acknowledges another flash, triggers the flash on the slave flash speedlite.... the cheaper brands tend to not have this function.. i know my jessops (£70) one didnt, however my newer ebay effort (£30) does..... but not of the quality as a nice branded flashlite...
Click to expand...

If your Jessops flash (and I'm assuming as it's the only one they do at around £70) was a 360AFD then it did have an optical slave....
 
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