What flash options?

Mmarques

Mmarques

Suspended / Banned
Messages
826
Name
Marco
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi everyone, I have a Nikon d3100 and would like to get some advice on what flash to get, maybe a cheap and cheerful one to start off with so not wanting to spend too much.
Thanks
Marco
 
Yeah i use a yongnuo yn465 ttl flashgun from ebay for £40 it's the bees knees. Had it almost a year now its not failed me once.
 
Hi Marco,

If you're looking for a flash to augment the on-board unit then a Nikon SB400 would be a good place to start. It's a very basic flash but does work with Nikon's CLS system.

Something maybe a bit more sophisticated would be a Nissin Di622 (or similar) or Nikon SB600.

Hope that helps :)
 
I shoot Canon but I do have a couple of Nissin flashguns. I've got a Di866 which is equivalent to a Canon 580EX II and the Di622 the equivalent of the Canon 430EX II. They do a Nikon mount as well and the price ranges from around a £100 for the Di622 to around £200 for the Di866. This is about half the price of the Canon pair and the guns are excellently made, work with TTL, are very customizable and can be used as off camera flash too.
 
Bristolian said:
Hi Marco,

If you're looking for a flash to augment the on-board unit then a Nikon SB400 would be a good place to start. It's a very basic flash but does work with Nikon's CLS system.

Something maybe a bit more sophisticated would be a Nissin Di622 (or similar) or Nikon SB600.

Hope that helps :)
Click to expand...
The 3100 has not got the cls.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! I shall have a look at some prices for the nissin and the yongnuo flashes.
 
I've been using a yongnuo 560 for 2 year now. I bought it along with a set of cheap, no name pt-04 trigger/receivers. Again, still using after 2 years. The lot cost me €90. The 560 doesn't do i-TTL, but I always use speedlights in manual anyway. As I bounce light most times. The 560 recycles within 2 seconds at full power on fresh batteries.
 
Last edited:
Bristolian said:
Hi Marco,

If you're looking for a flash to augment the on-board unit then a Nikon SB400 would be a good place to start. It's a very basic flash but does work with Nikon's CLS system.
Click to expand...

Only insofar as it works in ttl mode, it can work as neither a master or a slave, nor is there any manual adjustment. All it can be used for is a basic hotshoe flash.

A secondhand SB600 is a much better choice in the long run.
 
Actually may I suggest the Jessops 360AFD as a good starter flash?

It's £80 from Jessops but if you have Tesco clubcard vouchers, you can bring the price down a bit that way.

This is what I started with and I couldn't fault it. My only gripe is that it's a little slower to recharge but for the price I thought it was excellent value.
 
gadgeteer said:
Actually may I suggest the Jessops 360AFD as a good starter flash?

It's £80 from Jessops but if you have Tesco clubcard vouchers, you can bring the price down a bit that way.

This is what I started with and I couldn't fault it. My only gripe is that it's a little slower to recharge but for the price I thought it was excellent value.
Click to expand...

^ What they said!!!!!
Sorry posting from phone!
 
gadgeteer said:
Actually may I suggest the Jessops 360AFD as a good starter flash?

It's £80 from Jessops but if you have Tesco clubcard vouchers, you can bring the price down a bit that way.

This is what I started with and I couldn't fault it. My only gripe is that it's a little slower to recharge but for the price I thought it was excellent value.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice,
How much slower is it to recharge? Is it quite a big difference?
 
Er, ok. My advice got snubbed :D

Possibly your best/cheapest option, a flash that recycles in under 2 seconds at full power, and you're going to look at a Jessops one that is slower and more expensive?? Probably less powerful too. The 560 is pretty powerful for what you pay, and fast.
 
I bought a SB-700 for my D3100 as I have OCD for matching equipment (gone an blown it last night on a Sigma lens, but the Nikon version would have caused a fall out with me and the missus!).

The Youngnou flash guns are pretty decent for the price, I can't see that the extra cash I spent on the Nikon has got me much more than build quality, as the CLS function isn't available on the D3100.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Only insofar as it works in ttl mode, it can work as neither a master or a slave, nor is there any manual adjustment. All it can be used for is a basic hotshoe flash.

A secondhand SB600 is a much better choice in the long run.
Click to expand...

I never suggested it could work as a mater/slave or be used off camera. I clearly stated it was suitable to augment the on-board flash as in work in place of but provide better results.

Agreed, the used SB600 is a better option ... which I think I also said.
 
Cagey75 said:
Er, ok. My advice got snubbed :D

Possibly your best/cheapest option, a flash that recycles in under 2 seconds at full power, and you're going to look at a Jessops one that is slower and more expensive?? Probably less powerful too. The 560 is pretty powerful for what you pay, and fast.
Click to expand...

Haha your advice wasn't snubbed at all, I'll be looking at all the flashes everyone has suggested. To be fair from the advice I have got so far im looking at the yongnuo. You mentioned i-TTL, what does that mean? Sorry for the amateur-ness :)
 
Mmarques said:
Haha your advice wasn't snubbed at all, I'll be looking at all the flashes everyone has suggested. To be fair from the advice I have got so far im looking at the yongnuo. You mentioned i-TTL, what does that mean? Sorry for the amateur-ness :)
Click to expand...
It means the camera works everything out for you. Just stick it on and shoot. The 560 does not have ttl the 465 has. They fave lots of models both manual and ttl.
 
Yes if you want it for on camera work. The 560 is more powerful and has a slave mode which is better for off camera work.
 
Mmarques said:
Thanks for the advice,
How much slower is it to recharge? Is it quite a big difference?
Click to expand...

Well my Metz takes about 3 seconds to do a charge to full power. The Jessops flash used to take about 6. So in percentage terms it was a lot worse. In reality though it's still very usable unless you are say covering an event like a wedding where you need it to recharge as fast as possible.

I would definitely go for a TTL flash as a starter flash and avoid manual flashes for now.
 
Last edited:
So it's been a while posting on this thread but for Christmas I got my flash :) it's yongnuo ttl yn465.
I've got a question, as I've mentioned this is for my d3100, is it possible to have this flash off the hotshoe and remote trigger it/sync it while off the camera?
 
Mmarques said:
So it's been a while posting on this thread but for Christmas I got my flash :) it's yongnuo ttl yn465.
I've got a question, as I've mentioned this is for my d3100, is it possible to have this flash off the hotshoe and remote trigger it/sync it while off the camera?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you'll need a compatible wireless trigger/receiver of sorts.
Yongnuo make one but there are others out there.

I found this site which helped explain it all to me; http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/lighting-101-pc-cords-and-pocket.html
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top