i always hate the built-in flash on my camera. i can adjust the brightness in Manual mode, but i can't always bother, especially if i am on an outing.
in auto mode the flash is really strong and mostly people turn out too white, which is very annoying and inconvenient.
so, can any experienced people tell me what my options are for an external flash unit? i am very confused amid the "slave flash", "bounce flash", "ring flash", "twin flash" and whatever other flashes may be roaming the earth, so i have no idea what i should be looking for.
i would like the flash force to be adjustable, so in the evening or in dark places people can look sort of daylightish? at least not ghostly! also, since i'm a teenager with a photo hobby, i cannot splurge and get an expensive one, so something much less than top of the line will have to do. i can probably only afford something for maximum 70 bucks.
on amazon there are a few cheap options but i don't know what kind of flash they produce.
2007-12-26 11:05:32 · 2 answers · asked by ? 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Photography
thanks for any serious answers. :]
2007-12-26 11:05:51 · update #1
perki, i have a canon powershot g9.
2007-12-26 11:11:57 · update #2
That's a tough one, as the Cannon web site recommends the EX series speedlights, which will all be outside of your budget considerations.
What your hoping to achieve is fill flash, and I'm amazed it's not built into your camera in the first place, but according to Cannon, it's not.
I have an experiment for you to try, might get you by till you can afford to purchase a speedlight...
Take a piece of scotch magic tape, the double sided kind, and trim it to the size of your flash. Stick it on there, and take some test exposures. If you find you need to further reduce the output, fold and trim a piece of lens cleaning tissue, and stick that to the tape. play around with the density of the lens tissue till you get your desired effect. In effect, your creating your own diffuser, much like an accessory for a pro light. It's not a "silver bullet" but it just might work for you.
G' Luck, and keep shooting !!!
2007-12-26 13:26:22 · answer #1 · answered by J-MaN 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We need to know what type of camera you are using
Added - what you really need for some control is a flash with a bounce head (That is the ability to point it upwards and other directions). Unfortunately, your pretty well stuck with fairly expensive options. Putting on a flash not dedicated to your camera can burn out your whole electrical system. ( I know, I've done it twice..once to a 35mm that I had to trash and once to a Canon digital Rebel that cost $106 to repair). The one cheap solution I could suggest would be to get an older strobe like the Vivitar 283 and use what's called a "safe sync" to keep the system from burning out.
Give me links to what you've been looking at and maybe I can suggest one.
2007-12-26 19:10:46 · answer #2 · answered by Perki88 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋