Need a flash gun!

[Fidley]

Allo all,
I'm in need of a flash gun (see photogenic dog thread) i have around the £100 mark to spend. I know it isn't gonna be the greatest flash gun in the world but it'll do me! I've found the Sigma EF 500 ST DG and wondered if this the best in my price range? Anything else i should look at? It'll be used for, well, anytime there isn't enough light so i need something thats versatile! Recommendations kids? Anything else to consider?

PS: Would a diffuser be a worthwhile investment for £13?

TIA.

[noah]

what system you shoting on, nikon/canon/other

what's it for shooting - i suspect you'll want the non st sigma as then you can use it in manual

if you shoot nikon get a sb-600 as they're not much more from hong-kong and offer more possibilities eg wireless

diffuser - yes

[Flibb]

2nd the sb600, great bit of kit. Use it wireless off camera with the D70 (dont think D50 supports this), or wired for macro. Cheapest UK (grey import) I found was £160.

[hoodmeister]

I would say the Sb-600 too, but that's mostly for the remote use - which, as flibb says, the D50 doesn't support without a commander unit or an Sb-800.

[YorkieBen]

A very flash gun

[Flibb]

Oo a desert eagle. Before they banned handguns I worked with a gunsmith as a saturday job. We had one of those come in for a refurb. It lived in a aluminium case that housed

Desert eagle with normal barrel
2 mags
Long barrel with scope
sholder stock.

Very nice bit of kit, was fully working as well.

[Fidley]

Ok so say i got a sb-800, would i be able to use it off camera? Out of the box? I understand the advantages of this but dunno what i need tbh! Shotting with a d50 for those who don't already know!

[hoodmeister]

no, you wouldn't. If you bought an SB-800 and an SB-600 then you could use the 800 to set off the 600 remotely - but the 800 must be on camera. That's starting to get quite expensive, though. Apart from anything else the SB-800 is, last I checked, about £300.

Nikon do do a commander unit, which is just a small unit which sits on your hot shoe and is used to set off remote flashes. It also has an AF illuminator (the AF illumintor on flashes is much better than the built in one - lets you get reliable AF lock in pitch darkness, providing you're not too far from the subject. It's also less obtrusive).

I'll dig up some info for ya.

[Fidley]

Kool, cheers hoodi!

Hmmmmm i can afford the sb-600 i suppose, all depends how much that commander unit is!!!

[hoodmeister]

Right, it's the SU-800 you need.

Tbh it's designed for controlling lots of flashes wirelessly - but it's the cheapest way you're gonna get remote flash on a D50.
It'll cost you about £200 HK import linky.

A better solution would be to get the Sigma, and used the saved £'s on a flash cord. Not as fun or easy as wireless flash, but in many circumstances more practical - and also a lot cheaper.

[Fidley]

Why would the sigma with cord be more practical?

Also http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/page190.htm

£215 from a uk company AND it's UK stock appratanly so will have proper warranty? Anyone heard of/used them before tho?

edit:

http://www.europe-nikon.com/details....=375&catId=101

Wassat do?

[noah]

most sensible thing to do imo is get the sb-600 cos that's closest to your budget, then maybe an IR trigger and a cheapo second hand extra flash. your sb-600 onboard will trigger the IR sensor and that will trigger the extra flash i think. i looked into it a while back and the trigger was about £20 and a flash from my local shop's box of bits was another £25. might be worth going to ask a shop (real one, not jessops so they have knowledge- unless your jessops is better than mine) on that one.

or you can just get an sb-800 for £224 from HK and wait till you can afford an sb-600 as a slave, all very very expensive

the su-800 is nice, but pricey

[Fidley]

Was just thinkin that i canny use the extra feature of a 800 till i get another for slave anyway! So may as get the 600 for now!

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catal...products_id=51

Anyone used these before then? Opinions?

[noah]

that's where i got mine

ordered monday, arrived thursday. very good serivce

[Fidley]

Ah kool! Does it have a UK warranty?

[Flibb]

Its probably grey import, but the seller usually gives 12 months so your not really loosing anything.