Every time you want to investigate an external flash for your camera, are you lost? Are the terminology, technicalities and numbers surrounding the world of flashes overwhelming and throw you back?
Technology, if incomprehensible, is of no use. Manufacturers seem silly, they make an effort to make their flashes increasingly complex and difficult to understand, to a point where one wants to buy one.
Starting from this, in today's article I will try to approach you in a simple and easy to understand way to the world of external flashes. You will see that deep down it is not as complex as it seems from the outside. I will explain the types of flashes there are, we will see if you really need one, and if so, I will help you find one. Go for it.
TYPES OF FLASHES
The first thing I want you to distinguish are the types of flashes there are. There are 3 basically:
Built-in flash
Integrated flash: These are the flashes that are integrated into the compact and SLR cameras, which come standard and cannot be removed or added. Yes they can be deactivated so that they do not jump, but they cannot be started. They are there, as one more part of the camera.
External flash
External flash: It is the typical external flash that we buy separately and that we can hook on the top of the camera. This type generally offers much more light power.
Macro Circular Flash
Macro Flash: This is a type of flash specially designed for Macro photography (for example insects). To illuminate the tiny object well, this flash has a circular shape that allows it to shed light on the subject or object in a circular manner.
And these are the 3 most important types there are. The others are all small variations of any of these 3.
DO YOU NEED AN EXTERNAL FLASH ... REALLY?
If you are reading this article, it is probably because you want to buy an external flash. Do you really need it? Sometimes we believe that with an external flash hooked to our SLR camera we will "automatically" get better pictures, or at least we will look more professional.
What really has to motivate us is a real need. Let me ask you one thing: Why do you need an external flash?
If you have an answer, phenomenal. Go ahead with it. But if you don't know why, I recommend you leave it here, since you probably don't need one at all
LIMITATIONS OF THE BUILT-IN FLASH
Built-in flash
If your answer has been "Yes, I need an external flash because I am not satisfied with the results of the integrated in my camera" then welcome to the club. Many users suffer from the inconvenience of the flash that is incorporated in the SLR cameras by default. Some of the limitations of these integrated flash for example are that:
They generally produce the famous unwanted effect of red eyes.
They create a light that is too hard, direct and always from the same direction as the camera, in front.
Many cameras do not allow you to control the intensity of the integrated flash light.
The integrated one usually has less power and is not able to illuminate large areas.
If you suffer any of these evils then yes, you need to get a good external flash.
HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD FLASH?
But which? In the market there is a wide range of external flashes, some of affordable prices and others of exorbitant prices. How to discern a good flash? How to find exactly what you need?
QUESTIONS BEFORE BUYING A FLASH
To answer this question you will have to solve two issues:
Define a maximum budget. Please do not answer: «Well, I could pay between 30 and 120 euros, more or less, maybe it would reach 150 euros, and well, I don't know .. it depends on what you offer me maybe I would consider getting paid one more tad » . No. You have to draw a maximum budget. Think of a figure, a maximum budget on which you would not pay another euro. Not one. Be honest. The maximum you would pay please. You already have it? All right
What do you want the flash for exactly? I know that it is to get good photos, because you are not satisfied with the current one, but .. think with a little more level of detail. For what kind of photos exactly do you need the flash? I ask you because you will have to choose one or the other depending on what you answer. For example, if you only want to add a little more light to your portraits to illuminate small areas of shadows on the subject's face then with a flash of minimum or medium power would suffice. If on the contrary you need to illuminate a group of people well outside then you will need one with a high power. Go thinking about these things ..
STEPS TO CHOOSE A GOOD EXTERNAL FLASH
Now, let's try to choose a good one for our camera. We will do it observing the characteristics of the flashes and thinking at all times in the use that we want to give that flash . This will help us find the most suitable for our case:
Agfa flash, old
THE GUIDE NUMBER
First we will look at the "Guide Number" : Etsshhh !!! Quiet. I know, I just entered a weird term that is the guide number but there is no reason to get nervous. The guide number is as easy as the power of the flash , neither more nor less. I already told you that manufacturers compete with each other to see who makes things more complicated, because they could have called it "Power", right? Well, when comparing a flash with another, an important aspect that you will have to assess is the power you need from that flash. A higher "Guide Number" higher price and more light. Easy.
And how do you know if you need more or less power? Well, simple: if you want to take a close picture of a person in a room that is not very big, you probably don't need much power. On the other hand, a photo of a huge interior such as a cathedral needs a flash with much more power, since the area to be illuminated will be much wider.
RECYCLING SPEED
The second thing we will look at is the "Recycling Speed" : If we shoot two photos with flash, between one shot and another the flash needs to rest a bit, recover. That time is the recycling speed. Most walkers have no problem waiting 2 or 3 seconds between one photo and another to use it. On the other hand, some professionals who usually shoot a certain type of photos very quickly cannot afford to wait 3 seconds between one shot and another until the flash is ready. They will take the "Recycling Speed" into account when buying one. In your case it is very likely that this is irrelevant, but I tell you so that you know anyway.
THE TYPE OF CONNECTION
We continue and now we have to study the type of connection : An external flash can be connected to the camera in several ways:
Hooked on top of the camera body.
Connected to the camera using a cable.
Wireless activation
In the market there are flashes with one of these options, with two, and even some that offer all three options. The normal for an average user is an external flash of these that are hooked on top of the camera, in the same shoe. But since you are going to invest money in this accessory, you should know the other two ways to connect it in case you think you will need it in the future.
DIFFERENT FEATURES
We keep looking and comparing flashes and now we are going to look at some features that some flashes offer and others do not. Functions that can make our lives easier and the most decent photographic result:
Bounce up
Bounce up
Some flashes have the top swivel up. This allows us to direct the light towards the ceiling of the room or room and make the flash light bounce off the ceiling and reflect on the face of our subject. Normally a portrait with "bounced" light is much nicer since the bounced light is soft and more pleasant than the light directly fired from the flash.
Rotate right and left
This is the same as the previous point but this time sideways. Sometimes we are near a side wall and we want to bounce the light on the wall and not on the ceiling. The same result as the previous point is obtained: a much softer and more pleasant light. As a test here you have a portrait obtained by the rebound technique, this time on the ceiling facing up.
Bounced flash light portrait
Manual and Automatic Control
Important to know if we want to choose a flash that offers only automatic or manual control as well. If you want easy things and without further complication an automatic one will surely be worth it, but if you want to intervene in the settings, learn the mechanism and start controlling it yourself to get the picture you have in mind with the exact amount of light you have thought, then your flash will have to offer manual controls.
How you doing If you have come with reading this far, you are taking it seriously. We're almost done. Already at this point you will have to have more or less clear the characteristics of the flash you need , but it remains to answer a final question: What brand to choose ?.
The answer is simple: You have two options, or one of the same brand as your camera (if you have Nikon you buy Nikon flash, if it is Canon then Canon, Sony Sony, etc.) or one of a generic brand compatible with all cameras .
At first glance one can think "Well, I buy a generic one and so if I change my camera tomorrow, I'm still worth the same flash . " It is a correct and good reasoning, except for the fact that the flash most compatible with Nikon cameras is Nikon, the most compatible with Canon is the Canon, and so on. Therefore, if you decide to buy a generic one, it will surely work for you, it will offer you all the basic options, and possibly some complementary ones, but if you buy one of the same brand as your camera you can be sure that the compatibility between the two will be total , to 100%.
RECOMMENDED FLASHES
In case you still have any doubts, here are a couple of recommendations of flashes of unquestionable quality for Canon and Nikon respectively, and that will offer you a more than acceptable result:
Canon Speedlite 430EX II, 330 g, 72 x 122 x 101 mm, AA, Black
Nikon SB-700 - Hot shoe flash for Nikon SLR cameras
Metz Mecablitz 52 AF-1 Digital - Flash with shoe, black for Nikon and Canon
Yongnuo YN560 III - Flash with hot shoe, black (compatible with Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, and other brands. Very affordable price, and # 1 on Amazon sales for a long time. Just view user reviews on Amazon )
More flashes ..
The world of flashes is immense and sometimes unattainable. It is a subject that has many ramifications: slave flash and flash master, measurement through the TTL lens, synchronization speed, etc. Palabrejas and photographic jargon that could sometimes confuse us. In the end, dear reader, the most important thing and what you have to know about the flashes I have presented to you in today's article . I hope you find it useful, didactic and that you "light" a little that purchase decision that you will finally make.
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