Im using a Fujifilm S9500...
currently in great urgent to get an external flashgun to prepare for certain event at my uni.

Any pro out thr recommend any 3rd party external flashguns to me?
Also, which place in KL would be good to scout for flashguns, accs and stuff...

sorry for these newb ques though

Actually a flash gun is pretty much useless on a Finepix 9000 series.

You can trigger the flash but you can't TTL.

So, you need to manually set the settings on the flash, which is a lil cumbersome.

You can try getting a 2nd hand if u want to save on flash.

You can get a SB-600 or a vivitar 285hv depending on your budget.

vivitat 285hv doesnt have swivel mode rite?

yeah manually setting up the flash mode is pretty cumbersome
SB-600 is quite expensive to me though...considering tat my s9500 will not stay with me for too long though...planning to get a dslr soon...

Is Nikon SB-600 compatible with other dslr models by Sony or Canon for instance?

This post has been edited by kwws: Sep 7 2007, 06:19 PM

I think you maybe able to trigger it on those flashes, but you wont be able to TTL once again....

Im using a cheap-assed Suntax Flash from SG.. rm80 nia..lol..
>>> http://www.suntax.com.sg/product_display.a...e=Manual+System

Why not invest a bit in a TTL Flash where u can have manual control over the flash output?

Kenot use da TTL function nvm..but at least u can manual control it.

If you are going to get a dslr soon why not use a flash that is for that brand? Get a SB 600 if you are going for a nikon in the future, or canon flash is you are going to canon. In the long run i think you will save money that way. I have never tried a canon flash on my nikon, but i am 99% sure the flash will fire, but pretty much in the manual setting only- i.e. not compatible.

The vivitar 285hv has automatic mode, albeit not TTL. The auto mode is fairly easy to use, u just need to set the calculator dial at the side to your iso (you cannot set more than iso400 unfortunately, anything beyond that, you will have to do manual calculation or trial and error). After you set the dial, u will then have to look at what aperture u wanna use, and set it to the specific auto mode. There are only 4 auto modes. Alternatively, you can focus on ur subject, check the distance on ur camera, then set the aperture and auto mode on the flash. Pretty clumsy to use as a main flash but that's what people did during film days, and there are still people who use it as a main flash.

If you intend to rely on i-ttl, then you can either get the sigma EF 500DG or sb600. The sigma is better than the sb600 but i think it cost a little more. The sb600 is the perfect replacement flash for many people, all the essential features are there - swivel and tilt head, i-ttl, manual power ratio, remote slave. I sold this flash for a few reasons - doesnt display much info, doesnt tell you what iso, what aperture, what distance, and etc. I also dont use i-ttl anymore because i dont know wtf the flash is doing, when i go wireless, i use manual mode and the flash is not showing me anything, the only thing i can do with it is use my lightmeter and manually set everything. No point paying 200usd for this when the vivitar can do it for 100usd and it has higher GN.

If you want a cheap flash similar to the vivitar, there is the sunpak 300 series flash, this flash do 1 thing better than the vivitar, it has swivel and pivot head! price wise, i think a tad more...or less...cant remember

Finally, if you decided that you dont wanna use dummy mode like me, you can always pick up an sb-24/28/28dx/80dx. All these flashes show all the info i mentioned earlier. They can be had for very cheap nowadays, and they were once flagship models (sb80dx was 1 generation before sb800, sb28 was 1 generation before sb80dx). The sb80dx is everything the sb800 is, less the i-ttl feature, cost about 1/3-1/2 the price of the sb800, and recycles as fast. The sb28 is quite old, but about 90% of an sb80dx. The only catch is i think it doesnt have modeling light, no auto aperture mode (this will be the mode you'd use on these flashes), but there is still auto mode, you just need to manually set the aperture, iso, blah blah...otoh, AA mode will take all the info from your camera settings. And a final catch is that the sb28 has plastic foot, while the sb80dx has metal foot. These modes are more accurate than TTL. You wont see many professionals actually use TTL mode, they use top range flash at A/AA/M mode with light meter to fully control the lighting.

I think that's all you need to know about nikon flashes

This post has been edited by AlamakLor: Sep 10 2007, 10:08 AM