[brandonbpm]

Hi, I am looking for suggestions for my first speedlight. I will probably be using it most on-camera, for fill flash and bounce flash, so my most important requirements are tilt and swivel and power. In my home studio, I have monolights, so I may use it as a master to trigger the monolight(s) as optical slaves, but since I love to experiment I shoot a LOT in 100% manual mode especially when using strobes so manual settings is very important to me also. I don't really want to spend more than $150 on it so I am wondering if P-TTL is even necessary for what I want to do. Ideally, I want to be able to learn and eyeball guesstimate the manual settings for my flash in order to get a good exposure for my shot, and the whole ttl/pttl is a little over my head and seems a little scrupulous to me. Can anyone help me with suggestions for a flash that fits my needs for under $150?

[feilb]

To be honest, I think the only benefit of pttl is high speed sync. Fill flash outdoors on a camera with a max sync of 1/180 is quite a challenge. Beyond that, I see little value in it.

[usrbrv8]

I think it really depends on the type of flash shooting you want to do.
I really like it for when things are changing quickly mostly for shooting either family parties or my niece running around the house playing. I don't really have to worry about moving from one room to the next, I just point it at the ceiling or a wall and shoot away.
If your primary use isn't people or more accurately you have time to setup the shot then no you don't need P-ttl. So when I shoot my wife's products for her etsy shop I always use manual.

[northcoastgreg]

Finding a powerful flash with variable manual output for under $150 can be a bit of a challenge. Unless you want to go with one of the cheap Chinese flashes, you're probably looking at a used flash. As far as I know, the best options are: Sunpak 383, 433D, or 444D; Nikon SB 24, 25, or 26; and the Pentax AF500FTZ. All these flashes have comparable power, but the Nikon and Pentax flashes have zooming heads, which allow you to concentrate and increase the intensity of the light. All but the Pentax flash come with autoflash settings, so you're not completely destitute of metered exposure. All these flashes (except the SB 26) can be bought used for under $100. Indeed, I purchased a Sunpak 433D last summer on ebay for $25.

[Deiberson]

you can easily pull this off with a used sigma 530 dg super. i think i landed mine for 120 a year ago. full tilt/swivel and p-ttl,

mine is fine for what i use it for. i always pick this over the af360 since that particular strobe doesn't swivel.

the ONLY issue I have with it is that i experience "occasional" banding at 1/180th when shooting manual and using remote triggers. lowering to 1/160th resolves the issue and I have 100% success.

there is one on the market right now actually......LINK

[brandonbpm]

I'm strongly considering a Nikon SB-26, I've seen some good used prices. Does anyone know about the Lumopro LP120 or the LP160? They are pretty tempting.

[SOldBear]

I think p-TTL is waayyy overrated. Unless you need high-speed sync and/or p-TTL wireless, you don't really need p-TTL.

My recommends:

- For about $50: AF280T, Sunpak 444D, 433D, 36DX. 30DX, Vivitar 5600, 5200, 3700, Nikon SB-24, any of Metz 40MZ models, any of Metz 32Z models.

- For about $100: Nikon SB-25, SB-26, SB-28, Metz 54MZ-3

- For about $150: Metz 54MZ-4 or Metz 54MZ-4i

Among the flashes I currently own (see partial list below), my "go to" flashes are the Metz 54MZ (I have 2 copies of MZ-4 and 2 of MZ-3). I don't use the 2 copies of Pentax AF540FGZ much because they default to p-TTL.

The problem with the Metz 54MZ is that the module for Pentax (SCA 3702) is kind of pricey. You actually can use modules for other camera brands, but the module for Pentax offers "smart auto" mode.

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Last edited by SOldBear; 02-03-2012 at 02:54 PM.

[northcoastgreg]

Does anyone know about the Lumopro LP120 or the LP160?

I don't know anything about their durability. The Lumopros are not as powerful as flashes such as the Nikon SB 24-26, the Pentax AF500FTZ, and the Sunpak 383, 443D, and 444D. They have a GN of 98 ft at 35mm coverage, compared to GNs of 118-120 ft @35mm for the used flashes.

[SOldBear]

On Pentax AF500FTZ: It does not have auto mode. On current batch of Pentax DSLRs, you have to use it on fully manual.

It's not the end of the world, but not as convenient as other options with auto mode.

[maxfield_photo]

pTTL and monolights don't work together, or at least not very well. If you trigger your monolights with their built in optical slaves as I do, the preflash from a pTTL speedlight will prematurely trigger your monolights and they'll most likely be recycling when the exposure actually happens. You might be able to make it work by turning off the optical salves and attaching radio triggers to all of them, but your transmitter normally sits on the hotshoe, as does the speedlight, so you would need a wireless transmitter with pTTL pass-through contacts to an on-board hotshoe. I'm not sure such a trigger system exists. Then there's the problem that pTTL assumes that it is the only thing going on in your photo and it won't figure in for the output of your studio strobes, and your images will most likely be overexposed.

In short, manual is great, if you can do manual flash, you don't need pTTL.