which flash?

hi all i havent been on here for a while moved house etc i now have some free time again and want to start learning more about my photography and was reading one of the photography mags and the tutorials and want to try them out but i need a flash gun which one do i need for my samsung gx10 any advice much appriecieted thank you
emma

Hello Emma, glad you're getting more into photography, flash will complicate things even more though but it's fun.

There are already a lot of topics about which flash to get so what do you want to do with your flash and what's your budget?

well not sure on budget yet as its my birthday coming up so was going to ask all for money for the flash and in the mag i was reading it shows the flash being moved around to light up objects from different angles and that i dont no the first thing about it im afraid hence i need one to practice have a play around etc then i can take it from there i suppose once i know more about the functions etc

Okay that's quite something. ^^

For beginners the best flash for the money is the Metz48, it has almost all the feature you need or want from a flash.

It has a swivel head, wireless mode, powerful and it has a useful manual mode

The only obvious drawbacks are that it can not give commands to other flash when working in wireless mode and that it doesn't have "auto" flash.
Auto flash is an automatic flash mode that use a light sensor in the flash to calculate how much light you need, it has P-TTL though and will therefore work fully automatic by using the sensors in the camera but P-TTL can not be use with older lenses.

besides that, there is also the Pentax AF360FGZ but that one is missing the swivel head so that can limit you.

The Sigma standard, is the more powerful flash but it lacks a decent manual mode and wireless feature so basicly it can only be used on the camera in P-TTL mode.
That's more then enough for most users but if you want to be creative then I can't recommend it.

The more expensive models have all the features and also the auto mode the cheaper ones lack so they will not limit you in anyway for the couple of years, but they are pricey...

Was this helpful?


If you know a bit about flash terminology you might find your answers here.
link

thanks for all that information but what does P-TTL mean?

i have just seen the metz48 on ebay for £168 is that reasonable how much would a second hand one be as i only want to practice really first of all then i will go for a more expensive one when i get the hang of them etc

ok just read the link you sent me very helpful thank you for your help

P-TTL = Pre-flash Through The Lens
TTL is the standard metering that the camera use without a flash, it meters the scene through the lens, with P-TTL it fires fires a pre-flash with the flashgun and it meters the scene and adjust the flash power.
This works quite well but isn't 100% perfect though.

With older lenses without an auto-aperture the camera can't do the calcualtions needed for the flash power, therfore it simply fires the flash at full power so don't use that mode then.

I Don't live in the UK so can't say anything about prices, sorry.
At least SRS is cheaper and you get free shipping link
I'm sure other members can help you more with this and i haven't seen many secondhand to be honest.

For your second flash you might even go for a cheaper one, the Nikon SB24 for example can be bought for 1/4th of the price of a new flash second-hand and it has Auto-mode and more importantly Manual mode and when you're getting serious you most probably just want a good manual mode for the most control.

Your welcome.

ok thankyou stefan you have been most helpful been reading about the metz 48 think this will be my first flash

Try SRS for a new one at £155, or not sure if London Camera Exchange in Colchester stock them, but it might be worth giving Dave there a ring, they're a Pentax Pro Centre now too, nice to have one in the county.

Cameraworld don't seem to have the 48 listed on their website.

Dan

Hi Emma, (and thanks to Dan for the post)

We stock the Metz @ £145.00 open Sundays as well.

We also offer 6 or 12 months interest free finance on purchases of £500+

Dave

It's also more expensive and less powerful than the Metz 48

Don't put the AF360 down so much, it has full P-TTL wireless mode and an auto mode which is useful for manual lenses, all that the Metz 48 is lacking so it comes down to what you need.

I've got a Sigma EF-530 DG Super and it's great. Worth a lookif you haven't pulled the trigger yet. (Mine was £140 second hand off ebay - mint boxed condition). The 530 non super version is about £130 new.

Well recieved my Metz 48 today thanks Dave now just need to figure out how to use it: