The operating manual for the 48 AF says

"Depending on the camera model, the internal flash unit can also function as master or controllerflash unit."

Check your cameras manual is the advice given by Metz.

Well I don't know anything about Sigma flashes, but I would expect the quality to be high from Sigma. I do know that I have the Metz 48 and am delighted with it. Plenty of power and good value for money.

It would be nice to see a B&W version of 2 as I think the older face has the character for it.

One more thing about Metz. Flash guns is what they do! They have been doing it fyears and are very good at it, so when buying a flash gun you have to give them serious consideration.

Metz 48
Have a look at the link below, I have one of these which is right on your budget, and it is cracking.

http://www.metzflash.co.uk/pages/metz48af1.html

Up here in Shropshire all the roads are lined with thousands of dafs already so maybe we're ahead of you being further west and nearer the gulf stream influence :

amoringello
That's OK at night but what about in the day? I agree at night it's quite simple, but surely there is more to it in daylight. A lens of about 35mm helps 'cos depth of field is greater, and stopping the lens down also helps. I agree with your points about ISO and RAW

You really have to get lucky most of the time. Storms can come from nowhere when you least expect them. If you are shooting in the dark then if you know where the storm is you can point the camera in the right direction and use bulb and keep the shutter open for a long time, until you get a flash of lightning. BUT at any other time there is an element of luck to it. If you think about it though most flashes of lightning last at least half a second or so. Again if you can predict where the storm is going set up your tripod and use a shutter release and react bloody fast when lightning strikes. Somewhere I have a photo of a storm (on film) at night taken using bulb with about 7 or 8 different strikes. I was aided by a power cut over the shooting area so there was no street lights etc. I was lucky 'cos I had time to quickly set everything up. I couldn't focus, so I used F11 at infinity and held the shutter open with a cable release for at least 2 minutes.

To post an image join this free website

http://photobucket.com/

Then browse your images and upload the one you have selected.
When it appears as a thumbnail left click on the grey "IMG code". It should then say "copied" by the cursor. When you post here just paste on a new line and your image should appear.

Sigma 70mm macro