Looking for a hotshoe flash

[Gary_P]

I have a Canon Reble XTi and need another flash for it. I spoke to a photographer at a wedding last night and he suggested as others did, a better flash.

What's a good one and how much do I need to spend?
I talked to my local Ritz store and he suggested the Quantaray PZ40X TTL Digital Flash w/Power Zoom for Canon.

He said if I wanted to stay with Canon, I could get one for around $300. I do this as a hobby and didn't want to spend that much.

Anyone using the Quantaray? I use my camera for textures for models and also family functions. I wanted a flash I could point upwards as to not have a shine to the picture.

Thanks as always.

[Rhys]

Quantaray is OK but you can do better. The Sunpak 383 will work on your XTi and will teach you much more about flash control. Bonus - it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

The Quantarays are deceptive - they look good value but they're not really - about teh same as Sigma flashes.

The best is the Canon 580EX2 but they're quite expensive.

[Gary_P]

Wow, it is cheaper, but not available at Ritz. That's ok I can order it from B&H for $89.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...y=10&Go=submit

Oooo thank you!
I knew this was the right place.

What makes it better and why will it teach me more may I please ask?
And do I want a slave unit and a battery pack?

[Rhys]

Wow, it is cheaper, but not available at Ritz. That's ok I can order it from B&H for $89.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...y=10&Go=submit

Oooo thank you!
I knew this was the right place.

What makes it better and why will it teach me more may I please ask?
And do I want a slave unit and a battery pack?

It's not an ETTL flash. It will teach you how to work out flash exposures. It doesn't need a battery pack or a slave unit. If you want later to use several flashes, it's an excellent slave flash. You can't just put this on your camera and do no work. You have to think about the exposure and make manual adjustments to both camera and flash.

Either that or go to ebay for a secondhand 420EX.

[BBPhoto]

Don't overlook the Sigma for Canon hotshoe units either. They are very good value for the $$.

[Rhys]

Don't overlook the Sigma for Canon hotshoe units either. They are very good value for the $$.

Until you need to link them to an STE-2 or a Canon flash. Then they're very dubious.

[BBPhoto]

Until you need to link them to an STE-2 or a Canon flash. Then they're very dubious.

I suppose they could be for some but I never had a problem with mine. They were absolutely reliable in fact.

[Rhys]

I suppose they could be for some but I never had a problem with mine. They were absolutely reliable in fact.

It's half a dozen of one and six of the other. Some people have nothing but problems and others have none. As an example, I tried some cheap ebay flash triggers - they worked 50% of the time for me. The next guy couldn't get them to work at all. Judging by what I've heard, some people get Sigma flashes to integrate into an ETTL system and some have a miserable time.

[Gary_P]

I feel so clueless about this. I thought you plopped it on your camera and set its for distance and it did it's thing.
ETTL?

Thanks for all the help, BTW.

[TheWengler]

Some flashes you can only use in manual (you set the flash power). Some can be used in TTL or more of an auto mode.