Nikon SB-700
Description: The Nikon SB-700 is a superb high performance medium size portable flash. We recommend this flash because it has incredible capabilities to make your flash photography simple, accurate, and gives you the ability to be creative with your shots. It can be used to its fullest abilities with all Nikon DSLR cameras that are compatible with Nikon Creative Lighting system, but can still be used functionally with other Nikon cameras also. This flash is easy to use and instead of having to charge it, it is easily powered by 4- AA batteries or NiMH rechargeable batteries, which is so helpful when traveling. Just by carrying some AA batteries in your camera bag you will always have your flash ready to use.
This Flash has a recycle time of 3 seconds, which is important when taking pictures of a person or portrait. The recycle time is the speed in which you can take the next shot, so when taking a portrait or headshot it is important to be able to take pictures quickly with the improvements of flash to catch that natural smile or look!
It also has flash tube overheating protection, which prevents overheating by increasing flash recycle times when it detects heat build-up. This will protect your flash from being ruined by overheating.
This Nikon flash has precision i-TTL flash control. This means it supplies precise flash exposure and great fill-flash performance. This is very helpful when you are set with a challenging lighting situation with different sources of lighting that create shadows and holes in the photo. This can be from a dimly lit room to a picture outside at sunset.
Overall the flash comes out to around 360 grams, which is a little less than a pound and is a very good weight to carry around. This compact medium sized flash gives you all of the ability of the larger flash with a light structure that can be carried with you at all times so you won’t miss out on upgrading your photos with a great flash.
This flash head contains a bounce card, which some of the previous models did not. The Bounce card is very important because it is used to instantly add catchlights in people’s eyes. Catchlight is that glimmer in that person’s eyes that truly pops. This is really important and beneficial when taking headshots or portraits and brings your photos up to the next level. This flash head can also tilt down 7 degrees or up to 90 degrees with click stops at -7, 0, 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees. The flash head also rotates horizontally 180 degrees to the left and right with click stops at 0, 30, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150, 180 degrees. All of this range of movement truly gives you the ability to work creatively with the light and gives you the freedom to move lighting according to your surrounding and already present light sources.
This flash has both an on-camera master and wireless commander setting. This gives you the ability to use the strobe directly on your camera, which keeps it steady with the movement of you hand. Or, you can use it as a Commander or Remote setting that can be set around the focus and truly become an alternate source of lighting from different angles. Commander setting works in conjunction with your camera’s flash and with remote it can be controlled by your camera or another Speedlight. This allows there to be light and flash working together making the focus of your piece stand out from the background.
The SB-700 is a key piece in becoming a stellar photographer giving you great power and depth of field control. We recommend this specific flash for all of the reasons above and because it also is a great deal coming not only with the flash, but all of the accessories!
Canon 430 EX II
Description: The Canon 430 EX ii is a great flash recommendation for Canon because it brings a high level of versatility and capabilities to your flash photography. This flash provides a powerful flash in a compact and durable body. This flash is compatible with all Canon EOS cameras and the Powershot G series of cameras. This covers the most popular and best cameras made by Canon and gives you the range to use it on an array of the Canon cameras and not just one.
It is a convenient flash taking 4- AA batteries as well as the option of NiMH rechargeable batteries. Both are very convenient to always have with you in your camera bag. Many people choose to carry around AA batteries, but like using NiMH batteries because they are more cost efficient and better for the environment. This flash also gives you a battery power indicator, which some do not and this can help you always be prepared with batteries so you don’t miss out on using your flash.
The Canon 430 EXii has a great range for recycle times from 1-3.7 seconds, which makes for quick recovery and is very helpful when wanting to take a sequence of pictures quickly. This is very helpful in taking pictures of people for headshots because sometimes it takes only seconds to catch that natural pose or look. This specific flash prides itself on having a near silent flash recycle, which decreases the distraction of a flash recovering sound and makes for smooth and natural shooting time.
This flash can be used in E-TTL II, E-TTL, TTL & Manual Modes. It proudly supports E-TTL II, which is Canon’s latest “Evaluative Through the Lens” auto exposure technology. When used, this mode takes into consideration the subject of your shots distance and other information and will automatically modify the flash power. In certain distances and light, the full power of the flash is not always necessary. The E-TTL II takes all the factors and modifies the flash resulting in an accurate and optimal flash exposure regardless of the reflecting in the shot, the subject size, or the composition of the shot. This is great for beginning flash users and photographers that like to shoot high contrast or reflective subjects. This type of flash mode makes sure that you catch every color and detail with great even lighting.
The Canon 430 EXii is 330 grams which is slightly over half a pound. Compared to a lot of flashes this is very lightweight, but is built for strength. It was made to be easy to attach or detach with a one-touch quick-lock mechanism and was built with a metal foot for added durability. In wanting to keep this flash very light so to make it easy to carry around with you, Canon wanted to make sure that it was still made with extremely precise and pronounced quality.
This flash also contains a tilt and swivel head that can be moves up from 0-90 degrees (5 settings), left from 0 to 180 degrees (7 settings), and right 0 to 90 degrees (4 settings). This results in a very maneuverable head that is capable of a large range of angles for bouncing flash illumination. By having this range, you are given the flexibility to use that bounce flash technique to have more natural, shadowless, and red-eye free shots.
The Canon 430 EXii has the master setting that mounts directly to the camera and can be angles, whichever you way you prefer. It also has the wireless TTL “slave” flash that can honestly serve as an affordable way to add studio lighting surrounding the focus of your shot. This is useful when shooting headshots or portraits in non-ideal lighting, even at night.
Overall, we recommend this flash for Canon users because it has a very lightweight and durable. This flash has capabilities to turn poorly lighted decent pictures into flawless “wow” photos.
Most all DSLR cameras come with a built in flash, but this flash is permanently faced directly at your focus and can cause them to be washed out and have red eye. Having a separate flash seems like just an extra for photography, but it truly takes your photos to an incredible level and also gives you the ability to take amazing pictures no matter the time of day or lighting available. The Right Light Photography and San Diego Photography Classes (also an option in Vancouver and Dallas) offer a Flash Photography Class [Taking place as soon as October 29th] that can get you more comfortable and teach you amazing techniques using your flash.
Check out the schedule and how to sign up at http://www.sandiegophotographyclass.com/
