external flash help, what should I be looking for? Options

[~steph~]

I am looking at getting an external flash for my Canon 400D. The inbuilt one as we all know is pretty crap and the lighting inside my house is so bad that the flash always has to be used, plus I seem to take a lot of photos of the kids at night, so again I need a good flash.

Unfortunately I can't justify the $500 odd it will cost for a genuine Canon flash so have turned to ebay where there are a few different brand flashes, but now I have no idea which one is better. What features should I be looking for??
Colour temperature??
different level power output?
something else??

Would trying to get a second hand Canon one be better? If so where from?

[Sweet_September]

Hi Steph,
I don't know where you've been looking but you could look at the canon 430 ex II flash - it retails anywhere from $330-$400 and to be honest it's probably the safest bet....

It depends on what you are wanting the flash for though - are you always planning to use the flash on the camera or would you like to use it handheld etc? If so, you'll need to do one of 3 things:

1. Buy the canon 580 ex II (retails 600$+) and use it as the master and then have a 430 as a slave

2. Buy a transmitter which will transmit signal to the 430 ($600+)

3. Buy a hot shoe cable which connects to the flash and allows you a 150cm diameter to move around with ($29-100)

The canon has considerably high output. There are cheaper brands out there but if you can spend that little bit extra it'd be worth it.

If you are looking at 2nd hand, try photography forums, trading post, ebay etc

Hope that is of some help!

[~steph~]

Yes thank you that does help.

Unfortunately even the $330 is really a bit out of my reach at the moment.

I would only use it on the camera so that makes it a bit easier.

Might have a look around for second hand canons and see what I can find.

[Sweet_September]

I'll keep my eye out on some of the forums for you I'll pm you if I find anything!

Unfortunately - most people hold onto flashes - the more you have the better the work you can produce when using them as slaves etc

[~steph~]

Thank you!! I had a feeling people hang onto their flashes as I never seem to find any second hand ones around.