Posted to Photo Accessories Articles 2009-03-19
How about a more powerful flash?
What is The Benefit of an Add-on Instead of the Pop up Flash?
Add-on flashes are more associated with professional photographers than are pop up types. Professional photographers depend on their equipment being very flexible in how it can be used and in being able to have one piece of equipment fail without having their entire camera rendered useless. The same concerns, to a lesser degree, are often voiced by amateur photographers.
An add-on flash is a separate piece of equipment that usually mounts to the top of a DSLR or film SLR camera. These devices sit on a "hot shoe" which allows the flash to interface with the camera so that it is timed correctly with the shutter. Add-on flashes usually have their own source of power. Because they do tend to consume a great deal of power, rechargeable batteries are often used to provide voltage.
Pop-up flashes are a great convenience for the casual user. Many point and shoot cameras feature these devices which retract when not needed and extend when conditions are right. These flashes can automatically correct for red-eye, subject location and other variables. Correctly doing so manually is beyond the ability of most amateur photographers.
For more serious endeavors than snapshots, however, add-on flashes offer many significant benefits.
• The flash, should it fail, can be easily replaced by another without changing cameras
• Add-on flashes can be manually adjusted to allow for special lighting effects
• Add-on flashes are typically more powerful than pop up models
• The same flash can be used on several different cameras
• A separate power source means using the flash doesn't drain the camera's own battery
One of the most commonly-used flash photography techniques is called "flash bounce". This can only be correctly done with an add-on flash. Photographers using this technique bounce the light from the flash off a nearby surface, essentially achieving the same effect as does a reflector with a fixed source of light. The technique allows the harsh nature of a flash pointed straight at a subject to be mitigated. To accomplish this, the flash must have an adjustable angle that allows it to move without moving the lens. This feature is not available on pop up flashes, one of the principal reasons that professionals tend to go with add-on flashes in overwhelming numbers.
Add-on flashes are available for SLR and DSLR cameras from the original manufacturers and from third-party manufacturers. Any flash should be tested to make certain it functions correctly with the camera with which it will be used. In some cases, some cameras and flashes will fail to communicate with one another correctly, resulting in incorrect exposures due to faulty timing.
Check out these links:
Canon Speedlite 430EX II :
Guide number of 141 ft. / 43m at ISO 100, fast recycle time
Canon EOS 50D :
15.1 mega pixel, 6.3 fps, 3.0 inch LCD
What is an SLR?
