Remote flash for Canon rebel eos 5ti ...

[JSINGH]

Hello all, i need some guidance. I have this Canon Rebel EOS 5TI with 55mm. Please advise but cheap and best flash i can use as a speedlite. I am learning to use it as a remote flash. Any help is appreciated ... thanks

[kvbarkley]

The 320 EX is a good starter flash.

[JSINGH]

Thanks Sir ...but is there any other way ( little economical)  i can use some manual flash with a some trigger ...

[kvbarkley]

There is always a way, you can use a remote cable on the hotshoe, or use the pop-up flash set to very low power with an E-TTL aware trigger.

I suggest Syl Arena's Speedilighter's handbook.

[TCampbell]

Canon brand Speedlites aren't cheap... but they are very good.  I don't happen to own any non-Canon speedlites (I have in the past... just not any more.)

Part of what really pushed me to the Canon system was when Canon introduced their radio technology.  Previously the only decent radio system that supported full E-TTL II was the PocketWizard system... but that system was very expensive (add the cost of the PocketWizards to the cost of the flash units and you're definitely not saving money).  But PocketWizard had reliability issues and I found that the Canon system was rock-solid.  So I made the choice to stick with all Canon  units.

There are numerous cheap flashes - some of which are E-TTL compatible (which can mean a broad spectrum of compatability... many "compatible" Speedlites can't do everything the E-TTL system supports.)  You'll probably notice the build quality isn't as good.  The reliability may also not be as good (though some people have great luck with them.)

I've encountered people who have issues such as inconsistent brightness level between shots (even though the capacitors on the flash had time to recover and were ready for the next shot) and that would be a problem (not knowing exactly how much light you'll get when you take the next shot.)

It's not all negative... some people use 3rd party strobes, love them, and have great success using them.  

So just be aware, that while you can save money... the experience may vary.

You can find a lot of advice over at Strobist (strobist.blogspot.com)

[JSINGH]

Thanks sir ...