I've got a Nikon 3100 on it's way, I'm curious what my flash options are.
I'm assuming that the pop-up flash is not much better than the one on my current L810, or is it?
I know a mounted hot-shoe unit will do much better, but I'm only able to find two options at $300+ and $500+, I was hoping to find something in the $150 range.
So backstory... Bought the 810 prior to my daughter's wedding because I wanted something that would produce better pictures than my S550.
The S550 was a huge step up from my old Sony, but battery life has always been an issue, to the point that I ended up carrying 4 batteries and still being frustrated.
Add to that, no direct USB capability... I had to remove the card and put it in a card reader... anyways, the L810 was a huge step up in many respects, especially it's use of standard AA batteries.
But... The autofocus system never seemed to be "on the ball" and I've got a LOT of "marginal" photos from it.
The icing on the cake though, was the results of a trip to Carlsbad Caverns last fall.
I've got a collection of about 80 photos that are basically worthless. A FEW are decent, and some can be blamed on camera movement, but the flash was next to worthless. One particular shot I remembered looking at the captured image on the screen and it seemed that the flash didn't throw 10ft... and I've had this impression on other shots as well.
Coupled with the lack of ease of using the flash as a foreground fill when a subject has strong backlighting, and the lack of a spot-meter.... I decided to step up a notch to a DSLR.
Back to the caverns.
When I was in Jr. High, I had a basic Minolta rangefinder and a simple box flash unit on top. Coupled with 400asa, that camera took some BEAUTIFUL shots of the caverns. The flash filled the foreground nicely, and the film picked up the ambient background lighting very well.
I don't need or want pro-level... my interests are just a step above "snapshot" level.
Any suggestions? Are the SB700 and SB910 my only options? Is the pop-up flash okay?
I'm assuming that the pop-up flash is not much better than the one on my current L810, or is it?
I know a mounted hot-shoe unit will do much better, but I'm only able to find two options at $300+ and $500+, I was hoping to find something in the $150 range.
So backstory... Bought the 810 prior to my daughter's wedding because I wanted something that would produce better pictures than my S550.
The S550 was a huge step up from my old Sony, but battery life has always been an issue, to the point that I ended up carrying 4 batteries and still being frustrated.
Add to that, no direct USB capability... I had to remove the card and put it in a card reader... anyways, the L810 was a huge step up in many respects, especially it's use of standard AA batteries.
But... The autofocus system never seemed to be "on the ball" and I've got a LOT of "marginal" photos from it.
The icing on the cake though, was the results of a trip to Carlsbad Caverns last fall.
I've got a collection of about 80 photos that are basically worthless. A FEW are decent, and some can be blamed on camera movement, but the flash was next to worthless. One particular shot I remembered looking at the captured image on the screen and it seemed that the flash didn't throw 10ft... and I've had this impression on other shots as well.
Coupled with the lack of ease of using the flash as a foreground fill when a subject has strong backlighting, and the lack of a spot-meter.... I decided to step up a notch to a DSLR.
Back to the caverns.
When I was in Jr. High, I had a basic Minolta rangefinder and a simple box flash unit on top. Coupled with 400asa, that camera took some BEAUTIFUL shots of the caverns. The flash filled the foreground nicely, and the film picked up the ambient background lighting very well.
I don't need or want pro-level... my interests are just a step above "snapshot" level.
Any suggestions? Are the SB700 and SB910 my only options? Is the pop-up flash okay?
but I use the flash exclusively for macro photography, so the results probably won't be very helpful to you...
