E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I just received a PM form a fellow I was communicating with about flash choices and he is very pleased with the performance of his new Godox, especially in the high speed mode.

I am not familiar with the Neewer 750II so I looked up the specifications. It certainly has lots of features for the price. On the surface, I would suspect that a speedlight that retails for below 60 bucks may be inferior but I may be wrong. It could be relatively well made but it ain't too powerful. According to the published guide number (56) so it probably scores in at about 600 BCPS. So...if it works reliably and in many cases if you don't need all that much power, especially in some flash-fill situations- it's good value for the buck.

I have a few thigs with flimsy battery doors. I find that a small piece of Gorilla Tape acts as a kinda reinforcement hinge and prevents the thing from getting lost or breaking off. The Gorilla tape is now in my emergency kit next to the gaffer tape and the duct tape. They also make that stuff that sticks underwater, plugs up holes in boats, and can hold broken car fenders in place. That is some nasty goo but if you ever fracture a tripod leg or bust a flash bracket- wow! Just don't put it on any delicate surface- it never comes off!

ChristianHJensen

No interest in turning this into a pudding throwing nor a pissing match. I was just responding to your post that said - I quote:

"No need to memorize them, Bill - I listed all nine offered by B&H in the lead post!" while b&H carries at least double that number of brands of speedlites and some of the best brands were left off your list

Oh - I don't respond to "Chris" my name is Christian

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Oh, sorry, Christian … mine's Christopher - but I respond to both, so I assumed you did, too …

ChrisTIAN - I only looked them up in my B&H catalogue - as indicated, and I found no more than NINE!

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

I have some of that stuff, Ed … FlexTape - it's called. Cut a piece with a scissor intending to put it over a gap in my ceiling tiles in the bedroom … the goo it left behind on the scissor has now taken two whole months to get rid of in the dishwasher - running it twice per day … and, when I got on a stepstool intending to put it over the crack in the tiles, I lost my balance, and then it flipped over and attached unto itself - what a waste!!!! … If you CARE about sensitive photo equipment - my advice - if you have a roll of FlexTape … keep it well away from your photo equipment … you will appreciate this advice - believe me!!!

ChristianHJensen

If you look online there are probably 20'ish brands @ B&H alone. This is for the US - not sure what kind of lineup they have in the UK. At least I would think they would carry Profoto (which is more popular in Europe as it is a Euro brand) Nikon, Canon and a few other camera brands of speedlites

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Probably, Christian … but I can only go by the printed catalogue - sent to me 4x a year here in America - from B&H - which is less than two hours, from my front door, actually … as I can't get to their on-line site!

ChristianHJensen

No worries - but why can you not get to their website?

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

No idea, Christian … not secure enough - perhaps?

Sometimes - I get there, but, as soon as I try to do something there - it drops out …

And that - usually means - the site isn't secure enough to do business there …

No problem - next time I desire to order something from B&H - I'll select from my catalogue …

Then call them up, and order it over the phone … no biggie!!!!

CatMarley Loc: North Carolina

I agree. Godex makes a nice quality flash for a modest price. I have 2 of them.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I do have some older units. Some of the currently available flash gear however, where the flash heads are reminiscent of the older configurations- the ones with interchangeable reflectors and user changeable flash tubes, are the ones that I was referring to. Some are one-piece, like conventional modern speedlights and there are a few that accept external power supplies. Godox has one model that I am looking at to replace some of my retiring weddig gear. Like all the current speedlights they have TTL, HHS and all the up-to-date features as well as manual settings. Take a look at the AD360II. It looks like it puts out about 1500 BCPS- not bad for a big soft reflector and there are all kinds of power pack options. They list a Guide Number of 100 @ ISO 100- not bad for a big wide reflector.

Metz is supposed to be the most powerful of the speedlight types and the claim Guide Numbers of between 170 and 240 for their various models. Problem is, they qualify the GNs with telephoto settings of 150mm and up. The beams would be more concentrated at those reflector zoom settings and would probably not cover normal or wide focal lengths. That that would be good for sports and birds but I wonder what the effective output is like at normal and wide zoom settings(?). It's like when they tell you that a dessert has only has 100 calories and then you look at the data and find out that is for one teaspoon. The top-of the line Godox gear and the Metz speedlights are not inexpensive so buyers should examine the specifications very carefully and see where the value is.

You are right about that tape- it ain't for cameras or fancy flash gear. I originally got it to plug up a hole in my friend's fiberglass darkroom sink. It did mess up the scissor something awful so I cut it with an Exacto knife. I stuck in in my tool kit and a few weeks ago and when we overloaded a light stand and took out one of the legs at a location- tape to the rescue. It think I still have some of that goo on my hands! In the adhesive business they call that "aggressive". At least it's still holding up in the darkroom sink- wash water, chemicals and all.

ChristianHJensen

You don't have to wonder - it is listed right in their product specs on the Metz website

GN with ISO 100 and 35 mm res. 50 mm 43
GN with ISO 100 and max. zoom 64

Both these guide numbers are in meters so to compare to the ones in feet multiply with 3.3 to get 142 for wide angle and 211 when zoomed to 200mm

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

As for using it underwater, Ed … not sure about that, but tried to use it to fix a leak around the shut-off valve on my Main Water Input pipe … didn't hold, so I had to call a plumber and get a new valve installed along with new pipe both BEFORE the valve, and after it. I also tried to fix a leak on my kitchen faucet with it - but it didn't do a damned thing! … Finally, shut off the valve underneath the sink, and called a plumber - it was TWO WEEKS before he spared the time to come by again. Charged me $640 for new tap!

latebloomer Loc: Topeka, KS

In terms of durability, you can buy 3-4 Yongnuos for the price of a Nikon. If I was a wedding photographer, I would go for the camera's manufacture's flash units as the main flash.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Yes, I suppose you could, Terry …. who wouldn't rather have FOUR Yongnuos, in place of ONE Nikon?

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

OK- Thanks for the information- I didn't see those specs in the ads from B&H and others. That helps the point was trying to make. It's about shopping for a flash unit and making certain to read into the specifications. So...going by those guide numbers, the Metz units are not all that much more powerful than some of the less expensive units. The retailers should not publish misleading guide numbers but tell the whole story. Not everyone is going to use their flash with long lenses. German build and engineering? No doubts- I have some old Metz (401) units from the 1960s and they still work.

Folks are assuming that the name amera brand flash units are superior to the third party units. I won't swear to it but I suspect that some of the big brand speedlights are made in the same factories as the lower priced units. Many also assume that some of the Chineses imported brands won't hold up in demanding work like wedding photography- may be so, but have the ever tried to use one of those units in heavy duty usage or long duty cycles- they may hold up very well. So, for someone who is not going to put that kind of mileage on a flash unit or system, the lower priced ones my last a lifetime.

Since this thread is about being a kind buying guide advisory- I'm just sticking in my 2 cents. I do understand though. As a long-time wedding shooter I always went for overkill. Most of my flash gear could survive in a war zone but some of the lighter duty stuff can still work well in less strenuous conditions.

Plumbers-$$- Yeah, I'm in the wrong business! Those guys charge more than brain surgeons. Well, we don't argue price when the house is floating away or the drains are backing up! I do agree that the crazy tape is not effective for the main riser pipe in the house- too much pressure! There is that TV commercial with a guy sawing his boat in half and repairing it with that stuff. I ain't gonna saw my boat in half anytime soon and if I had had the insane inclination to do that, I would not tape it back together again and go out on the water.

Kindest regards!