A lot of "photographers" I know hate flash. This photographer probably is one of them. It's easy to hate flash if you don't know what you're doing - you'd get the overexposed, harsh look that's horrible. The secret in using flash is to bounce or get it off the camera (and bounce) AND not to use too much flash. The preferred mix between ambient light and flash light should be no more than 75/25%. To keep it simple, under expose the shot maximum 2 stops then use flash to fill in that 2 stops...Doing this, one can't tell whether flash has been used...You would have succeeded if without exif they can't tell you have used flash...Incidentally the Gary Fong that you have is a great bouncer - you waste a lot of light but then rechargeable batteries last all night and they're cheap. I have a number of flash diffusers including Gary Fong...it's silly looking but it works better than most others. When people give me a hard time for using it, I often joked that it doubles as my salad bowl...

I'm thinking about buying the D5500 bundle with the 18-55 VR lens and 70-300 lens from Nikon for $600.00. The 70-300 is not the VR lens. I'm thinking about buying this bundle and selling the 70-300 lens without VR feature and purchasing the 70-300 VR AF-S ED-IF FX lens. I like the feel and touch of the D5500 versus the D7200. I don't think weight will be a problem.Will this lens combination 18-55 VR along with the 70-300 AF-S ED-IF FX lens work and be suitable for my first camera. The total price will be around $1,000 if I'm able to sell the 70-300 lens without VR for around $100.00. I will be traveling to Oregon coast this summer and plan on using camera for wildlife, Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields ,outdoor pictures of old barns, bridges and structures etc. Probably will not take many indoor pictures or portraits. My budget is around $1,000 for my first camera. It is my understanding that the FX lens can be used on a full frame camera down the road. I can always purchase another lens down the road to compliment this combination. Is there a better bundle or set of lenses that will work better for this price. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....Gary

Duracell NiMH 2500mAh. They're green with a copper top. Local Walmart has them for $10.00 for 4. I've been using them for high powered external flash for over 2 years now, fast recycle time and they hold a charge very well. They can be recharged hundreds of times. For a charger I went here and bought a nice smart charger. www.httpthomasdistributing.com/ I got the Maha MH-C9000, but you may not want or need anything that fancy. They also have a nice assortment of rechargeable batteries at this site. Hope this helps you.