External flash set up for nikon D3100?
I purchased the nikon d3100 about a year ago and i'm interested in buying an external flash to set up on a stand… I don't know much about this so i'm looking for your insight. What is a good, affordable (under $250) external flash and what products would i need to mount it on a light stand?
I was thinking about buying this: http://www.amazon.com/...002W3IXZW/
so I can trigger wirelessly. Can the pop up flash on my d3100 be used as the commander?
anyway I saw this post: http://glyndewisblog.com/2010/01/19/the-invisible-black-backdrop-photography-technique/ and it inspired me to look into getting an external flash setup!
any advice is appreciated!
For small studio strobes, try Calumet's Genesis 200 strobes. The Genesis kit comes with light stand, monobloc strobe, and umbrella for around $200 (they go on special often). They can be triggered by your on-board flash if the ambient light isn't to bright. To use your camera's flash as the trigger, you need to set your flash to manual, dial it to the lowest power, and use an index card to bounce the light away from your scene. You can also look in to other inexpensive strobes like AlienBees.
Another option is getting a SB700 Nikon flash. You can use this off camera with a radio trigger shooting in to an umbrella, or use it on-camera with a light modifier/bounce flash. The SB700 will be much more versatile than a studio strobe, however, not as powerful. Adorama and B&H Photo have all sorts of nifty umbrella/pseudo-soft box like contraptions which are designed to handle speedlights.
The radio trigger you show may work, but most likely will frustrate you to no end as these cheapo Chinese radio triggers don't work well unless you modify them. Spend a few more bucks and get the Calumet Pro series triggers.
http://www.calumetphoto.com/eng/product/calumet_pro_series_2_4ghz_4_channel_wireless_trigger_kit_optimized_for_nikon_flash_systems/cf0094
People have reported these to be pretty good for cheap triggers.
Also see http://strobist.blogspot.com/ for more info on off camera flash techniques.
This will not be good news.
The problem you are going to have (and it is not a problem for someone that is experienced) is virtually all inexpensive solutions is going to require you to use your flash and camera in manual mode.
Your camera, being entry level, is not going to be able to use it's popup flash as a wireless trigger. You need a D90, D7000, etc for that.
The solutions are:
1. 3rd party wireless trigger (about $50-600) and a flash unit.
2. Nikon SU-800 ($250) and a flash unit.
3. Nikon SU-29 cable ($60) which is a 10ft cable.
For the first solution, at the $600 level, you can get iTTL (fully metered and controlled) flash from the camera. At the $50 level, you are looking at all manual exposure (flash and camera).
For the second solution, the SU-800 gives you the functionality of a D90, D7000, etc.
Of course, after you buy the trigger, you still need to buy a speedlight. The Nikon SB700 is the cheapest Nikon remote controllable speedlight, which is about $370 just for the flash. You can buy 3rd party lights, but they will not integrate as well into the Nikon flash system.
The third option is to buy a Nikon SC-29 cable, which will extend 10ft, which will allow you to connect one end to your camera and the other end to the flash. This will maintain the iTTL link for the camera. If you can use the flash off-camera within 10ft, this $70 cable is going to be the best Nikon solution. But you still need a flash too.
The best wireless solution - function wise, is a Nikon SU800 ($250) and SB700 ($370). A bit over your $250 budget. But the good thing is if you add a second or third speedlight, they can all be controlled by the same SU-800.
And the cheapest wireless solution is a set of Yongnuo RF-603 RF triggers ($60 - the proper model for your Nikon), and a decent 3rd party flash unit, such as a Sigma EF-530 ($200 - also compatible for Nikon). While this will be a manual solution, it will be within your budget.
Out of all of the cheap Made in China triggers, the RF-603s would be the best, and the only ones that have some degree of reliability.
That money you saved by buying an entry level camera is now going to cost you more to go to an advanced lighting solution.