Total beginner DSLR Flash?
I'm looking to get a good flash for my Nikon D3100, I've never worked with external flashes before so I'm Hoping it can do auto as well as manual so i can learn as i go better.i've seen really cheap ones on Amazon ($40-$80) but none of them have auto AND manual, also what are Nikons extra things like Creative lighting and TTL? Is there a cheap priced flash that does TTL?
i'm not really a beginner to DSLR Photography just External flashes.
my price range tops out at around $100 or $150 keep that in mind too, i can always just keep saving but i hope not to go much higher than that.
I suggest you look closely at the Nikon SB400 if you think you need an external flash right this minute.
Otherwise, save your pennies until you can budget for the Nikon SB700.
If you do not mind manually setting the out put of remote flash units, you can usually find good used flash units that can be used in the slave mode which can be triggered by either your on-board flash unit or the SB400 I mentioned.
Look on page 173 and 174 of your user manual of other flash options
More on the SB400
Forget the SB400 - it is not that much more powerful than your on-camera flash.
TTL, or specifically iTTL is what Nikon calls their automatic mode for the flash. So if you don't want to shoot manual with your camera using a flash, you need one that will do iTTL.
CLS is Nikon's term for the Creative Lighting System, which is basically a term used to include all of the flashes and cameras that together make a system. However, the CLS term is many times associated with just the ability to remote control the flash units wirelessly from the camera.
Unfortunately, your Nikon can't use the wireless mode as it is not a feature found on entry-level Nikons. You can thank Canon for that when they introduced cheap brain dead DSLRs, which required Nikon to market stripped down cameras to compete in the low-end DSLR market.
But for a mere $250, you can buy a SU-800 that will allow your camera to wirelessly control Nikon flash units (plus the cost of the flash - another $350~$500).
However, since you only want to spend $150 for a flash unit, you are looking at 3rd party flash units. In my opinion, Metz are the best of those.
The more expensive they are, the more powerful the light.