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All feedback (231)
dyhaz1 (6935)- Feedback left by buyer.
Past year
Verified purchase
Thank you for your support. Look forward to your next visit.
tv_parts_canada (4065)- Feedback left by buyer.
More than a year ago
Verified purchase
Excellent eBuyer! Thank you for your business!
outlet_values (2009)- Feedback left by buyer.
More than a year ago
Verified purchase
Good buyer, valued customer, highly recommended.
outlet_values (2009)- Feedback left by buyer.
More than a year ago
Verified purchase
Good buyer, valued customer, highly recommended.
outlet_values (2009)- Feedback left by buyer.
More than a year ago
Verified purchase
Good buyer, valued customer, highly recommended.
k***u (283)- Feedback left by buyer.
More than a year ago
Verified purchase
Got the product promised, I'm happy with it, thanks again!
Reviews (2)
Jul 17, 2012
A jack of all trades flash for a jack in the box budget.
2 of 2 found this helpful You walk into a store, you see a $20 bill on the ground, you return it to the clerk and he lets you keep it. That's the kind of feeling I get using this flash.
For the first couple of days it felt like each time I used the flash I found a new feature on it. You'll pay just over half for this flash that you would for an entry-level "brand" flash (like Canon), but you get so much more!
OK, so there are a couple of minor things that seem a little "budget" on it, like the backlight on the LCD display, or the "ready" light, or even the way the diffuser puts up a fight when I want to put it away. All of that compares to the sheer versatility that you get in this flash.
In close quarters you can turn the flash down to its minimum power (1/16) and take pictures practically non-stop. My camera will shoot at about 3 fps, and I gave up after I counted 80 continuous shots. On full power it's a different story, you get off 2 shots at that speed then you start having to wait between shots.
I can't comment on the battery life, but it feels like the manufacturer is pretty on-the-ball when it says about 80 shots *at full power* on 4 fresh AA alkalines. I've probably come close to the equivalent and I've noticed the flash is starting to take just a bit longer to charge.
Comparing to the built-in flash on a camera is like comparing a ferrari to a scooter. Using the right techniques with a flash like this your shadows will not only be softer but will look more natural as well. Your camera's flash will beat your subject in the face with a burst of light. With this flash you can bounce the light off the ceiling, throw in a little diffusion, and simply bathe the subject with light where you'd expect to see it coming from: ABOVE.
With a swivel head that will also pivot you can shoot the light just about anywhere. The ETTL works great with my Rebel XS. The slave function works well, too. It picks up when I'm using the flash, the only problem is that sometimes it'll go off when my camera is pulsing the flash to get the exposure and then it's got no juice left for the shot. Watch out for that.
You easily get several times your money's worth with this flash. I got it because I WANTED a flash in my arsenal, but now that I see what a huge difference a good flash will make I would call it a necessity! If you're rich and can afford to pay top dollar for a top of the line flash, then go for it. For those of us on a tighter budjet, I can't think of a better value! (But make sure you've got lots of batteries)
Jul 17, 2012
The little lens that could, he'll win your heart and you'll keep your money
2 of 2 found this helpful He's the little lens that could. He's not the fastest-focusing, he's not built like a rock, and there's a couple of little oddities that you may find yourself needing to adjust to. But for about $130 (or less) you really get your money's worth!
First, the good. With such a wide aperture you get more light for indoor shots, and you also get some really great depth of field effects that work nicely outdoors.
Being so small it only has a few elements in it. This lowers the weight and reduces the amount of light you lose.
The picture quality is amazing for the price, I think it's even better than my kit lenses that cost 2 to 3 times more than this. The odd thing is that my other lenses are zoom lenses. I'm no expert, but it seems that zoom lenses are typically less expensive, and can often have better image quality than prime (at certain focal lengths, anyway). So by all logic the image quality SHOULD be noticeably LESS than my other lenses, not more. That is what has really sold me on this lens.
Now the bad. These aren't major, but worth mentioning anyways. The build quality is good, but the materials used are cheap. It's a plastic housing, and you can tell.
The focus ring is recessed, so it's not as easy to reach as it could have been with so little effort. When focusing automatically on a subject that's tough to focus on it doesn't stop nicely when it's at its focus limit, it kinda goes "clunk".
Lastly, and maybe this is my inexperience, I wasn't expecting it to have a different diameter for the threads. My other lenses are 58mm, and this one is 52mm, and I just wan't expecting that. So now I need to either re-buy my favorite filters, or find an adapter. Maybe not a negative for you, but definitely something to keep in mind.
Overall this is a good lens. If you don't have a lot of cash and you don't have a fast lens (wide aperture/low f-number) or a prime lens (non-zooming) then definitely get this lens. You won't be blown away (except maybe by the value) but I don't think you'll be disappointed either.