So I recently talked to a buddy of mine that is a dj and he offered me photo gigs at local clubs. I wouldn't be getting paid much, probably 30-50 bucks a night, so i don't want to invest too much into my current setup. I bought my xsi with the kit lense about a year ago just to take some crisp photos for random events: car photoshoots, family parties, ect. So basically i was thinking about buying the cheapest (sufficient) flash and maybe some sort of complementary lense and hopefully churning some profit out of this opportunity.

My question is, what experiences do you guys have with cheap flashes? I searched on amazon and I found decent looking flashes for like 50 bucks. I can't link you guys at the moment because I am at work. Also do you guys think that a 50mm is too long for clubs? I've been eyeing a 50mm 1.8 and this is a good excuse to buy it

 

http://www.amazon.com/Precision-Design-DSL...61442438&sr=8-4

This is a flash that I specifically looked at but I'm open for sugestions.

 

Typically the cheap flashes are manual only. This does say auto in the title though which implies some sort of metering? Odd... Do your research though. Fast changing light in a club can be tough even for TTL metering.

Also, look into modifiers. Some sort of diffuser like the Stofen, Lightsphere, or a Lumiquest 80/20.

 

Do you know how to use a flash?

 

Honestly, hell no.

 

You can get a 420ex flash used for $70-$80 which works pretty well and can be used as a slave.

Keith

 

Don't go cheap. If you are going to get a steady 50 bucks a shoot or so, I would invest in a 420ex. It's not terribly expensive, but well worth it. If possible, swing for a 580.

 

The 50 1.8 should be a good length to help augment your kit lens and for the price is well worth it whether you end up using it for this or not.

If you go with a cheap flash, I would highly recommend connecting it by cable rather than shoe mounting it. Cheap flashes may not be in as tight of specs as a decent OEM flash, and can ruin your camera.

Also I would suggest you check out ebay for some cheap radio remotes for your flash as well, since lighting off camera will help your images a lot.

For more ideas:

strobist.blogspot.com

 

To add to that post, if you ARE going to go the cheap cable option, the best flash is the Vivitar HV. Excellent flash, and cheap! (I have 2 as my slaves.)