Speedlights are compact and portable sources of light. Being battery powered is a plus on location. They work in conjunction with your cameras exposure system, if they are TTL compatible .
When shopping for a speedlight (flash) to use with your camera you will find there are many options and a wide range of prices. Prices range from less than $100 to $600. There are flashes from the camera manufacturer and third party flashes designed to be used with your camera. When shopping for a flash, read the description carefully, as some third party units do not function fully automatically with your cameras exposure system. (Hence a very low price) The brand name units are designed to integrate fully with your camera and are very easy to use. There are third party flashes that fully integrate with your camera and are considerably cheaper than the brand name. For example the Canon 600 flash is about $600, the Yongnou flash, comparable to the Canon 600, is less than $200, It has all the features of the Canon, at 1/3 rd the price. Bower and Neewer are other brands to look at if you are interested in a flash for your camera.
The main difference between the brand name flashes, besides price, is the quality of the build. The brand name units are usually more ruggedly built for heavy use and will last a long time. The third party units work well, but are not generally as well built. So if you are a heavy duty user you might want to stick with the brand name flash. For most light duty users the third party units should be fine. As a side note some pros are purchasing 3 of the third party units and consider them disposable, so if they drop one in the lake or it falls off the camera and breaks, it is only a $200 loss, not a $600 one. Also the major brands have repair centers to repair broken or damaged units.
Evaluate your use of the flash, your budget and decide which one is best for you.
Check them out and if you have questions or want some help choosing one you can contact me.
dpetrick@icloud.com
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