Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor: Questions on Flashes

Chris Gampat
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05/13/2016
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sony 50mm f1.8 first impressions product images (1 of 8)ISO 4001-50 sec at f - 2.8

Last Updated on 09/08/2016 by Chris Gampat

Letters to the Editor is a recurring series where Chris answers specific emails/letters that could benefit more than one photographer, interesting questions or questions that come in often. Have a question? Send it to chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com with subject: Letter to the Editor: (Your name here).

Happy Friday everyone!

It’s time for another edition of Letters to the Editor. Be sure to get yours in by following the directions above. Also be sure to support our Kickstarter.

Today’s letter asks a question about flashes and lenses; you probably have the same one. So let’s get right into it!

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sony 85mm f1.4 G Master lens product images. (8 of 8)ISO 4001-160 sec at f - 2.5

Dear Chris,

First off, thank you for making The Phoblographer such an incredible photography blog! Over the past couple years that I have been following it I have learned so much, and though other blogs offer insightful tips, reviews and general opinion pieces, no site puts it all together like The Phoblographer does.

I recently read your article on how using flash improves the sharpness of your images. I was wondering if you could recommend a good beginner flash for me to learn to utilize flash in my photography or if I should learn using the flash I have? I have a Sony A7 and a super cheap DBK D-400 flash that only has lines for power levels, there are no exposure values.

Also, my friend has a Canon Rebel t5i and the standard kit lens. She wants to get a new, faster prime lens that is relatively affordable. She is looking to spend less than $800, she likes to shoot street photography and landscapes and she is okay with manual focus. What lens would you recommend for her?

Thank you so much for your time and help!

Sincerely,
Dan

***

Hi Dan,

Thanks for being a reader and a supporter over the years. It means a whole lot. Let me get to your question first.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Canon 5Ds review image product lead photo (1 of 1)ISO 4001-50 sec at f - 3.2

So there are a couple of options you can take here. Here’s the easier one: Get the Godox TT685S TTL flash along with the transmitter together and have the ability to use TTL, manual, HSS, and more. Then with your current flash, set it to slave move and just have it as a manual fill light. You can use it as a hair light for portraits or a whole bunch of different reasons.

Then there is the more affordable solution: You can go for the Vello Freewave transmitter and receiver. You can use this with your current flash and you’ll just have to walk over to your flash to control its output manually.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Tamron 35mm f1.8 Di VC product images (2 of 5)ISO 1001-320 sec at f - 2.0

The main thing here: get the flash out of the hot shoe unless you’re going to learn about how to bounce the flash output off of surfaces or use something like a FlashBender. Power values still make a lot of sense for what it’s worth. What I usually recommend is start out indoors at ISO 400, f4.5 and the flash set to its widest zoom head and 1/4 power output. When outdoors, go for ISO 100 at 1/32nd f5.6 with the widest setting. If it’s too bright then adjust the flash, ISO or aperture accordingly. It’s what I usually do.

As for your friend: there are loads and loads of options that she can go for for under $800. I’ve got lists for this here, here, here and here. But she should really spring for something that gives her a 35mm field of view.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Rokinon 24mm f1.4 review images (1 of 4)

My favorites at the price point:

Because someone in the comments is bound to say this, I’m not going to recommend the Sigma 30mm f1.4 because it’s specifically for cropped sensor lenses. Even if you mount it on a full frame camera then you’ll see that the outer areas are super duper soft. Generally, if you’re spending a whole ton of money on a lens designed for APS-C sensors when a system also offers full frame lenses, you’re kind of wasting your money. But go for it if you’d like.

I hope I’ve helped you and your friend out. If I did, please use the affiliate links in the post or consider donating to the site’s Kickstarter. We really want to keep inspiring people.

canon flash lens Rokinon sony
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.