I'm lookng at a flash gun for use with my EOS 450D and EOS 3.

I've been playing around with fill-in flash using the built-in flash on my 450 and I like the effect but my 3 doesn't have a flash at all.

My main question is what's the difference between an £80 Jessops flash gun and a £180 Canon flash gun?

They both have the canon hot shoe and stuff.

Will I be disappointed if I get the Jessops one etc...?

Thanks

Oliver

I don't know.

I've got two flash guns, which I must get round to learning to use properly, but as rule I'm a fan of natural light wherever possible, and if not then steady constant light that I can see to play with.

I tend to agree and I would never use a flash to artificially light a subject that is too dark.

However, having read a couple of articles about fill in flash lighting and taken a few shots (especially in bright over head sunlight) it is amazing what you can get from it.

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Actually, just been thinking, my dad has an old flash gun with crusted up battery contacts due to leaky batteries.

Is there any way to clean off the contacts so it will work again?

A dedicated Canon flash will allow you to use high speed flash synchronisation.

With the camera's built in flash and a non-Canon flash, I believe that the fastest synch speed that you can use is 1/250th of a second, but with a Canon flash, you can synch at high speeds- up to the camera's fastest shutter speed, I think.

This might not seem important, but I have found many instances where I want fill in flash or flash to highlight eyes and I can't get it without an attached Canon flash. It doesn't happen often, but I have used it.

As for the other settings, I am not sure I even understand some of them, let alone have found a use for them.

Thanks for the info!

I managed to clean the contacts on my dad's flash so I now have a virtually unused Canon Speedlite 550EX

I've taken a couple of fill-in flash photos and the effect is very nice.

I'll have to have a play with it. I still don't like the look when trying to illuminate a subject that is under lit.

Direct flash is always going to be very harsh and flat. Try getting hold of a hotshoe cable, which lets you change the position of the flash, and/or a diffuser (you can pick up a cheap one from Jacob's) to soften the light and reduce the harshness of the shadows it casts. Additionally you can keep the flash on the hotshoe and bounce the light off a wall or ceiling to create a more natural effect. Exposure with bounce flash can be tricky however, so unless you've got ETTL metering (which fires a pre-flash so the camera can take a reading milliseconds before the shutter opens) you should use trial and error to get it right.

One of the photo podcasts I listen to has a mantra: "Get the flash off the f***ing camera!"

In other words, wherever possible, use a remote flash positioned for the best results, rather than the flash above the lens.

I can't possibly comment, because I avoid flash like the plague.