5 Best Flashguns for Beginner Photographers in 2021

If you are already into photography for a while you may know the importance of off camera flashes.The reasons you cannot achieve better results with popup flash are :

The flash power is low,The flash only fires in a single direction,The flash cannot be used for far distances for example If you want to shoot something with a 300mm lens, You cannot use the pop up flash in that case.

Off camera flash is much of use when it comes to shooting in the situation where the light is either low or not in your control. Suppose a scene where you have to shoot for around 4-6 hours in a day.Now the sun position keeps changing so you will not get the constant light in that condition.You definitely require something extra and Off camera flashguns come to the rescue.

You can use them however you want.They can be triggered remotely can be used with many light modifiers to make sure you get desired results.It also has more power and gives you a variety overall.

Let’s talk about 5 of my favourite flash guns of all time

Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI

This canon flash can only be compatible with all the EOS Canon cameras and Powershot G series cameras.It has a tilt head of 0 to 120 degrees and has a Guide number of 154′ / 47m (at 105mm). The drawback of this flash is that you can only use it with canon cameras. If you think of changing the brand from canon to sony let’s say then this flash is of no use.

This flash has both TTL and Manual exposure settings. It can do the second curtain sync which means Shutter drag shots can be done using this flash. Also It is a high sync flash which means you can use camera shutter speed beyond 1/250 while using this flash.

Read this flash photography course free of cost to understand more about different flashes.

Godox TT600

This flash has a built in Wireless Radio system and is of Guide number 197′ at ISO 100 and 200mm. It also has a zoom range of 24-200 mm which means you can control the size of the beam falling on to your subject. Very useful when you want the light on a specific area of your scene.

It comes with a tilt head technology It has a manual power control settings between 1/1-1/128 very versatile.It requires 4AA rechargeable batteries to run and has quite a good battery backup when used at lower power. This is also a High sync flash you can do all kinds of high speed photography through this flash because of its flash duration of between 1/300-1/20000.

Godox TT520

This is yet another Godox flash that can trigger wirelessly and compatible with any camera you have.It is a budget flash you can’t expect any big scene from this one but yes a powerful flash that can handle pretty much every kind of creative requirement.

It also has a tilt head like other flashes. The only drawback is It has a very low GN of  33.

Considering it a good flash for learning photography is absolutely fine. Best for beginners comes with Master and Slave mode that means it can also work in group.

Sonia Speedlight VT631RF

With the GN of 42 this camera flash is also wireless universal flashgun and has a power saving mode which saves a lot of unnecessary consumption of battery.Recycle time is 0.1-3 seconds runs on AA alkaline rechargeable batteries. It’s flash duration is 1-200 – 1/20000. This is a manual flash that comes with 8 power levels from 1/128 to full power 1/1.

Nikon SPEEDLIGHT SB-5000

You can burst capture with this flash light because of the built in cooling system It makes sure that the flash temperature is controlled. Also It has a GN of 34. It has following modes 

i-TTL, Auto aperture flash, Non-TTL auto flash, Distance-priority manual flash, Manual flash, Repeating flash.

This flash is compatible with Nikon cameras only.It comes with Test firing, monitor pre-flashes, AF-assist illumination for multi-point AF and modeling illumination. It can fire upto 6 flashes consecutively upto 30 mtrs away.

Must buy for Nikon users.

What’s with the GN?

Well since it’s a technical term and already many articles have been written on it. To understand it in depth you can read this article. Or In simpler terms the greater the GN value further the flashlight can reach. So It depends on your work and totally varies the way you shoot. Apparently High GN is considered while buying a flashlight.

Conclusion :

There were 5 of my favorite and Best flashes. I would recommend anyone to a beginner or even a professional photographer. Before buying it I encourage you to read the in-depth tutorial and watch the video online whether these are made for you or not.

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