Hey I was wondering if you guys have any opinions on flashes for the 30D. I'm thinking about just getting a wireless flash for action sport. What do you think about diffrent brands ect...
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wireless flash was used in this photo^
Wireless flash is the only way to go, in my opinion.
Especially for stuff like skaters and BMX.
Do you visit
The Strobist?
If not, that's where to start with flash.
You can put together a radio-remote + manual flash rig for under $150.
If you want to use Canon flashes that give you automatic features the price will skyrocket.
I love wireless flash and Strobist is the place to start. However, I use quite expensive radio triggers called pocket wizards along with Canon 580EX II speedlites. The triggers are good for about 400 metres - overkill for most people.
I recently got myself a cheap no-name wireless flash trigger off eBay and it works great with my Canon 30D and 430EX flash. It has a range of around 10m and uses RF rather than infra-red, so it doesn't require line-of-sight to work.
It is a trigger only. It doesn't communicate anything to the slave flash except "go!". If you want control over the power of the flash then you have to manually set it using the flash itself. The transmitter can be mounted directly on the camera's hot-shoe (most convenient), or it can connect using the PC sync connector on the side of a 30D (allowing another flash to be mounted on the hot-shoe at the same time).
If your needs are modest then something like this might do the trick and it was about AU$40 landed on my doorstep (flash not included). It's not about to turn the photography world on its head, but it is worth the money for someone like me who only has an occassional need for remote flash.
The one I got was identical to
this eBay item although I bought mine from a different seller (I have no idea about the seller of the item I just linked to).
You might also get some other ideas for cheap DIY lighting projects from
this lighting article I wrote for shuttertalk a while ago.