Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hey Everyone,

My photography club at university is trying to build an inventory of equipment we could rent out. I was wondering if there were any third party flashes that would be compatible with both canon and nikon camera. If not, are there any cheaper alternatives than buying the nikon and canon branded flashes.

Thanks

For years I carry a Metz flashed with my Nikon kit. So yes, there are third party companies. Cheap is relative, a Metz 38c top mount ballparks at 130 cad. In the old days you had Sunpac, Vivitar Metz etc, so shop the used market. What is your expectation of the flash by your clubs renters - fully integrated, manual, do you also rent flash meters etc.., this will drive the requirement.

Our more advanced members will have their own equipment, so these flashes will be used more or less by those starting out or those who do not have the funds to purchase their own flashes. Do these third party flashes come with automatic modes, or are they manual.

We currently don't have any flash meters to rent out. We are just really beginning to build our inventory this year- we want to start off with the basics necessities and then work our way from there.

I heard the old Sunpaks are popular, decently powerful, and most importantly, cheap.

Check out PhotoFlex, cheap and relative good.

I've been using Yongnuo as strobes, but they don't do bad at all as an on-camera flash, albeit completely manual.

i've been using Yongnuo YN-560 for a while now as slaves, no problems yet. i paid around $80 for each.

AFAIK the only current 3rd party flashes that are compatible with both Canon and Nikon at the same time are Metz brand *if you buy the appropriate shoes for Canon AND Nikon* and swap between the shoes. That is, if you want to be compatible with e-ttl and i-ttl metering. Otherwise if you buy other brands with fixed shoes then they would only be compatible with one system not both.

If you just want "auto" aka auto-thyristor then you've got lots of options since you don't need to buy specifically for Canon e-ttl or Nikon i-ttl. You could even use certain older Nikon SB flashes on current Canon bodies, as much of a blasphemy as that may seem, because certain SBs have auto-thyristor built in and can be had for under $100 bucks. There are plenty of other choices/brands here. The only thing to watch out for in older flashes are the trigger voltages.