External Flash: Buying Guide + Top Recommendations 2022

Every time you want to inquire about a external flash for your camera are you lost? Are the terminology, technicalities and numbers that surround the world of flashes overwhelming and throwing you back?

Technology, if it is incomprehensible, is useless.

Manufacturers seem to strive to make their flashes more and more complex and difficult to understand, to the point where you don’t even want to buy one.

Based on this, today I have prepared this very complete mega guide in which I am going to recommend some of the best flashes for cameras. I am going to give you specific brands and models so that you can go straight to the point.

In addition to the recommended flash models themselves, in this mega guide I am going to explain EVERYTHING you need to know about this photographic accessory: features, prices, settings. We are going to try to simplify this “quilombo” (as my Latin American friends say) so that you understand exactly why I recommend one flash model or another.

Clever? Let’s get to it 😉

Note: If you want to go directly to the list of the most recommended flashes for photo cameras, here they are.

INSIDE THIS ARTICLE… 📖

Types of camera flashes

The first thing I want you to distinguish are the types of flashes there are. There are basically three:

built-in flash

Integrated Flash: They are the flashes that are integrated into compact and reflex cameras, the ones that come as standard and cannot be removed or added. Yes, they can be disabled so they don’t jump, but they can’t be started. They are there, as one more part of the camera.

external flash

external flash: It is the typical external flash that we buy separately and that we can hook on the top of the camera. This type generally offers much more light output.

Round Macro Flash

macroflash: This is a type of flash specially designed for Macro photography (eg insects). To illuminate the tiny object well, this flash has a circular shape that allows to throw light to the subject or object in a circular way.

And these are the 3 most important types there are. The others are all small variations of one of these 3.

Limitations of a built-in flash

built-in flash

Many users suffer from the inconvenience of the flash that is built into cameras by default. Some of the limitations of these integrated flashes are, for example, that:

  • They generally produce the famous unwanted effect of red eyes (find out how to avoid it here).
  • They create a light that is too hard, direct and always from the same direction as the camera.
  • Many cameras do not allow you to control the light intensity of the built-in flash.
  • The integrated one normally has less power and is not capable of illuminating large areas.

If you suffer from any of these ills then yes, you need to get a good external flash. If this is not your case, you can first learn to squeeze and optimize the built-in flash of your camera.

What is an external flash for?

There are countless uses and tricks of the flash that you can use to give all your photographs a jump in quality. Here are some of the main reasons why you should get an external flash for your camera:

  • The flash is a very malleable light source thanks to the large number of accessories that exist on the market or that you can manufacture yourself to be able to mold it to your liking, either by modifying its direction, its intensity, its color, etc.
  • They are extremely versatile, not only thanks to the accessories but also to the different configurations with which you can program them (manual mode) and the possibility of remotely shooting them from different directions.
  • In addition, the external flash will allow you bounce it off different surfaces (walls, umbrellas, etc.) so that the shadows generated by its flash throughout the scene are more or less harsh.
  • You can use it not only to add more light, but also as a fill flash for compensate for contrasts between lights and shadows that happen, for example, when shooting in bright sunlight.
  • The flash power of an external flash and its range is much greater than that of the built-in flash on your camera. In addition, by carrying your own batteries, it will not use up your camera’s batteries as much, allowing you to take more shots.
  • But they are not only more powerful, they are also faster than built-in camera flashes thanks to the possibility of synchronizing them at high speeds (not all external flashes allow this).

And that’s not all! Since like everything in this wonderful art, the limit is set by you.

As you become an expert in its use, you will find the flash a host of extremely useful functions to take your photographs to a new level, although I will leave you some hints below 😉 .

Light profile drawn by the light of a flash

What should I know before buying an external flash?

Below, I have prepared a list of the main features that you should not overlook if you want to find the perfect flash for your camera.

Types of controls (modes)

Like cameras, flashes also have modes that may or may not make things easier for you when taking your pictures. The ideal is always that you work in manual mode since you are the photographer and not just the subject that presses the camera shutter.

  • TTL mode: the exposure meter of the camera performs the measurement and communicates to the flash the power of light necessary for the resulting photograph to be “correctly exposed”. This mode is very popular due to the comfort it offers and the good results it achieves in common situations where you just want more light. But if you are looking for a particular type of lighting, you will have to use the manual mode.
  • Manual mode: This mode, despite being more complicated, is the ideal one for you to use not only to add more light to your scene, but also to understand how to do it and in what way. When using the manual mode, you must choose the necessary values ​​yourself to achieve a correct measurement and exposure of your photographs. Do not stop doing it since the process is very enriching.

Guide number

The guide number of a flash is nothing more than an indicator about the power that has a certain model. This aspect is really important when comparing between two flashes since, the higher the guide number, the greater the power of the flash and, therefore, the more light it will be able to add to the scene.

Depending on the type of photographs you plan to take using the flash, you will require a high-power flash or not. It is a standard that is calculated based on the following calculation:

NG = Subject distance x aperture (f/ value)

This value is understood for an ISO 100. Let’s see an example, starting from ISO 100, if the subject is 6 meters away and you have to shoot with an f/8 aperture to obtain a correct exposure, you need a guide number (NG) 48 (6×8=48).

If you change the sensitivity (with the ISO value) the guide number increases. That is, it is multiplied by 2 every two ISO steps. In our example, if you set ISO 400 the guide number would become 96.

Keep in mind that manufacturers tend to exaggerate a little in terms of the performance of their products, so do not trust 100% of these values, it is usually one less diaphragm. However, to make comparisons between one flash and another, the guide number is really useful.

Mobile head

One of the most interesting functions that external flashes allow is bounce light. To be able to do it in a simpler way, it is ideal that the flash you are thinking of acquiring has a rotary head.

This will make it easier for you to direct or bounce it while it’s positioned on the camera. This head should rotate up and down and to the sides in order to maximize the possibilities when shaping your light.

zoom head

Flashes that incorporate a zoom head will allow you to adjust flash angle and direct it to allow the scene to be properly lit depending on the focal length with which you are working.

If you work with short focal lengths, a wide angle for example, the angle of the flash will be wider, but if you work with a telephoto lens, this flash will be more directed, that is, it will have a narrower angle.

The guide number I told you about earlier will also vary depending on the focal length as the subjects or objects are closer or further away from the camera.

recycling speed

This parameter allows you to know how long does it take for the flash to recharge its power to be in a position to re-blink.

Depending on the type of photography you plan to take, this value may or may not be more relevant. In any case, try not to buy a flash whose recycling time is very slow.

maximum sync speed

Another of the speeds to which you should pay attention when getting an external flash is the speed of synchronization of the flash with respect to the camera.

Said speed will depend on the camera in which you mount it or with which you are working. To give you an idea, a Nikon D3100 allows you to synchronize with the flash at a maximum shutter speed of 1/200, not bad for an “amateur” camera.

If you are thinking of taking the leap to become a professional, this speed may not be enough for you and you should get a flash that allows high-speed synchronization or HSS according to its acronym in English.

connection method

You can attach your Eternal Flash to the camera in several ways, not just directly on the camera. Basically there are three ways you can do it:

  • Directly attached to the hot shoe of the camera body.
  • Connected to the camera by a cable.
  • Wireless activation.

The key at this point is to assess the compatibility between your camera and flash so that you can use it effectively, whether placed directly on the camera, via a cable or through the remote Wireless of the camera.

So how to buy an external flash?

Now that you have a better idea of ​​what an external flash is for as well as what its most important features are, it’s time to think about what, for me, are the three most important decision variables when it comes to getting one. an external flash:

  • Budget
  • The use you intend to give it
  • The brand of your camera.

Let’s see all this in detail. Keep reading 😉 .

Tips for buying an external flash

I will delve into the most important aspects, take note.

Define a maximum budget

Please don’t answer me: «Well, I could pay between 30 and 120 euros, more or less, maybe it would reach 150 euros, and well, I don’t know… it depends on what it offers me, maybe I would consider paying a little more ». No. You have to draw up a budget…