Flash advice for nikon F65 - vivitar 730AF

Hello,

I've got a question. Last week I bought a Nikon F65. I'm extremely
happy with it. However the build in flash is (obviously) pretty
useless in virtually any situation. Although I prefer not to use flash
it does occur however that Fast film just isn't enough.
Therefore I'm looking for a flash to accompany it. The SB800 would
probably be the best choice (I've taken this:
http://jankeirse.free.fr/laurence.jpg image with it (using a D2H from
my photography teacher)).
The problem is that the flash costs 500 euro, far above my budget.
I'm therefore looking for an alternative, I can buy a Vivitar 730AF
for 100 euro, wich seams reasonable. Is this flash any good?

What I'm looking for is an automatic TTL flash, the head must allow to
move vertically and horizontaly and it must allow to reduce the power.
In the shot I've shown above I was able to `stop' the sb800 down about 2
stops using arrows on the back of the flash unit. This resulted in far
less agressive flash light.
Is this also possible with this vivtar, or do you people have any other
suggestion?

Kind regards,

Jan

ps.: My budget limit: about 125 euro. Mind that prices in belgium are
typically 20% higher than in the US due to huge taxes (resulting in a
wonderfull social welfare system ;-))
ps2.: Any comments on the shot would be very much appreciated.

--
Jan Keirse - +32 (0)485/089.786
http://jankeirse.free.fr

"Jan Keirse" wrote in message
in...
Hello,

I've got a question. Last week I bought a Nikon F65. I'm extremely
happy with it. However the build in flash is (obviously) pretty
useless in virtually any situation. Although I prefer not to use flash
it does occur however that Fast film just isn't enough.
Therefore I'm looking for a flash to accompany it. The SB800 would
probably be the best choice (I've taken this:
http://jankeirse.free.fr/laurence.jpg image with it (using a D2H from
my photography teacher)).
The problem is that the flash costs 500 euro, far above my budget.
I'm therefore looking for an alternative, I can buy a Vivitar 730AF
for 100 euro, wich seams reasonable. Is this flash any good?

What I'm looking for is an automatic TTL flash, the head must allow to
move vertically and horizontaly and it must allow to reduce the power.
In the shot I've shown above I was able to `stop' the sb800 down about 2
stops using arrows on the back of the flash unit. This resulted in far
less agressive flash light.
Is this also possible with this vivtar, or do you people have any other
suggestion?

Kind regards,

Jan

ps.: My budget limit: about 125 euro. Mind that prices in belgium are
typically 20% higher than in the US due to huge taxes (resulting in a
wonderfull social welfare system ;-))
ps2.: Any comments on the shot would be very much appreciated.

I'm not familiar with the Vivitar you mention, but any Nikon SB-24, 25, 26
(expensive), 27 or 28 should work superlatively, and I've seen (and
purchased) used SB-24's for less than US $50, which is well within your
limits. Check ebay.

Your image is fine--nice even--though it looks like a grab shot in a bar,
and so nothing to get too excited over. She looks like she wants to be a
glamour model, batting those eyes at you like that, so maybe you should get
her to a studio and try again with more controlled lighting. Also, if you
managed to parlance the shot into a romantic trist back at her place, you
know, leaning over and showing her the image in the lcd display and
commenting on her great beauty and bedroom eyes, well then it's a VERY fine
image indeed! ;-)

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

"Jan Keirse" wrote in message
in...
Hello,

I've got a question. Last week I bought a Nikon F65. I'm extremely
happy with it. However the build in flash is (obviously) pretty
useless in virtually any situation. Although I prefer not to use flash
it does occur however that Fast film just isn't enough.
Therefore I'm looking for a flash to accompany it. The SB800 would
probably be the best choice (I've taken this:
http://jankeirse.free.fr/laurence.jpg image with it (using a D2H from
my photography teacher)).
The problem is that the flash costs 500 euro, far above my budget.
I'm therefore looking for an alternative, I can buy a Vivitar 730AF
for 100 euro, wich seams reasonable. Is this flash any good?

What I'm looking for is an automatic TTL flash, the head must allow to
move vertically and horizontaly and it must allow to reduce the power.
In the shot I've shown above I was able to `stop' the sb800 down about 2
stops using arrows on the back of the flash unit. This resulted in far
less agressive flash light.
Is this also possible with this vivtar, or do you people have any other
suggestion?

Kind regards,

Jan

ps.: My budget limit: about 125 euro. Mind that prices in belgium are
typically 20% higher than in the US due to huge taxes (resulting in a
wonderfull social welfare system ;-))
ps2.: Any comments on the shot would be very much appreciated.

I'm not familiar with the Vivitar you mention, but any Nikon SB-24, 25, 26
(expensive), 27 or 28 should work superlatively, and I've seen (and
purchased) used SB-24's for less than US $50, which is well within your
limits. Check ebay.

Your image is fine--nice even--though it looks like a grab shot in a bar,
and so nothing to get too excited over. She looks like she wants to be a
glamour model, batting those eyes at you like that, so maybe you should get
her to a studio and try again with more controlled lighting. Also, if you
managed to parlance the shot into a romantic trist back at her place, you
know, leaning over and showing her the image in the lcd display and
commenting on her great beauty and bedroom eyes, well then it's a VERY fine
image indeed! ;-)

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

Matt Clara wrote:

I'm not familiar with the Vivitar you mention, but any Nikon SB-24, 25, 26
(expensive), 27 or 28 should work superlatively, and I've seen (and
purchased) used SB-24's for less than US $50, which is well within your
limits. Check ebay.

I'll have a look at it, thanks for your advice!


Your image is fine--nice even--though it looks like a grab shot in a bar,
and so nothing to get too excited over. She looks like she wants to be a
glamour model, batting those eyes at you like that, so maybe you should get
her to a studio and try again with more controlled lighting. Also, if you
managed to parlance the shot into a romantic trist back at her place, you
know, leaning over and showing her the image in the lcd display and
commenting on her great beauty and bedroom eyes, well then it's a VERY fine
image indeed! ;-)

:-) The girl has a boyfriend and I have no intention (nor any
potential probably, it appears to be serious) to brake up their
relationship.
I might make new photographs of her in the studio, in fact she has
made some of me (though I haven't seen them yet since they were on
film and I haven't seen her since). We are in the same photography
course, it's her second year (my first). The problem is that her
studies occupy so much time that she hadn't had any chance to come to
the academy for 2 months now. She promised to come back however, so
maybe I'll get the change to make a better photograph ;-)

--
Jan Keirse - +32 (0)485/089.786
http://jankeirse.free.fr