Macro bracket, part 5: flash resolved

As I mentioned before, I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep on using a Vivitar 285HV as my light source or not. I wanted to upgrade to a TTL flash for better consistency and rear-curtain sync, but funds are limited. A couple things have led me to order a 430EX II this morning, though.

First, I found that the guide numbers of the Yongnuo flash I was considering was understated by about a stop. This isn’t really a big deal to me, except for the fact that it meant I’d have to use a higher power setting than I really want to, which means a longer flash pulse. When I considered that along with the uneven build quality, lack of a real warranty, and the other minor uncertainties that come with buying a third-party flash, I decided that I wasn’t confident in putting my money there. All the little uncertainties add up to too much of a risk — the YN-465 is about $15-$20 out of my comfort zone. (I will definitely say that the YN-460 II is not, and if I were looking for a manual flash right now, it’d be at the top of my list.)

The other thing is that I’ve noticed the foot of my Vivitar is starting to crack apart.  My off-camera cord has a slightly wobbly hotshoe, and the back-and-forth movement has put enough torque on the foot to start peeling away one of the flanges.  I’ve shimmed the hotshoe so it won’t move anymore, but now the flash moves on its own.  It’ll be fine as a remote flash, laying on its side with a receiver on the foot, but I don’t trust it mounted to anything where the cracked flange has to support its weight.

So, I bit the bullet and ordered the 430EX II from Beach Camera’s eBay store, which had the lowest price of any Canon authorised dealers after cashback.  I wish I’d noticed the damage to the Vivitar last week, when there was a $15 rebate, but what can you do…

I considered replacing the off-camera cord, which is the old “Canon Off Camera Shoe Cord 2″ that was replaced by the OC-E3, but I think I’ve fixed the wobble (kind of a rotating looseness in the metal part of the hotshoe) by shimming it with thick paper.

Once the new flash arrives, I’ll make a diffuser that fits on it in the same style as the one I made for the Vivitar, and I think I’ll have my bracket finished.  I’ll post photos explaining everything then.  In the meantime, I’ll finish going through all the photos I took last week while I was visiting family in upstate New York.  I’ve already uploaded a whole gallery of sawfly photos, which I’m quite happy with — my first real macros at a magnification higher than 1:1.  More very soon, I hope.