The XTi's process might be old, but as long as the quality of light is good, shooting at 1600 is no problem!

For example, here is a photo taken at 1600 ISO f/2.8 on my 20D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2728/...49052678_o.jpg

I don't have a 100% crop of this photo, but the noise level is not bad and it's sharp as hell. I guess it helps that i was using an L lens :p

I've printed this photo out at 11"x16" and it looks great!

For the OP:

Invest in a flash! You'll never go back! If you can't afford a 430ex, then try looking for some old school film flashes, like the 420ez or 540ez. They can be had at half the price of the EX flashes and work just fine. Only thing is that you can't use TTL with those flashes as they're not compatible with DSLR's, but that's fine.. just fire off a few tests shots, set it and forget it! I got my 420ez with my XT when i bought it a few years ago and it worked really well for me. I still use it for off camera lighting. I've seen a used 420ez for anywhere from.. $40-80.

i don't know anyone that's wanted less than the equivalent of a 430ex once they start to learn enough about light and their flash. next thing is the off shoe cord. then more flashes. and light stands. and umbrellas. on and on...

maybe read more about it and you'll start to realize things like size of the light source, why getting it off your camera can yield dramatic differences, and how limiting something like a 270 is. Might as well get a more powerful full manual flash for that price. you'll probably be forced to learn a lot more that way anyways.

Don't know if this is a repost, but this blog was really helpful when I first dived into flash photography. It's a really great resource as it doesn't stress the importance of equipment, but rather technique.

As for flashes, I would not get anything less than a 430. If you can save up (depends how urgently you need the flash), the 580 would be a better investment imo. You can probably pick some up off CL or the RS forums for a fair price.



Courtesy of Neil van Niekerk

http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/f...hy-techniques/

Enjoy! :thumbsup:

The thing about flash is that, if you do many product/people shots, you might want to invest into flashes, but if he's gonna be into landscape or even bird photos, having a lot of flashes don't really help do they?

I have yet to meet any landscape/nature/bird photogs that actually have a nice flash setup. Most of them just have one to do some fill light (in which is extremely rare as you don't really want much artifitial light in your nature shots)

wow I'm surprised by the discussion and feedback that you guys have provided. It's really made me re-think cheeping out on a proper flash, my main concern about the hot shoe flash was that it would out of place and distracting while enjoying a casual dinner with friends, but I'm motivated to learn and hopefully get to the level you're all at.

I'll do more research on the hot shoe flashes available!

You can custom meter the thing that is closes to white in the room, then set your WB to the custom WB and your colors will be much more neutral and not so warm :).

Read the manual if you haven't already. That's a good place to start. The 50mm is a good lens and same with the 20D (David was referring to it earlier). The XT should be just as good.

Mike

I assure you it won't be as distracting as you think it would. Whether you're using pop-up flash or external flash, just the fact that you're using flash is enough for people to turn their heads. =]

There are also third party flashes by Sigma or Nissin that are generally cheaper than the OEM ones. I just received a Nissin Di866 on loan to me for a month for testing, and my initial thoughts are that it is a decent flash. It is supposed to compete with the Canon 580 EXII & Nikon SB-900 flashes at a cost of about $400, about $150 less than the OEM ones. My report will follow.

http://www.nissindigital.com/en/Di866-1.html

Can't wait to hear back from you about this =o

Same here! That flash looks sexy.