need help choosing a good flash

I am looking to buy a flash for my cameras. I have a nikon fm10 and nikon N75 and also a canon 20d. I've had a really cheap flash for the past few years and i'm looking to upgrade to something that has more options and control. I've looked at KEH and i'm wondering if it is a good idea to buy a used flash. It seems like they might wear out over time but i really don't know. I've been looking at the canon speedlight 430x. Any recommendations?

If you want a flash for all three cameras then look at a Metz. Then get both Nikon and Canon modules for the flash.

Check out the Nikon SB-800 flash. Very powerful with many features for the Nikon and yet compatable with the Canon. I use it for my N-75 and my Hasselblad 503CX.

Steve

A number of clocks can actually work that way. When they powered up they receives signal from either sattelite or a time standard shortwave radio like WWV and show the correct time.

Stever said:

Check out the Nikon SB-800 flash. Very powerful with many features for the Nikon and yet compatable with the Canon...

Click to expand...

That's a bit of a "yes and no" situation - although a Canon will fire a Nikon flash, (and vice versa) you will NOT get TTL flash metering.

I recommend you look at the Metz models with the SCA3000 system - the bottom section including the foot of these flashes is detatchable, and thus you can fit different modules to them in order to add dedication to most cameras.

If you aren't interested in TTL flashmetering, then there is absolutely no point getting a top of the line dedicated flash - and you could consider the recently reintroduced Vivitar 285HV. It is equipped with auto thyristor and full manual control.

If you don't need a dedicated flash, the Sunpak 383 is also a very capable and won't break the bank.