Altura Professional Camera Flash Kit with LCD Display - Universal DSLR & Mirrorless External Flash with Hot Shoe for Canon, Sony, Nikon - Perfect for Wedding, Portrait & Night Photography

Picked this up for $61 as I often do indoor photography and I just hated always cranking up my iso super high. This flash was the perfect remedy for that.I like that the flash feels durable with some weight, though it is made of all plastic. It comes with a diffuser and a reflective piece that helps make the light softer.I mainly picked this brand because I previously purchased altura’s camera lens cleaning kit and was pretty satisfied with their quality.The picture of my cat was taken at 1/250, F2.8, Iso 200, Flash on 1/32 bounced off the ceiling. Pretty good results! Beats cranking iso up to 8K or dropping the shutter speed too much.The flash has several steps of power going all the way down to 1/128.Haven’t used it long enough to list the con’s. Will update if I am unsatisfied with the flash.I read the reviews before purchasing but ended up ordering after previously owning an older altura flash kit version. I purchased a different altura flash (2-3 years ago?) and loved it! Did the job and was able to use it as a beginner... I purchased this flash as I thought it was similar and still compatible with my Canon t3i as an off brand flash kit. This altura flash was much taller than my last altura flash (by at least 3 inches when fully extended) and felt bulkier when using. I was also somewhat disappointed that this new flash did not come with a velcro strap carrier case like my older version (comes in a drawstring sack that would need to be stored inside your camera bag). After an hour of use, I noticed that the battery compartment just would not stay close after many attempts to keep it shut! All night, I kept re-shutting the battery compartment. Other reviews had warned about this but I just thought people were being overly dramatic... I debated on being ghetto and just duck taping it shut, however ----why go those lengths for a brand new flash??? You shouldn't have to. I ended up returning due to the flash's functionality. If you're okay with the battery compartment opening and the bulky size of this flash, than it's for you! *You get what you pay for I guess*I am a photographer who needed a flash that could swivel, change power output levels, and work remotely as an off-camera flash. However, since I just opened my studio a few months ago and most of my upcoming shoots are outdoors, I decided to invest in a low-cost option until I had more need for a high-end brand with more capabilities. I was pleasantly surprised by this flash. It has plenty of power to light a near-dark room and the swivel mount allows you to bounce the light off of any surface- ceilings, walls, water, etc. The battery life is as expected- a couple of hours of heavy shooting and you'll have to change them. Thankfully, AA's are easy to find and relatively inexpensive. It mounts nicely to my Canon t5i, and the table mount has a tripod mount built in so that you can use your tripod rather than buying a light stand. It syncs at a shutter speed of 200 (for those who care).What I love about this flash is the way it bounces back beautiful ambient light from a white surface. I've attached some photos of flowers from a nearly dark studio space where the only light was from the flash bouncing off of a white wall about 4 feet away. I also attached a photo of my daughter sitting in our light-grey hallway. The flash is bouncing off of the wall on the left, which makes it look as if she is next to a window. It's a great way to fake natural light. (This was ISO 100, so without the flash the photo was completely black.)That said (and I do love this flash), there is one drawback that I want to mention: If the area you're working in is well-lit, the remote sensor will not recognize the flash. I could not use the flash outdoors in the middle of the day, or in my studio when I had two softboxes and the back light on. I did find a work-around in the studio (see picture)- I placed a sticky note on the side where the softbox light was strongest. It worked well as long asthe sensor was shaded (from the sticky note or due to the placement of the flash in a shady spot). In order to use the flash outdoors to create more dynamic images, you may need to invest in wireless radio triggers. I have not tried them with this flash.I give it 4 stars because I am very happy with it and it does what I need it to do with where I am professionally right now- but I wish the sensor were strong enough to catch my camera's flash in the studio without a sticky note :)((The photos I've included are straight out of camera with no editing done. ))UPDATE: I received the Altura flash triggers in the mail today and so far the issue I had before with too much light flooding the sensor is no longer a problem. The sensors work great with this flash!Thank you