The last three flashes I picked up were some discontinued Quantaray models for about $30 each. While they aren't as powerful asthe 430EX, they work very well and even have more bells and whistles than the Vivitar 285HV (they go the full range from 1/1 to 1/64 and also have a built-in optical slave).


For instance, I used a 580EX at 1/16 (diffused by a beauty dish) as the mainlight and one of those Quantaray flashes at 1/64 power (diffused by a 15" softbox)for fill light on this shot.