Help with slave flash.

[anthonytsi]

I bought a cheap slave flash online and it only flashes if it is right next to my camera or less than 4 feet from my camera if I hold my tongue just right.
I need one that has better sensitivity and allows for a (red eye) double flash, without burning my wallet.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

[NZcaver]

Which model slave flash did you get? And which model camera do you use?

I've noticed some cheap models on eBay in the past, but I'm guessing you get what you pay for with those. Assuming you don't want to spend $110 on a Firefly 3, another option might be the Quantaray QMS-D1. Unfortunately I did a quick online search and can't find them for sale anywhere. Quantarary may have discontinued this model. A caver friend has one, and he really likes it. I bought the sister model MS-1 about 6 years ago (which doesn't have the preflash-ignoring feature) and it works pretty well at line of sight range - especially for only $20.

[anthonytsi]

My slave flash is a "Digital Concepts" brand and my camera is a Kodak easyshare z1285.
The slave is a cheap internet find of about $20.
Thanks for any input.

[NZcaver]

So the Digital Concepts ones aren't so great, huh?

You're not the only one I've heard asking about cost-effective slave flash options, so I did a little more digging.

There's a Zeikos model on Amazon for about the same price you paid, but I'm not sure it's any better.
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Bracket-P ... 001LBT18O/

Or you can find a regular flashgun and buy a separate trigger to use like this $40 Sunpak unit. Sunpak is a good name brand.
http://www.amazon.com/Sunpak-Digital-Pr ... 000SJR7ZY/

Or if you decide to upgrade to a camera with a single flash option or external hot shoe... you'll have all kinds of regular single-pulse slave trigger options. That's what I did.

[anthonytsi]

Thanks NZ. I will take that into consideration.