Canon 580EX II If you are a Canon shooter looking for the top of the line on camera flash look no further. Here at Fstoppers we are not Canon users but we have plenty of friends that are. The 580EX II has all of the bells and whistles including the all important PC sync slot for hooking pocket wizards to your flash.
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Canon 430EX II If the 580 is a bit too much for you, there is really only one other option for on camera eTTL flashes. The 430 has slightly less power than the 580 and is missing the PC sync jack but for many shooters it has more than enough features to get the job done.
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Nikon SB-900 If you have the money, you will not regret buying Nikon's SB-900. The flash has more features than you will ever be able to use, tons of power, and very fast recycle time. I honestly never purchased any SB-900's because I am happy with my (5) Sb-800s. If you are lucky, you might be able to find a used Sb-800 but if you want the best new gear, the 900 is your only option.
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Nikon SB-700 The SB-700 is Nikons replacement to the SB-600. The 700 did add a huge feature that the SB-600 did not have; SU-4 slave mode (it flashes when it see's another flash). This feature alone was a huge upgrade from the 600 but the 700 still does not have a PC sync jack which makes syncing with a standard pocket wizard more difficult.
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Dynalite Roadmax Kit When I first started assisting a photographer while I was in college I noticed that he used Dynalites and while I was still in school I started to buy Dynalite gear of my own. 6 years later I am still using the same gear that I bought in college and I am so glad I bought quality lighting from the start. Now I personally own 4 power packs and 10 lights and I use it in the studio and on location. My favorite part about these new packs is that they have Pocket Wizards built in, I love the convenience.
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Photoflex Starlite When we first started shooting videos we would use the modeling lights on our Dynalite heads but we quickly learned they were not powerful enough. We finally got our hands on 3 Starlites by Photoflex and they have been a huge help. The 1000 watt blubs push out a ton of light and the one flaw of these lights is that they do not dim. We purchased a 1000 watt dimmer and now we have complete control of our video lighting.
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