A good-condition lightly used 430EX (not the II version) should come in easily under $200 on eBay, Craiglist, etc. Good enough for just about any typical flash use.
@superbeyotch The Yongnuo YN series flashes are very reliable & decent value for the money too. Depending on the model, some versions have full Canon TTL & one (YN565?) can be triggered by the inbuilt 7D/600D remote flash control.
@humphreyhippo Do you think I should go with a ttl version for my first external flash? Is it worth it just to spend a litle extra in your opinion? I would mostly be using for a small indoor studio that just doesnt have enough light from my softboxes and some outdoor shots. Thanks for your time :)
@superbeyotch Yes I would - assuming the price difference isn't huge. On Av mode, the Canons tend to use the TTL to supply the correct light for foreground fill-in flash (or that's been my experience).
Having said that, I tend to use mine in a studio environment with both camera & flash on manual settings.
I'd also recommend investing in a way to fire the flash off-camera. I have a cheap little wireless flash trigger thing from eBay (search for 'wireless flash trigger canon') - my one doesn't do TTL, but assuming you get a flash with different power settings, you can dial in the setting very quickly - and off-camera flash opens up a world of photographic possibilities.
If there is one thing I'd make sure any external flash can do, I'd say it should be 'have a moveable head' so you can bounce the flash (off a ceiling or a reflector).
I would agree with @humphreyhippo -- if you ever plan to use the flash for non-studio work, TTL is almost essential. For studio work, manual mode is almost essential, so you should definitely get a model with both.
If you are unwilling to go second-hand, about the only option I'm aware of that will fit your budget and offer both manual and TTL control is one of the Yongnuo models @humphreyhippo suggests. While the Canon 270EX and 320EX are available new for around your budget, neither offers a manual mode.
Personally, in your situation I would probably spend a little extra and get the 430EX II, widely available for $280 new, but I've not done much research on the Yongnuo models. If they truly do support all of the Canon TTL functions including remote master/slave and are sufficiently cheap and reliable, then it's probably worth a go!
@humphreyhippo Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out. I will definitely look into the Yongnuo line as they seem to have pretty good over all reviews on Amazon and are definitely in my price range. :) Your help is greatly appreciated
@abirkill I've been thinking of getting the YN565 & have read good reports about the remote options on it. Tis my birthday soon. ;)
@superbeyotch If you do look at a Yongnuo - I'd suggest you get one with an optical slave mode (not all of them have it) - that way if you don't get on with it, it will still be a useful secondary flash in the studio.
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Having said that, I tend to use mine in a studio environment with both camera & flash on manual settings.
I'd also recommend investing in a way to fire the flash off-camera. I have a cheap little wireless flash trigger thing from eBay (search for 'wireless flash trigger canon') - my one doesn't do TTL, but assuming you get a flash with different power settings, you can dial in the setting very quickly - and off-camera flash opens up a world of photographic possibilities.
If there is one thing I'd make sure any external flash can do, I'd say it should be 'have a moveable head' so you can bounce the flash (off a ceiling or a reflector).
If you are unwilling to go second-hand, about the only option I'm aware of that will fit your budget and offer both manual and TTL control is one of the Yongnuo models @humphreyhippo suggests. While the Canon 270EX and 320EX are available new for around your budget, neither offers a manual mode.
Personally, in your situation I would probably spend a little extra and get the 430EX II, widely available for $280 new, but I've not done much research on the Yongnuo models. If they truly do support all of the Canon TTL functions including remote master/slave and are sufficiently cheap and reliable, then it's probably worth a go!
@superbeyotch If you do look at a Yongnuo - I'd suggest you get one with an optical slave mode (not all of them have it) - that way if you don't get on with it, it will still be a useful secondary flash in the studio.