20D - Flash Recommended

[Michele]

Hello..

What flash unit would you recommend for this camera and a very much so beginner to flash?

Thank you,
Michele

[photosbymorgan2]

How much do you wish to spend?

[Michele]

Put it this way... It would be nice to get something that will work well now for learning and to possibly be able to grow into so I am not having to upgrade later. Although, I dont want anything too complex now as I get very frustrated easily when it comes to flash. So I don't want to put a money limit on it as I would rather go with what will work best for me technically and learning. Does that make sense?

[photosbymorgan2]

Originally Posted by Michele

Put it this way... It would be nice to get something that will work well now for learning and to possibly be able to grow into so I am not having to upgrade later.* Although, I dont want anything too complex now as I get very frustrated easily when it comes to flash.* So I don't want to put a money limit on it as I would rather go with what will work best for me technically and learning.* Does that make sense?*

If you want something you can grow into then I would go with the 580EX

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

[Michele]

Thank you Paul for your recommendation and for the link. I just book marked it and am going to go read more on it.

Michele

[lordarka]

Save yourself the trouble now and get a 580EX. That's a flash that can do both simple and complex things pretty well. If you are looking for pretty accurate autoflash that can compensate for diffusers, bounce, or other modifiers, the 580 does it all pretty well, with little input from the user in ETTL mode. Flash exposure compensation is also pretty easy to dial in with the wheel-based interface. *You are unlikely to outgrow it, as the flash offers considerable manual and multi-flash capabilities in conjunction with other EX Speedlites; if you ever need to go multi-flash, you can simply add 580’s to your existing setup without much hassle.

Arka C.

[JDArt]

I can second the 580ex recommendation. As much as it hurts to buy it (it's too expensive), it's better than the 550ex.

[Michele]

Thank you Arka and Jay for your input. I really appreciate the info and the advice.

Is it easy to learn on your own?

Michele

[dc2]

Originally Posted by JDArt

I can second the 580ex recommendation. As much as it hurts to buy it (it's too expensive), it's better than the 550ex.

I have a 550EX And think its ok but I recently went into a well known camera store and asked whats the difference between mine and the 580Ex ? after the assistant stood there lookimg quite blank for 2/3 mins he said I think it swivels better .Im just guessing but I think maybe he did not have a clue
Whats your feeling as to the improvements on the 580EX?
Thank you

[ohenry]

I'd consider the 430EX over the 420EX for the 20D. The 430EX is more powerful and supports ETTL-2, which the 420 does not. BUT, if you can afford it, go with the 580EX.

[Michele]

Thank you Ohenry. Could you tell me the difference between the 430EX and the 580EX? Besides price, why would one chose the 430 over the 580?

[ohenry]

Here's a comparison chart of the Canon flashes

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography...peedlites.html

[Michele]

What is E-TTL-2?

[lordarka]

Originally Posted by bauerman

If those are out of your price range - the 420EX is a very serviceable flash and can be had for $150 or less new.* It has been replaced by Canon just this year with the new 430EX - that one is worth looking into as well.* I get great results with my 420EX paired with my D60.

The 420EX was a flash head that I outgrew very fast, and I almost regretted buying it later as I started doing multi-flash setups. The unit had very little manual control, which is something that I think is essential in any flash. The 430EX adds some of the functionality of the 550/580EX series flashes into the lower level; the 430EX is, based on my reading of it, a 580EX with less power, no facility for external power sources, and without the ability to act as a master in a multi-flash setup. Given that the 430EX sells for around $300, and the 580EX can be had for as low as $380, I think the extra $$$ are well spent. As for the 420EX, I was very disappointed with the ability to do anything manually with that flash, and it did not last too long in my stable.

Arka C.

[lordarka]

Originally Posted by dc2

I have a 550EX And think its ok but I recently went into a well known camera store and asked whats the difference between mine and the 580Ex ? after the assistant stood there lookimg quite blank for 2/3 mins he said I think it swivels better .Im just guessing but I think maybe he did not have a clue
Whats your feeling as to the improvements on the 580EX?
Thank you

Well, it does swivel better. You get one button that does releases the latidunal and longitudinal swivel instead of the two on the 550EX. That's a nice simplifying feature. The 580EX also has a built in white card in addition to the wide-panel, which can come in handy for bouncing or creating catchlights. The 580 recycles a LOT faster; that alone was worth it to me as someone who does a lot of wedding and event work. Canon has also streamlined the interface to make flash exposure compensation easier to manage (using a command wheel). The flash can read the sensor crop of your camera and correspondingly reduce require flash power, which extends battery life significantly. I have also found that the 580's talk to each other better than mixed 580/550 setups. I plan to get rid of my 550 and replace it with a 580 pretty soon, simply because it doesn't like to communicate with the newer 580's in the kit as anything but a master; kind of like an old fart that refuses to take orders from some young whippersnapper.

Arka C.

[lordarka]

Originally Posted by bauerman

Plus - if you were disappointed with the manual capability of the 420EX - didn't you know going into the purchase that it was not going to meet your needs for manual functions? *

No, because when I bought that flash (many years ago now), I had little experience with flash photography, and had hoped that what is true of your situation would be true for me; that I would not need or miss the manual flash abilities. I suspected that I would never really have the knowledge or inclination to work that way, but as it turned out, I found myself wanting more control than the flash could give me very soon after I bought it. Since I had not carefully researched the situation and gathered some additional perspectives as the original poster is doing, I ended up with a flash that was totally unsuitable for my growing demands as a photographer.

It seems to me that the OP is looking for a Speedlite that will make flash photography easy today, and will give her plenty of scope for growth in the future. I was looking for the same thing many years ago, and if I had to do it over again, I would have bit the bullet then and picked up the 550EX from the outset. While I am sure great things can happen with the 420EX, I would rather have the additional headroom that the 580EX offers me.

But - at half the price or more of the 430EX - and for people like me that do not need all the manual capability - it's not a bad place to start. *I know wedding photographers that make GOOD money and the only Speedlite that they have is a 420EX. *If nothing else you can make it a slave later on to your more expensive flashes...............

And I know some of successful wedding photographers who Quantum TTL and Freewire setups. *Even with those thousands of dollars in lighting, I find the quality of their work uninspiring, and I wouldn’t hire them to shoot my wedding. Making money doesn’t mean that you generate the best pictures possible, or that your equipment is fully enabling or disabling you.

I know one wedding photographer who gets paid to shoot weddings with a Nikon Coolpix; I think that’s irresponsible. Others think it proves the ideal that the photographer matters more than the equipment. I don’t know who’s right, but I know that I would rather have more functionality than less if my reputation and personal integrity are on the line. In that sense, a $200 premium on a flash head is a small price to pay. I can buy 4 or more 580EX’s with the proceeds from a single wedding, and the added functionality they give me makes me and my clients happy.

Success in achieving your photographic vision, in a wedding or any situation, is a necessary partnership between a photographer and his tools. The particulars of that partnership vary as much as individual shooting style, approach, and the ultimate goals of a given job. As such, I am loath to compare my needs as an event photographer with the needs of other professionals.


Arka C.

[rpcrowe]

If you can find one at about $150.. Sure the 580 is a much more capable flash and has more bells and whistles, but does a person need to start with the highest end flash which will cost about 2.5x the price of a 420ex.

The 420ex is a capable flash, and if a person were to outgrow it as the main flash, it always has the slave capability. I would think that if a person needed all the capabilities of the 580ex, that person would also be interested in using multiple flash. Right now, there are some new 420ex still available and at about $150, they are a steal. If a person bought a 580ex now and wanted a slave later - the 430ex would be the only one available and at a much higher price.

For some great info on the 420ex see
http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/elan7e4.htm