Speedlite 430ex

[curtisl]

It's birthday time fast approaching and it is time to get involved with a new flash.

I am aiming to get a speedlite 430ex for my 400d. My question is, can anyone tell me what the differences are between the mkI and mkII?

Cheers

[jon-]

I think it was mostly build quality upgrades plus you get in body flash control in the more pro bodies. I'm not sure on the price difference but the metal hotshoe and quick release setup is a real godsend if the flash is off and on the camera a lot.

http://photonotes.org/cgi-bin/flash-lookup.pl?flas...

Edited by jon- on Monday 12th October 22:22

[curtisl]

jon- said:

I think it was mostly build quality upgrades plus you get in body flash control in the more pro bodies. I'm not sure on the price difference but the metal hotshoe and quick release setup is a real godsend if the flash is off and on the camera a lot.

http://photonotes.org/cgi-bin/flash-lookup.pl?flas...

Edited by jon- on Monday 12th October 22:22

I have been looking on ebay and the price difference can be quite large, up to £50-£60. I wonder if the quick release and metal hotshoe is worth the money.

Has anyone experienced both?

[Ed_P]

curtisl said:

I have been looking on ebay and the price difference can be quite large, up to £50-£60. I wonder if the quick release and metal hotshoe is worth the money.

Has anyone experienced both?

I've got a 580EX and a selection of 430s; both Mk1 and MkIIs. The MkII is a definite improvement in hotshoe design and recharges more quickly. Switching into slave mode is via a menu item rather than a switch. For occasional use though, I suspect that the MkI would do you just fine.

Remember though, that once sampled, flash photography can become addictive. Next it will be an off-camera cord, then remote triggers, more speedlights, stands, brackets, light modifiers, softboxes etc!

One point re. eBay. I bought a 430EX MkI from Canon Outlet this year. It was indistinguishable from a new item; in sealed box box with all paperwork and warranty. Perhaps they shift old stock through there as well.

[jon-]

M4FFU said:

I'm currently looking at flashes at the moment for a Christmas present, but am looking to chip in to get the 580.

Is the 580 really worth the £100 or so over the 430?

It depends if you want to control remote speedlites with ETTL. The 580 doesn't bring that much power over the 430.

[bramley]

M4FFU said:

Well, I've used my onboard flash twice, so what I want from it is mostly unknown. I'm not thinking about 2+ units at the moment, so perhaps the 430 would suffice.


...if I stop looking at the 24-105, that is :P

Edited by M4FFU on Tuesday 13th October 13:12

You can get a 430 and a cheap ebay wireless trigger for less than the price of a 580, that would be my recommendation. Off-camera-flash is A Very Good Thing and will open up lots of creative opportunities, and you'll learn loads.

I've got a Mk1 430 and 580 MkII and I don't use half the clever stuff the 580 can do. Start with a 430 and the ability to trigger it remotely, then see how you get on.

[SamHH]

M4FFU said:

Do the cheap ebay triggers allow decent functionality from the flash? Or will is just let me fire full power?

You get all the manual functions but no TTL metering.

[SamHH]

M4FFU said:

http://www.flashzebra.com/products/0125/index.shtm...

Would these do the trick?

Yes. Sorry, I thought you were talking about radio triggers earlier when I said they don't do TTL metering. A cable does allow TTL metering.