Canon 420 EX for 350D, worth it? Any one have a manual?

[drama]

Hi guys

I went hunting for a 430ex today & was offered one for around 250$
This is a fair price in India

He also had a 420 EX, which he offered for half the price
I tried some trial shots with it & the results are pretty impressive

I was thinking of putting the spare cash towards getting a BG E3
This is for usage with a 350D

What do you guys think?

[Rhys]

Hi guys

I went hunting for a 430ex today & was offered one for around 250$
This is a fair price in India

He also had a 420 EX, which he offered for half the price
I tried some trial shots with it & the results are pretty impressive

I was thinking of putting the spare cash towards getting a BG E3
This is for usage with a 350D

What do you guys think?

I have the 420EX and it's pretty good. I don't really know what the difference is between that and the 430EX.

To be honest I haven't read my manual. I just use the camera to control the flash.

[drama]

Rhys

Thanks for the headsup :)
Any idea what abcd & 123 buttons are for??

I found a german manual for it :D
Tried some more shots with it, love it

[Rhys]

1234 and abcd. I think one tells the flash what channel it's using for wireless flash control. The other I'm not sure about.

[some guy]

IIRC the 420ex works with ETTL while the 430EX works with the newer ETTL-II as well. YMMV. I'm sure there are other things. Oh yes, the 430ex has an lcd screen while the 420ex are all LED lights. :)

[cdifoto]

The 420EX, 430EX, 550EX, and 580EX all work in E-TTL or E-TTL II. It depends on the camera body whether it's the former or the latter.

The differences between the 420EX are mainly high speed sync (430EX has, 420EX has not), control of FEC on the flash head (again, 430EX has, 420EX has not), and output power & recycle speeds.

Most EOS cameras can control FEC in the body, including the XT. It's a menu option in the XT/XTi therefore a bit more of a nuisance to access, so having control on the head itself is a bonus for quick adjustments. On the 10D/20D/30D bodies and higher, FEC is accessible via a dedicated button on the body next to front dial, therefore easier to access making FEC on the flash head itself a not-so-meaningful option. On the 1 Series it's a dedicated button to the left of the hot shoe, also making FEC on the flash a lower priority.

FP or High Speed Sync lets you shoot at shutter speeds faster than the sync speed (typically 1/250th), making outdoor fill flash easier, with the trade off being a shorter effective range and less power output.

[Mark_48]

Drama, check your PM inbox.

[jamison55]

The 420EX, 430EX, 550EX, and 580EX all work in E-TTL or E-TTL II. It depends on the camera body whether it's the former or the latter.

The differences between the 420EX are mainly high speed sync (430EX has, 420EX has not), control of FEC on the flash head (again, 430EX has, 420EX has not), and output power & recycle speeds...

The 420ex has High Speed Sync. I just got mine back from CPS today (it's been sitting in a drawer for over a year after I fried it at the first wedding in which I used it). Anyway, the 420ex has a dedicated switch to change it over to HS Sync.

As I understand it, the 430ex, in addition to the flash controlled FEC, also allows you to put the flash in Manual mode to manually dictate the output of the flash. The 420ex does not have a manual mode.

[cdifoto]

The 420ex has High Speed Sync. I just got mine back from CPS today (it's been sitting in a drawer for over a year after I fried it at the first wedding in which I used it). Anyway, the 420ex has a dedicated switch to change it over to HS Sync.

It does? Hm. I coulda swore it didn't. Thanks for the correction. :o

[drama]

Thanks Rhys
So it looks like abcd & 1234 dont matter :)

cdifoto & Jamison 55
Thanks for explaining the subtle nuances
What is the max high speed synchronisation, I think effective distance decreases in this mode

Mark-48

Thanks :)
PM'ed you back

[cdifoto]

Thanks Rhys
So it looks like abcd & 1234 dont matter :)

cdifoto & Jamison 55
Thanks for explaining the subtle nuances
What is the max high speed synchronisation, I think effective distance decreases in this mode

Mark-48

Thanks :)
PM'ed you back


ABCD & 1234 refers to slaves and groups. It's only meaningful in a multi-Speedlite setup.

Max high speed sync is limited only to the fastest shutter speed your camera has. 1/4000th on the XT. At 1/4000th though, it's virtually useless. Sometimes it provides that little bit of fill you need though and that's enough.