Flash for XTi

[krzkrzkrz]

Hello all,

Thinking of getting a flash system for my camera. Im wondering whether the 580EX or the 430EX is right for me.

Ill be using it indoors, together with my 70-200/2.8 IS and possible outdoors when needed.

PRO's and CON's on the two flash systems is appreciated.

[Nickcanada]

I don't know all the fine details but the 580 is a stronger flash which means you can bounce it off higher ceilings or shoot it through umbrellas or reflectors with more flexibility.

Check my details but I'm pretty sure the original 580 and the 430 do not have sync ports or PC ports so you can not use wireless triggers or optical triggers. You may not have a need for it now but I'm sure some day you are going to want to do some off camera flash work.

lastly the 580 can act as a master flash and trigger other speedlights. why should you care you only have one flash right? Well I think it's safe to say once you get a taste for flash and you start reading the Strobist blog you are going to want to do some off camera flash work.

Why not start with the 430 and then move to the 580 you ask? Well you could do that but if you do you will have two different powered flash units with different recycle times. Also you would probably want the off camera flash to be defused by an umbrella etc, that would mean you have the 430 trying to spread the light over a larger area, a job better suited for the 580 but the 580 must stay on your camera!

I've never used the 580 or triggered flashes etc. so this is all stuff I've read. Take my opinion as just that, an opinion. :)

[krzkrzkrz]

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the tip!

[smartguy26]

i have some flash questions as well

if i want to take a photo of something with directional lighting, (only one flash, not mounted on the body) do i need some sort of accessory to trigger it, or can the camera body (30d) do this? and which flashes offer this option?

[noyjimi]

i have some flash questions as well

if i want to take a photo of something with directional lighting, (only one flash, not mounted on the body) do i need some sort of accessory to trigger it, or can the camera body (30d) do this? and which flashes offer this option?

one answer would be, if you wish to stay within the brand, you can get a Canon ST-E2 and a flash like 580/550/430/420

another way to stay within the brand is to get one flash such as 550/580 as the master (instead of the ST-E2), and another flash (580/550/430/420) as the slave

[smartguy26]

thanks for clearing that up
i had read about it but wasnt sure. i want to control an off shoe flash, but not enough to justify spending another $200 (it would get limited use anyway)

[DonSchap]

thanks for clearing that up
i had read about it but wasnt sure. i want to control an off shoe flash, but not enough to justify spending another $200 (it would get limited use anyway)


Canon makes a cord ... it's about 2 feet long, that will attach to the hot shoe and the bottom side of the 420/430/550/580 Speedlight flash.

28621

It's called the "Off-shoe cord II" and is usually used with those stobo-frame devices, but it can also be handleheld. Personally, I've got two of them ... for some serious, but usable length. I use it once in a while, but I also have the ST-E2 and the two PocketWizards to complete the flash control for everything I have.

The cost is around $69 or for whatever you can get them for off of ebay.

[noyjimi]

thanks for clearing that up
i had read about it but wasnt sure. i want to control an off shoe flash, but not enough to justify spending another $200 (it would get limited use anyway)

there are some non OEM options, some that will be cheaper:

1. get a wireless (radio) trigger (plenty on ebay), so there's 1 piece that goes into your body's hotshoe and the other piece (shoe) is where your flash sits on. the downside is there's no ETTL

2. get a wireless (optical) shoe and connect to your flash. then get a 2nd flash mounted on your body (master) and use that to trigger the optical shoe remotely. since this is an optical trigger, you can't use a flash that fires a preflash as the master, such as a canon in ETTL mode. i think Peter said the same thing in a different thread recently)

3. get a pc cord and hotshoe-with-pc-cord-port. the cord connects from your camera (pc cord port) to the port of the hotshoe, and the hotshoe is where your flash sits on. the downside is you're tethered and there's no ETTL

4. get a pocketwizard system in lieu of 1

5. hack a canon OCSC and lengthen it, haha. you get ETTL but are tethered :D

[smartguy26]

thanks for the info