Sigma EF-500 DG ST E-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 165'/50 m at 105mm) for Canon EO

[aparmley]

Sigma EF-500 DG ST E-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 165'/50 m at 105mm) for Canon EOS with E-TTL II-

I think there are a few of our members that use this Flash I was wishing to hear from them about this Flash and how you like it.... Details are great but a general approval or disapproval is satisfactory! Thanks!

[jamison55]

I use the Sigma 500DG Super, and prefer it to the Canon 550EX I also use. For some reason, when I bounce the 550 off a low ceiling the coverage seems far narrower than the coverage I get from the Sigma.

[aparmley]

The Super? so thats a different model than the one listed here?

Edit: I see it is a different model.. So is the Super one the way to go here... I see I can get it for 220... the non-super for 150...

[NeoteriX]

Let me know how you like it and where you decide to buy it -- I'm curiously eying this one too, and will consider picking it up in a couple of weeks once the next paycheck comes in... :)

[jamison55]

It all depends on your needs. When Sigma came out with the EF 500 series, the non-super was designed to compete with the 420EX, the Super to compete with the 550EX. The non-super provides automated operation, while the Super gives you manual controls and wireless slave/master capabilities (i.e. you can wirelessly control other 550ex, 420ex, ef500 flashes).

[aparmley]

Well knowing that all I know is that I want something more than the onboard flash. Something that I can use to make better flash photographs.. I do not know the ins and outs of flash photography but I do know that I do not like the harsh differences between the subject being illuminated and the background being extremely dark when I use the flash in non filling circumstances, like extremely lowlight indoor shots... I was hoping a shoe mounted flash would provided more versatility... as I have no current need to trip other flashes, I can't say what my future needs will be... An automatic mode would be nice, but I may want to manually adjust things down the road as I learn more...?? Im not sure...
I went to a local camera shop today and besides telling me that if I want a sharp picture with a wide zoom lens than I have no choice other than the 24-70 $1,400 L glass lens - LOL - the guy strongly urged me not to buy off brand flashes like the promaster or Sigma as these brands do not work right with the Canon bodies...
I am leaning toward the thinking that the sales guy wants the commisions that canon gear brings... IDK... I mean was he completely serious... Oh and also after looking up in his book and also his computer he said he would have to call on the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 XR Di because he wants to say its not F2.8 all the way through... after that I just chuckled and said, don't bother I know it is and I won't be ordering it here...

Heres the tripod lineup incase you are wondering... 5 different promaster ultralights, but varying designs all under 80 bucks and then one Manfrotto set of legs for $350 with what looked like a some type of $100 balljoint head... This store was the superstore of the chain I visited prior, who tried to sell me the Oly E-300 when I went in asking to look at the XT... That was my fun today....

[ReF]

i feel sorry for your aweful experiences at camera shops. i'd be very annoyed.
anyways, i bought the sigma 500 super that jamison55 uses, after he recommended it for high speed flash sync. it ended up saving my butt in hawaii for sunsets with people, and other backlit or otherwise difficult lighting situations. i must say i am quite happy with the results and of course the flash itself. after that my girlfriend and i got a new fuzzy pet that runs around the house and i've gotten tons of use from that flash - 99% of the time bouncing the flash off the ceiling in manual mode. i didn't really like the results on auto. and if what jamison55 says about the canon being narrower in coverage, then i'd stick with the sigma because I point the flash straight up and bounce it off the ceiling at the 17mm wide setting, which comes out better than the narrower settings because the lighting seems more even, instead of a harsh bright light coming from above. some of the best $200 i've ever spent.