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12/11/2005 02:14:40 PM · #1 |
I saw this FLASH LINK in another thread the other day. They look like a good low-cost alternative to the fancy Canon 550/580/etc external flash units, but does anyone have some experience they're willing to share? Are these units good, useful, or junk?
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12/11/2005 02:24:09 PM · #2 |
| it's really not an alternative as i cannot be mounted onto your camera. Also you need a flash to set it off. Your 300D has one, but that means that you'll always have a directly front and center flash firing. This runs on 2 x AAA batteries so i'm not sure how much power it could actually put out, not much i'm sure. If you were going to use it in a small studio it might work, but i wouldn't try to use it as a 580 replacement. If i used it with my camera, i'd need to use my 550ex just to get it to fire at all. These things can be useful, but you might want to consider buying some older more powerful flash units, and some pretty cheap optical slave triggers. You can put a much more powerful and versatile flash system together for under $40 or so. |
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12/11/2005 02:26:42 PM · #3 |
| An alternative to the Canon flashes is the Sigma 500 DG. It's priced around the Canon 430 but has the functionality of the 580. |
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12/11/2005 03:06:22 PM · #4 |
kyebosh - PM'ed you
Message edited by author 2005-12-11 15:48:53.
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12/11/2005 04:42:56 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
An alternative to the Canon flashes is the Sigma 500 DG. It's priced around the Canon 430 but has the functionality of the 580. |
How different is the 580 from the 430 functionally? I've always wondered. I got the 430 for cost reasons, and I'm amazed at how good it is. I had to buy it "right then" for the wedding shoot, so had no chance to shop third-party gear; 420, 430, 550 and 580 is what "my" store had available.
Robt. |
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12/11/2005 04:54:54 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by kyebosh:
it's really not an alternative as i cannot be mounted onto your camera. Also you need a flash to set it off. Your 300D has one, but that means that you'll always have a directly front and center flash firing. This runs on 2 x AAA batteries so i'm not sure how much power it could actually put out, not much i'm sure. If you were going to use it in a small studio it might work, but i wouldn't try to use it as a 580 replacement. If i used it with my camera, i'd need to use my 550ex just to get it to fire at all. These things can be useful, but you might want to consider buying some older more powerful flash units, and some pretty cheap optical slave triggers. You can put a much more powerful and versatile flash system together for under $40 or so. |
I have no idea if the unit in question is worthwhile, but I would guess you could probably trigger it without being forced to have your on board flash light the subject front and center. Simply flag it off with a white piece of paper so that the light is bounced up and/or to the back. Depending on how the slave is placed, I would think this would still be enough to trigger it.
That said, if you can afford it, I wouldn't shy away from putting dollars into your flash. I just got an SB-800 for my birthday and it is exponentially better than the old SB-20 I'd had the opportunity to borrow which was exponentially better than the onboard flash on my D70. Leads me to believe that for each little bit more you can spend, you're going to get a world of difference in the results. |
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12/11/2005 05:42:12 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by bear_music:
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
An alternative to the Canon flashes is the Sigma 500 DG. It's priced around the Canon 430 but has the functionality of the 580. |
How different is the 580 from the 430 functionally? I've always wondered. I got the 430 for cost reasons, and I'm amazed at how good it is. I had to buy it "right then" for the wedding shoot, so had no chance to shop third-party gear; 420, 430, 550 and 580 is what "my" store had available.
Robt. |
Well, I know that the 580 can set off slave flashes and the 430 can't be set as the master... |
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12/11/2005 07:08:23 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by oOWonderBreadOo:
Originally posted by bear_music:
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
An alternative to the Canon flashes is the Sigma 500 DG. It's priced around the Canon 430 but has the functionality of the 580. |
How different is the 580 from the 430 functionally? I've always wondered. I got the 430 for cost reasons, and I'm amazed at how good it is. I had to buy it "right then" for the wedding shoot, so had no chance to shop third-party gear; 420, 430, 550 and 580 is what "my" store had available.
the 550ex can also be a master. I'm not sure of the difference between the 430 and 580... The 420 doesn't have the option to change curtain sync on the flash unit itself. The others probably all do, I know the 550 and 580 do. the 580 is way more powerful than the 430 iirc.
Robt. |
Well, I know that the 580 can set off slave flashes and the 430 can't be set as the master... |
edit: somehow my post got lost... let me try again...
I don't know all the differences with the 430 because i haven't looked at it. The 580 and 550 are considerably stronger flashes than the 420ex. The 550 and 580 can be set as masters, while the 400's cannot. The 420 didn't have an option to set the curtain sync on the flash itself like the 500's do.
Yes you probably could get it to trigger with some sort of a bounced onboard flash. The flashes I pm'd you about would be pretty strong, but still need a flash to set them off. You could also get a 2nd manual flash cheap and bounce that to trigger the others.
Message edited by author 2005-12-11 19:12:39. |
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12/11/2005 07:20:14 PM · #9 |
I got a set of the quantaray MS-1 slaves only because someone gave me a wolf camera gift card and thought I would try them out. Neat little flash units and they work ok and they do suck down the batteries pretty quick.
I havent used them in about 3 months
James |
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12/11/2005 07:28:05 PM · #10 |
| The 580 has fec on the flash unit whereas the 430 doesn't. This would only be relevant if the camera doesn't have fec. |
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12/11/2005 07:50:37 PM · #11 |
I used to use a similar item with time exposures at night. I would set the camera on "bulb" open the shutter and walk around hit the flash trigger when I wanted to illuminate something. Pretty fun but havent' used it in a long time and never with digital.
Edit: Note on 550/580: I have the 550EX and it was worth every cent. It has been tough, I've dropped it and bonked it into things (it stics out far from the camera) It has so far spanned the life of 2 cameras and will porbably have to work on my next upgrade too. I have use it with lenses too long (suggested to end at 105mm) for it I use it regularly with mt 70-200. It' is one smart flash. Before I invested in the 550, I went through several other cheaper ones with unhappy results. (and more expensive ones...I did not like my Quantum T2 Flash & Turbo charger at all.....too much crap to carry around for hours in a horse arenaand I had to change batteries too often, just wasn't suitable for me)
Message edited by author 2005-12-11 19:58:08. |
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