 |
|
| 
 enlarge | Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
List Price: $400.00
Buy New: $232.95
You Save: $167.05 (42%)
New (56)
Avg. Customer Rating:  176 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 6 x 2 x 2
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: SL-430EX
Model: SL-430EX
UPC: 013803057003
EAN: 0013803057003
ASIN: B000AO3L84
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Heavy Hitter January 23, 2006
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
I love almost everything about this flash. Especially the accurate lighting when you bounce it off the walls or ceiling. Coupled with a f/1.8 lens, I was even able to take some decent indoor basketball shots this weekend. My only beef is the weight. Very heavy once you pack in those four AA batteries. I don't know if the reviewer who said that the flash was lightweight was A-a-a-rnold or not, but I find it very top heavy when you put it on something like the 300/Rebel.
Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! January 9, 2006
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
I just received my Canon 430EX last week, so I have limited experience using it. I am very impressed with its solid construction, LCD screen, and selectable (available) manual controls. Also with the test shots I made so far ranging from 2' to 20'. Perfect exposures. I bought it for my Canon EOS SLR Digital Rebel 6.3MP. Did a lot of shopping around trying to find a flash not quite so expensive. Found many of the "bargain" brands were not totally "dedicated" to my camera, therefore some of the features will not work. Even had incorrect advice from some of the major camera chains. So beware! Some do not put out as much light, too. Be sure you are getting what you want. The other reviews here at Amazon are very good, do read them. The price Amazon offers it for is reasonable, especially when you consider free shipping and (for most) no sales tax. I highly recommend this one.
Great flash! December 10, 2005
516 out of 524 found this review helpful
I am a beginner to SLR flash photography, and I spent several weeks researching various flashes, both by online reviews, and by going down to the local camera shop with my Canon 350D (Rebel XT in US), and I finally decided on the 430EX over the Canon 420EX, Canon 580EX, and Sigma 500ST Super for a few reasons:
1. Manual Control- Not only does this give you the obvious ability to have more creative flexibility, but as a beginner, it gives you the opportunity to experiment, and practice the more technical skills of flash photography. Another benefit of manual mode is the ability to use opitcally triggered slave flash units in a multi-light setup. Fully automatic E-ttl mode flash will trigger the slaves with the metering preflash, and make using optical slaves impossible while using the onboard flash. (there are work arounds, but they involve reducing the output of the onboard flash to a minimal level by FEC or covering the flash with something, limiting your flexibilty in creating a lighting setup). This manual flexibilty was the primary reason I choose the 430EX over the 420EX.
2. Remarkable recycle times. I have no scientific data for this, just subjective feel. The 430EX out-performed the 420EX here. Not by a huge amount, but it was noticable. Under the same conditions-bounce for fill, low ambient light (meter read .3 sec at f4), the 430EX would be able to fire off an extra few shots in succession without having to wait for recycling. Depending on the battery level I could get 3 to 5 more partial power fill flashes in low ambient light, pressing the shutter release quickly with the 430EX over the 420EX. Again, not a huge difference, but noticeable.
3. Build quality was better than the Sigma. I use my camera a lot, in the most hostile of camera environments (I am an elementary school teacher) and it swings around and bangs into things, and gets swung around and banged into things...etc. The build quility compared to the Sigma isn't that different for a casual user, who will take pictures at home, or in a more controlled environment. In particular, the Sigma battery door felt weak. This wasn't a decision point for me, but it helped me lean towards my decision.
4. Finally, the last factor was the ability to function as a slave in a wireless setup that isn't optical. Optical slave setups are great for experimenting, and studio type setups, when you have the only camera in the room. But they do not work when every mother and father is taking a picture at the school play, and in the future, I plan to upgrade/expand to include infared control of a flash setup. Again, there are other options for non-optically controlled slaves, but the 580EX plus Canon slaves is an easy way for a non-pro like me to go.
For me, the primary selling point was manual control. I probably would have gotten the 580EX otherwise, and just might do so in the future if I can save my pennies. The Sigma 500ST Super was very tempting as well, and if you want a powerful flash, manual control, and don't plan to use a multi-flash setup, or you use an optically triggered setup, I would recommend that flash highly as well.
One last point, the AF assist on the Canon flashes will cover all the focus points on a 350D (Rebel XT), and 20D, whereas the Sigma will only illuminate the center AF reliably. This AF assist is much nicer than the built in flash assist, and has a reasonable range for most portraits and group shots in low light.
I hope this review helps you! It took me a long time and lots of research to decide, and hopefully, I have presented my reasons in an intelligible manner!
Have fun and take lots of pictures!
Nice Flash, worth the Money December 10, 2005
57 out of 57 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a flash for your SLR then you really only have two choices, this or the 580EX. The lower-end flash would be a waste of money and space because it doesn't provide much more then your camera's pop-up flash.
The flash is very impressive; you can setup just about any bizarre exposure you want on your camera and the flash will produce enough light to make the picture actually come out (with-in its limits). Bounce flash is really helpful for shooting near-by subjects; it greatly reduces the hash shadows that often ruin indoor pictures against white walls. I am very happy with the recharge time. At close range you can normally get 2 or 3 very quick shoots in before having to wait at all; after that it is still pretty fast. When it has to fire hard it recharges in a couple of seconds on good batteries. If you have the original Digital Rebel then the 430EX also adds flash compensation control.
I don't own a 580 so I can't really comment on the advantages. It has a longer range, color temperature information, -3 down angle and wireless master mode; it is also larger. At the time I bought this one the 580 was twice the price so I didn't even consider it; the prices have come down a little, so it may be worth looking at. You should also keep in mind that the 430 does support wireless slave mode, so if you buy a 580 down the road you can still use this flash as a slave.
A few tips:
1.Always keep spare batteries; weak batteries cause very slow recharge times on distance shoots.
2.Always watch for the flash icon in the view finder. If you are shooting quickly in low-light and you happen to press the shutter before the flash has recharged you could find your self having to wait through a completely useless 10" exposure.
3.If you find that you have a tendency to accidentally tap the Depth of Field Preview button the side of the camera then you probably want to use the flash's custom feature to disable "Depth of Field Preview Illumination" (I think that is how its worded). Normally the flash strobes when that button is pressed; which annoys your subjects and forces you to wait about 5 seconds for the flash to recycle.
A Wonderful Backup!!! October 31, 2005
103 out of 106 found this review helpful
I added this flash to act as a slave to my 580ex in certain situations. This flash is phenomenal!!! The output is dead on and the exposure it gives is perfect, thanks to the ETTL-II that the 420ex lacked. Even when it's connected to the shoe mount on the camera it's awsome. The lighweight is very much appreciated as I now tend to shoot with this as a walk around flash. Highly recommended as a backup or main flash unit!!
|
|
|
Disclaimer: This is an Amazon storefront - the products referenced on this site are manufactured and sold by other parties and sold through Amazon.com We make no representations regarding either the products or any information vendors offer about their products. Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be directed to the appropriate manufacturer or vendor, or to Amazon.com. |
| |
|
