What is best and cheapest Speedlite for EOS 650?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Canon EOS FAQ forum : One Thread

I have an old EOS 650 whose flash has quit. Since I am a novice in photographic equipment, I would appreciate recommendations for the best and most econonical speedlite to buy. I just take very simple candid photos. Thanks.

-- Robert Iwamoto (Ishmoto@aol.com), September 21, 1999

Answers

The best is not the cheapest and the cheapest is not the best! Why not just replace your broken flash with a similar model?

-- Dave Herzstein (dherzstein@juno.com), September 22, 1999.

The "best" would probably be the Canon 540EZ, for about $265. Not cheap, but plenty of room to grow if you are serious. The cheapest that will still offer full dedication is probably the Canon 200E for about $50. There are third party flashes that offer Canon EOS dedication as well. There are some that have considerably more power than the 200E for around $100. Some have nearly as much power as the 540EZ for less than $200. If all you need is a flash that will work (and actually is a little more powerful than the 200E) you can get a Vivitar auto flash (non-dedicated) from Wal-Mart for about $20. That would probably be the cheapest. Not a great flash, but you could use it on manual and learn about flash exposure, and I have produced decent pictures with less.

-- Brad (bhutcheson@iname.com), September 23, 1999.

When the EOS 650 was released, the top of the line flash was the 430EZ. Later it was replaced with the still available (but not for long) 540EZ, which is a bit more powerful and allows 20mm coverage. If you can find it second hand, it should be much cheaper than the 540EZ or the 550EX, almost as powerful and with the same functionality combined with the EOS 650 (A-TTL, 2nd curtain, strobe,etc.).

-- Tiago Silva (tiago@lx.it.pt), September 23, 1999.

The 430EZ wasn't yet released when the EOS 650 came out, but the 420EZ was available. Don't bother with the 430EZ; its main advantage ver the 420EZ is flash exposure compensation, which won't work with the EOS 650. See my web page:http://www.kjsl.com/~ dave/speedlites.html

-- Dave Herzstein (dherzstein@juno.com), September 24, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ