Canon Flash Advicegreenspun.com : LUSENET : Camera Equipment : One Thread |
Could anyone possibly tell me which canon flash would be the most useful to me? I have a canon rebel 2000. I need a flash that will take nice facial photos. I don't want to have to work at making it do it's job. Something that knows what to do and when to do it. (Because I don't. LOL.) Thanks for any advice! Alycia
-- Alycia (vcollin1@gte.net), September 18, 2001
Well, any of the current Canon flashes will work for you. It all comes down to 3 things in the end. Price, power, and features. Canon currently makes at least 3 regular flashes, and a couple of specialized units. The ones you would most likely be interested in are the regular hotshoe flashes. They are the 220EX, 420EX, and 550EX, and maybe the 200E and 540EZ. I don't know if the last two are still being manufactured or not, but they were for a while after their replacements were introduced. Even if you can find a 200E or 540EZ, I wouldn't consider it ideal for your camera since they can't take advantage of all of the automation your camera is capable of. All of the EX series flashes can though.The 220EX is the cheapest, and has the least power and features. It only points straight ahead, and it doesn't zoom to match the coverage of your lens, so it isn't a very good match if you like to bounce the flash, or have a lens shorter than 28mm.
The 420EX is a nice compromise. It doesn't have any manual features, but it does zoom, tilt, and swivel. That means that it can cover lenses as short as 24mm, and zoom out from there to increase the effective (not real) power with longer lenses. It can also be used to bounce the flash off a ceiling if you are shooting horizontal or veritcal. I had a 380EX at one time, which was a slightly weaker predecessor to the 420EX. It is all the average person needs. The 420EX also adds the capability of being used as a wireless slave with the 550EX and other accessories, but it can only be activated by them, not used as a master to activate other 550EXs. This is probably the best flash for your needs.
At the top in price, power, and features is the 550EX. It does everything the 420EX does and a lot more. It has features most of use will never use, such as strobe capability, but it also has full manual capabilities, which is nice if you understand manual flash or want to learn. There are really more features than I care to list here. It can be used fully automated though, and you can also dial in Flash Exposure Compensation, which can also be done from the camera body itself, except with the Rebel series. It has a lot of power. There are a lot of us who never have enough power, but it has more than enough for most people, even me 95% of the time. The downsides are the price - $320-$370, and weight - about 2 ounces more than your Rebel. Unless you are very serious about learning the ins and outs of flash photography, it is probably more than you need. If you want Canon's best though, this is it, at least for now. I also don't think it would balance very well on a Rebel since it is so heavy. It was a little heavy feeling on my Elan IIe, but feels great on my EOS 3.
Well there is a rundown of what is available to you. As to which will be most useful, I can't answer that. My best guess would be the 420EX. As you can tell, this is a subject that doesn't have a simple, clear-cut answer. Whatever you get, do yourself a favor and get some Nikel-Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries and a charger. Your flash will recharge faster, and you won't have to spend money replacing alkalines.
-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), September 18, 2001.
420EX would probably be best for you. 220EX is a bit feeble (and not much better than an internal flash). 550EX is way more than you need. So, the 420EX (or it's predecessor, the 380EX) would be the best compromise.
-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), September 18, 2001.
A similar question was asked on the Elan 7E Group.It seems that the Sigma "EF 500 Super" has the specifications near to a 550EX but for the price of a 420EX. See: