420 ez vs. 380 ex flash

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I have an old 420 ez and I am no longer using my 650 EOS. I have upgraded to the Elan II. Should I get a 380 ex? The reviews look horrible on it. Is ETTL worth it? Anybody getting good results? What would be wrong with using the 420 ez? So far the 420 is good but I am not sure if it does second curtain with the Elan II or flash sync to 1/4000th. Can anybody help?

Thanks.

Ron

-- Ron Rivchin (ronrivchin@hotmail.com), April 20, 2002

Answers

Nothing wrong with using your 420EZ on the Elan II. You'll get good flash exposures most of the time. The exposures will normally be biased towards whatever AF point is active at the time. Second curtain should work but you will not get high speed sync. 1/125 is as fast as you can go. The camera's flash exposure compensation (FEC) feature will work with it as well, so if you know what you're doing you can taylor the flash power to suit your needs.

E-TTL will gain you just a bit better metering that will only show in difficult lighting situations & backlighting. Fill flash will probably look better too. With E-TTL you also get high speed sync (FP flash) and flash exposure lock (FEL)

the 380EX is not the flash to get though. It's been replaced by the 420EX. The 420EX adds a swivel head and a bit more power. But with neither of them will you get any manual controls like the 420EZ has.

For about the same price you could get a Sigma EF-500 Super that has all the features of the 420EX and 420EZ, and adds still more power, manual controls, wireless master capabilities, and other functions.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), April 21, 2002.


The 420EZ was/is an excellent, powerful flash that is still compatible with modern EOS cameras. It can do 2nd-curtain sync, but will not be able to sync above 1/125 on your Elan II.

Newer flash units have improved features, but if you have shot flash photos successfully on your EOS 650 and did not mind the absence of a flash exposure confirmation indicator, or a hotshoe locking pin, you might continue shooting without the blink of an eyelid.*

Consult Dave Herzstein's Speedlites comparison table for reference.

*The E-TTL preflash(es) can result in reflex blinking that shows up in pictures of people. I call this Blinking Eye E-TTL (BEETTL) syndrome.


-- Julian Loke (elan7e-owner@yahoogroups.com), April 21, 2002.


My only comments are that the 420EZ lacks flash exposure compensation (FEC). You can't adjust its output above or below what the camera thinks you want. Personally I'd miss this feature.

Second, the 420EX or a Sigma EF 500 Super sound like better deals than the 380EX to me. The 420EX has a swivel head whereas the 380EX does not.

The 420EX lacks external FEC controls but you can control FEC via the Elan II body. I believe the Sigma EF 500 Super has external FEC controls.

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), April 21, 2002.


The FEC controls built into the Elan II camera body will provide flash exposure compensation to the 420EZ, 420EX, 380EX, EF-500 Super, and any other EOS dedicated TTL flash. so Ron won't be missing this with any of thes flashes. As NK Guy pointed out, the Sigma has the FEC controls built into the flash as well.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), April 21, 2002.

Oops, sorry. I'm used to the Elan/100, which has on-board FEC controls which don't affect external Speedlites.

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), April 22, 2002.


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