Anyone use the 270 EX

<p>I recently acquired this small flashgun as I decided it would be a much more compact alternative to my 580 or 550. I only have one body with a built in flash (the 7D) so I always had to carry a big unit for fill in flash etc... with my other cameras.<br>

I was amazed how small and light the 270 is (it only takes 2AA batteries). However, it recycles quickly and has limited bounce and zoom capability. It is controlled by the camera and lacks wireless capability or swivel. Despite that it is a surprisingly good performer. The fact that it is mounted so it angles ahead of the camera reduces lens shadows (even with the 24-70 so long as you leave the hood off) and the bounce is quite useful. This flash has done all I expected and a lot more. I thought that I would just get a capability similar to the built in 7D flash but I found I got something that is a much better performer. While I am obviously not going to sell my full size flash guns, the 270 can perform like a real flash. I just thought I would post to see what others think about this very compact flash.</p>

I like mine as well.

 

Perfect for fill on a 5D which has no built-in flash, and much lighter/smaller than my 430. Would be nice if

it had AF assist illumination like the larger units. But the lens I use the most is manual focus only so

that's not missed.

<p>I like mine a lot also. I use it on my G12 as it gives much more control than the built-in flash on that camera, but I mounted it on my 7D not too long ago and was really impressed by how it performed on it. It's nice for the times I don't want to use my 580EX II, but especially on the G12 it makes a very nice and capable little outfit.</p>

I love it especially when I travel.

<p>I passed on the 270EX, partially because I didn't need yet another flash, but I really loathed the idea of the AF assist being that oh so annoying poppity poppity flash burst from the main flash tube. Zoom and bounce looked cool though.</p>

<p>It's not as good as the 430 or 580, but then that's comparing apples to oranges. For what it is, it's waaaay better than the built-in popup on the 7D. When I want to really travel light, and I'm not looking for the reach of the 580 and just need a bit of fill flash, I'll carry the 270 in a shirt pocket and hardly know it's there.</p>

<p>Glad to see that I am not alone in really liking this flash.</p>

<p>Glad to see that I am not alone in really liking this flash.</p>

<p>The 270EX works well as a fill flash, and also supports bounce (something a pop-up cannot do).<br>

On the 5D II I control the flash from the camera and it works well.<br>

I use a Demb flash difuser with the flash at times. You set the camera to bounce position and send part of the light forward from the Demb diffuser and part bounced. <br>

For more serious flash work I have a 580EX II.<br>

The 270EX is small and easy to take with most any bag. That makes it quite useful; especially given the bounce capability. </p>

<p>I did a post a while back about the 270 with some photo comparisons to the 580 to show just how small it really is</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00UskR</p><div></div>

<p>I use it with my 5D but this flash is no 580 EX, it takes 5+ seconds to recycle with a fresh set of batteries and the light is pretty harsh unless you bounce it of a surface. I use it in case of emegencies only.</p>

<p>Heck, I use the 220ex all the time with my 5D2 and love it; it fits in my bag, and unlike the 270, it has the AF assist ruby lamp on it, which means I can turn off the flash feature and just use it get quick and sure focus in super-low light. (I also have the off-camera cord, which means I can get better flash position than I would on-camera. It's fabulous for snaps, and as fill, which are my two primary uses for it... anything more involved means getting the strobes.)</p><div></div>

<p>I like that flash unit, the 270.</p>