canon eos third party flash units

From where I live, acquiring canon accessories including flash equipments is

not easy. In my previous body canon eos 650 film camera, i used a sunpak

888afz flash unit and it worked quite well. Recently, i acquired a Canon

400D/Xti and tried to use the same flash unit, but to my dismay, it didnt work

well. Alot of the pictures lacked lighting despite my effort to adjust the

flash relative burst output. Are there third party flash units which can work

well with the canon eos 400D/Xti?

Your flash is probably too old to work properly with your new DSLR. You will need a flash that supports E-TTL. See the link below for a wealth of information on Canon flash.

 

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/#faq4

 

Cheers, Bob

Here is a third party flash that fits your requirements.

 

http://www.adorama.com/SUPF30XC.html

 

But if you can't find a e-ttl capable flash then you can use a third party flash like a Sunpak 383 or Vivitar 283/285 and use the auto mode. This means you have to use your camera in manual mode and input aperture and ISO manually into the flash.

 

It's not as hard as sound because with a digital cam you can see results immediately and change settings to make it brighter or darker.

Erwin,

 

If you have a computer, which you obviously do, why can't you just order any flash you want online ? Do you not have mail or UPS delivery ? Canon's 430EX would work quite well on your camera. Good luck.

Among third party offerings that are E-TTL compatible are the Sigma 500 DG Super, several models from Metz and the Sunpak PZ40X. You could also use any Canon EX series Speeedlite, or an autoflash that meters its own output.

 

http://www.metz.de/en/photo_electronics/empfehlung.142.html

 

Of the third party E-TTL units the Sigma probably offers the best value.

Steve,

 

I did consider purchasing online. But, unfortunately, the cost of freight and taxes/duties in order for it to reach me here at the Philippines is more than 35% of the cost of the unit! Id be paying alot more than what the unit actually cost. Any unit for that matter bought online. This is the rationale why Im opting for third party products, which is fortunately available in a few photography supplies stores.

Please ignore Steve. There is a certain degree of US-centrism in some of the responses. I faced some similar responses when I was in Europe. The 430EX is expensive even in the US (you can buy 3 Vivitars for the price). Unfortunately it is unlikely that a "new" 285HV is available in the Philippines yet.

 

What you want to look for is an auto-flash (sometimes called auto-thyristor) with a sensor on the flash. The flash does the metering based on information (aperture and ISO) than you dial in. Normally these flashes have only a single pin on the base.

 

There are now some third party E-TTL flashes (the Sigmas were the first). They are cheaper than the Canon flashes but not that cheap. You need to look for "E-TTL".

 

Hope that helps.

i highly recommend <a href="http://www.dphotonews.com/shownews.php?idVesti=94">Metz 58 AF-1</a>. it's updateable via USB, has auto mode, small second flash, and is overall excellent flash.

It is a lovely flash but it is slightly more expensive than a Canon 580EX. Does it have a PC sync terminal? That, an optical slave, and auto flash metering are the main things missing from the EX flashes.

Steve,

 

Thanks for the info. The auto-thyristor thing was the reason why I bought the sunpak 888afz flash. But other than the large pin at the center, it has 4 smaller pins at its sides of the hotshoe. It also has manual controls at the back panel, where you can input the film iso and the lense focal length. But it doesn?t work well with my 400D/Xti. ?Sync? I believe is the term for it to correctly provide light for my photos.

 

BTW, can someone expound on the Metz 58 AF -1? What for is the small second flash? What do you need to update using usb?

Erwin,

 

I presume you are trying to use it in either manual or auto mode and not to use TTL. TTL will not work. However I have heard reports of dedicated flashes behaving badly even when they should work fine in auto and manual modes.

 

Here is a possible solution. Try cutting a piece of thin plastic to fit in the hotshoe of the XTi to cover all but the centre post. Make it longer than the hotshoe so you can hold it in place while sliding the flash into the hotshoe. Hopefully it will work perfectly since as far as the camera is concerned your flash is no longer dedicated.

 

Give that a try and tell me how it goes.

 

The little flash on the body of the Metz is used to provide fill in place of a bounce card i.e. it provides a direct flash when the main head is pointed upward for bounce flash.

alistair,

 

thank you for the suggestion! I will try it on the 400D/Xti

 

***

 

BTW, does anyone have an idea on the price of the Metz 58 AF-1? Im curious bout its features. I surfed through the internet, but could not find a price for it. Just press releases.

Hope this works. B & H lists the Metz 58

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=2609&A=details&Q=&sku=472478&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

henry,

 

thanks! geez... its as expensive as the canon speedlite 580ex.

You might also look at a Metz 44-AF-4C. B&H also carries about $190.00.

 

You should be able to find it using the same link to B&H.

 

Henry

I own a Sigma EF-500 DG Super for my 10D and haven't had any complaints about it. I picked it up for $200 a while back. The newer E-TTL II version is around the same. The cheapest place online I would trust is Sigma4less.com the link is as follows http://www.sigma4less.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=1545de7d441441a/shopdata/0020_Flashes/0010_Shoe+Mount+Flashes/product_details.shopscript?article=0180_Sigma%2BEF-500%2BDG%2BSuper%2BE-TTL%2BShoe%2BMount%2BFlash%2Bfor%2BCanon%2BEOS%2Bwith%2BE-TTL%2BII%2BOperation%2B%3D28SGEF500SUDCA%3D29

 

Goodluck with the search!

sorry, couldn't reply earlier. Metz 58 AF-1 doesn't have PC terminal or optical slave trigger; quite honestly, there are enough dirt-cheap flashes that do that, so i can see why metz omitted these features.

 

it does support canon wireless e-ttl, and, i think, everything else that canon 580ex can do, only with better user interface. the small second flash is used as a fill flash when the main flash head is bounced, or catch light in the eyes of the subjects; you can set it to off, 1/4, 1/2 and full output. i usually have it on 1/4th because i usually shoot bounced flash with big forward diffuser/reflector rigged from a white chinese fan.

 

you may need to update it using usb if - or rather when - canon introduces e-ttlIII or e-ttlIIm2 in its future camera bodies, so instead of buying a new flash, you just connect your flash to your computer and download a new firmware file from metz side.

 

the auto mode on this flash is the real winner - in most situations it works better for me than darn e-ttlII. i also like built-in wide refractor, and built-in bounce card. manual mode is good when you want to trigger the strobes, and/or measure the light manually. it supports high speed synchronization, second curtain synchronization, etc. etc. it also works with my old canon elanII film body. it also works with my medium format cameras in auto mode. battery life is excellent. the construction is sturdy and high quality. it's hard to find what it doesn't do :) quite worthy investment in my opinion.