420EX and diffuser

[panos_voudouris]

Hi all,

 

I am looking at buying a 420ex. My prior experience with flash units

is just the pop-up on my 30E so I am a complete novice in flash

photography.

 

The way I see it is that I can get all of the 550ex functionality

with a 420ex and the camera controls minus the manual head zoom, the

extra range, the wireless capabilities, the ability to fire partially

charged, the strobe and finally the wide-angle coverage. Now, that is

important as I have a 17-35 and since I use that as my main lens (on

film). As I understand it, a simple sto-fen ex diffuser should do the

same on the 420ex and give me coverage down to 15mm. Correct?

 

Also, what is the catchlight thing on the 550ex? I read the 550

manual and it says that by tilting the head up and extending the wide

angle panel it creates a catchlight on the subjects eyes. Is that

there because it is assumed that you'll be firing the gun at some

other direction than the subject, so you need to redirect some light

back to the eyes? How can I emulate that on the 420ex?

 

Is there anything else that I should reeeeaaaally consider before

buying the 420ex?

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Panos

[martin_k1]

If you do not plan to use wireless flash, you should have a look at the Sigma EF-500 ST-DG. It is cheaper and more powerful than the 420EX and offers a wide-angle panel plus manual control. But it lacks high-speed sync and zooms only to 28mm (but has the wide angle panel that covers 17mm).

With the 420EX you have to use E-TTL with its annoying pre-flash.

[panos_voudouris]

Well, I'm thinking that in the future I might get a 550 or 580 and keep the 420 for a two flash setup. So I'd rather stick to a Canon flash.

[martin_k1]

I have the 420EX and kind of regret it.

First of course, it is easy to use for most occasions and fits my EOS 30 perfectly.

 

But:

 

- I cannot use my cheap 20 USD slave flash for a nice hair light because it is triggered by the pre-flash.

 

- I do not know if it will ever work on a new digital body in the future. there are already a lot of issues with the older 380EX and the EZ series with the 300D. If the flash has a manual mode and can do TTL, it will always work.

 

There is the Sigma 500 ST Super, that is compatible with the Canon wireless E-TTL system and be master and slave.

[kris]

A couple of things you may need from 550EX:

<p>

1. Flash exposure bracketing (FEB).

<p>

2. You can hook 550EX to CP-E2 which makes 550EX recycles really fast. Very useful if you want to take photos in quick succession.

<p>

[digitmstr]

>> I cannot use my cheap 20 USD slave flash for a nice hair light because it is triggered by the pre-flash.<<

 

buy a WEIN digital sync/slave.

 

>>I do not know if it will ever work on a new digital body in the future. there are already a lot of issues with the older 380EX and the EZ series with the 300D.<<

 

The EX series of flash is here to stay for a while. Canon just released the 580EX. the 420EX will *always* work with the EOS cameras of TODAY!

[donny_jatisambogo]

Are you planning on going digital? If not, why not buy a 430EZ or a 540EZ? They're (relatively) dirt cheap! Do you *really* need E-TTL? Read this: <A href="http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/">Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras</A> by NK Guy.

<BR><BR>

There's one more thing that 420EX doesn't have: FEC (flash exposure compensation, kinda like exposure compensation, but it's the flash's output that's varied). You're right about the omnibounce. My suggestion would be (if you don't have one already) to buy an omnibounce that fits a 540EZ/550EX, because then you could always add extra padding to fit smaller flash heads.

<BR><BR>

The wide angle panel, when used as a bounce card i.e. perpendicular to flash's front fresnel with the flash bounced on the ceiling, serves to reflect some light back to the subject. If it catches the eyes, you get your catchlight.

<BR><BR>

It can easily emulated by taping any white card onto your flash head in the same position. Read this: <A href="http://www.camera.canon.com.my/archive/photography/film/film18/index.htm">Using a home-made bounce card for your Canon EOS Speedlite</A>

<BR>

[david_gonzalez]

You can get FEC with the 420EX on the 30E/Elan 7E. FEC can be controlled by the body with that camera. (I assume by 30E you mean the EOS 30).

[panos_voudouris]

Yes, I have an EOS 30. Another reason I am looking at the 420ex is that it is the only unit that covers all the focusing points of the EOS 30. On the other hand I usually stick to the centre point for most shots and recompose as I find it faster.

 

But now I am thinking about whether I should get a 540EZ. Any other reasons why I should prefer that over the 420EX? I can get a 420EX for 145gbp new (including a stofen diffuser). On the other hand I am now looking that I can get a used 540ez for around 100gbp.

[panos_voudouris]

...and also, reading at eosdoc for the 540ez it appears that there is no fp sync? So I am limited to the 1/125 of the camera. Correct? That seems a bit less appealing now.

[Greg M]

That is correct. You do lose certain functions if you do not buy an EX unit, and FP sync is one of those things you lose.

 

The Omni bounce made for the 420EX was an awfully tight fit- at least the one I bought was. I never could get the darn thing on easy, so I ditched it & bought the Pocket Bounce that attaches by velcro. They sell a velcro band that attaches by friction to the flash head so you don't have to permanently fix velcro fasteners. It works very well. Without some sort of bounce attachment you can't go wider than 24mm with the 420EX on a film body.

[david_gonzalez]

"On the other hand I usually stick to the centre point for most shots and recompose as I find it faster."<br><br>

 

If you take indoor direct flash pics of people, and with eye control calibrated, I find that I like to use the "top" points of the vertical frame to focus. With the 420EX beam covering that focus point, it's quick. And since the E-TTL biases toward the active focus point, with about a half stop negative compensation dialed in, I get great exposures. I find that white faces tend to come out too bright without the flash turned down a bit.<br><br>

 

Remember, if you've been using the built in flash, it's only TTL. E-TTL will behave a little differently.<br><br>

 

Puppy face has a good write-up on the 420EX <a href="http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/elan7e4.htm">here</a>.

 

Pay particular attention to the paragraph about the focusing point being linked to the metering, which may modify your center focus and recompose technique.<br><br>

 

Hope the info helps.

[panos_voudouris]

Right, I think I'll stick with a 420EX for the time being, keeping it simple and easy. If I am really good with it I might add a 550EX later on. And I'll check out that velcro diffuser.

 

Thanks a lot everyone!

[jimstrutz]

The 420EX might be the right choice for you, but you should also consider the Sigma EF-500 DG Super. it has almost all the power & features of the 550EX with a price that's about like the 420EX. It will act as a wireless E-TTL slave or master, if you decide to get another flash in the future. It will also work with the Canon digital SLRs. It's one great downside for some people is that the AF assist light only works with the center AF point.

 

Other things the 420EX lacks is manual power control, and manual zoom control. If you can do without those, and use it on a camera with FEC built in, the 420EX is a good flash.