Upgrade from 550ez to 580ex ??

[JohnnyMac]

Is there a big differance here.My 550 is fine but will there be a major advantage with a 20d body?

[Jim_T]

The EZ won't work in auto mode with your 20D. It will always flash at full power.. (The EZ series flashes don't do E-TTL which is required by digital cameras). You need an EX flash..

So yes.. the upgrade will be well worth it. :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

If however you actually have the 550 EX then the difference is marginal.

[grego]

There'll be some improvements like the size and it has the flash card(forgot the correct name). It has some digital features implimented into it that take advantage of the newer cameras like the 20D. And it has a faster recycling time.

But if you need another flash, you might as well get the 580. Then you can use the 550 as a slave, if you want to use multiple flashes. :)

[JohnnyMac]

Yea
I have a 550 already and I'm trying to decide if its worth it.

[grego]

Yea
I have a 550 already and I'm trying to decide if its worth it.

Are you going to sell your 550 or keep it?

If you think this is enough for you, go for it......

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=141&modelid=10514

Canon's top-of-the-line Speedlite has been thoroughly revised. It's smaller and lighter than ever, yet provides a bit more power and significantly faster recycling. A new Select Dial makes changes, like exposure compensation, a breeze. It now covers lenses as wide as 14mm, and has new features for digital SLRs - including the ability to transmit precise flash color temperature information, and vary the zoom setting to match the imaging sensor.

Approx. 25% faster recycling time compared to 550EX.
Superior evenness of exposure, center to corner of frame.
Slightly higher max. guide number at 105mm setting (GN 190, feet).
Auto conversion of flash coverage with compatible digital SLRs.
White Balance info communicated instantly to compatible digital SLRs.
Full swivel, 180° in either direction (first TTL flash with this ability).
AF-assist beam now compatible with all AF points on every EOS SLR.
New Select Dial for easy inputs and user control.

[René Damkot]

I have both, and use the 550 only as slave now. The 580 is way faster, the head swivels 180 degrees both sides (at last!) and the user interface (wheel, one button press for second curtain sync) works *a lot* better and faster. Also you can set Manual flash power in 1/3 f stops. For me, these things were well worth the upgrade.

[Tomasz Dziechciarz]

But in case of exposure ..... is 580 EX is really better? Is it possible to see the difference in the pictures in case of colour cast, exposure , etc....
I have two 550ex and think to exchange one into 580EX .. Worth it or not?

[René Damkot]

The 550 gave me sometimes unexpected results. The 580 hasn't yet. But I haven't used it often enough to make any real comments about that. I bought it mainly because of the ergonomics and because I wanted a wireless flash. (used my 540EZ with an optical slave before, lots of walking back and forth)

[René Damkot]

Update: I did take some pictures in a situation where the 550EX was very consistent in being totally 'off': using a tiny bounced fill flash (-2 to -3 FEC) while shooting a top view of an audience (in the dark) watching a band (in stage lighting). The 580 performed flawlessly where the 550 would overexpose something like 3 - 4 stops (therefore flashing the scene instead of filling in)
So far still no unusable images with the 580.... :D

[Snapman]

I wouldn't sell my 550EX to get a 580X as , at least for me, the upgrade would be very marginal and I haven't got problems with my 550EX.

However, if I were a first time buyer and hadn't yet got either, I'd probably go for a 580EX.

[buckwheat]

I heard (maybe wrongly?) that the 580EX uses distance info which the 550EX does not (I own the 550) . I also find that it is pretty easy to overexpose a shot of people with my 550EX unless I use partial metering on my 300D (which means I have to push that stupid button before each and every shot). My results are not always consistent with the 550EX. Would I get better consistency with the 580EX?

[tim]

Jonny really need to clarify whether he has a 550EZ or a 550EX. The upgrade from 550EZ to 580EX is worthwhile, if it's a 550EX to 580EX then the upgrade is marginal.

I heard (maybe wrongly?) that the 580EX uses distance info which the 550EX does not (I own the 550) . I also find that it is pretty easy to overexpose a shot of people with my 550EX unless I use partial metering on my 300D (which means I have to push that stupid button before each and every shot). My results are not always consistent with the 550EX. Would I get better consistency with the 580EX?

It is true that the 580EX uses distance data if the lens supplies it - mainly the higher end lenses supply this information, L's mainly. It can operate happily without this data, but can do a little better with it. I haven't used my 580EX enough to say if it's exposures are more consistant than the 550EX, but I doubt it.

[Jon]

Was there a 550EZ? I thought the top EZ was the 540EZ.

[tim]

My googling suggests that there is such a thing as a 550EZ.

[Snapman]

I heard (maybe wrongly?) that the 580EX uses distance info which the 550EX does not (I own the 550) . I also find that it is pretty easy to overexpose a shot of people with my 550EX unless I use partial metering on my 300D (which means I have to push that stupid button before each and every shot). My results are not always consistent with the 550EX. Would I get better consistency with the 580EX?
I haven't experienced exposure problems with my 550EX either on my 300D or my 20D except on one recent occasion when I didn't mount it properly on my camera resulting in a couple of shots being so overexposed that even the resulting RAW images were beyond rescuing.

The lesson I've learnt is to always make sure I push the flash right into the hot shoe and screw down the wheel securely.

[tim]

I haven't experienced exposure problems with my 550EX either on my 300D or my 20D except on one recent occasion when I didn't mount it properly on my camera resulting in a couple of shots being so overexposed that even the resulting RAW images were beyond rescuing.

The lesson I've learnt is to always make sure I push the flash right into the hot shoe and screw down the wheel securely.

I've done the same thing a couple of times, I was drunk the first time and it confused me for a while, but I figured it out eventually ;)

[buckwheat]

I haven't experienced exposure problems with my 550EX either on my 300D or my 20D except on one recent occasion when I didn't mount it properly on my camera resulting in a couple of shots being so overexposed that even the resulting RAW images were beyond rescuing.

The lesson I've learnt is to always make sure I push the flash right into the hot shoe and screw down the wheel securely.

Thanx. I'll watch for that!!

[René Damkot]

Jonny really need to clarify whether he has a 550EZ or a 550EX. The upgrade from 550EZ to 580EX is worthwhile, if it's a 550EX to 580EX then the upgrade is marginal.
AFAIK ther never was a 550 EZ, 540 EZ was the last. Then again, any EZ flash would only be usable on Manual mode, since it only supports (A)TTL, not ETTL. So the typo is probably the 'Z', not the '5' ;)