G3 compatible external flash

[jpglew]

Does anyone know alternate (cheaper) flashguns to the EX series speedlite flashes and works well with the Canon G3? Here in Sunny England, the 420EX is at around £180 ($300), which is almost half of what I paid for the camera in the first place and a bit out of reach.

[Ikinaa]

jpglew wrote:
Does anyone know alternate (cheaper) flashguns to the EX series speedlite flashes and works well with the Canon G3? Here in Sunny England, the 420EX is at around £180 ($300), which is almost half of what I paid for the camera in the first place and a bit out of reach.

I have the 380EX, I bought years ago for my EOS500, and it works fine with the G3.

[tommy_t]

One local photo studio recommended the Sigma EF-500 as a less expensive alternative to the Canon 420ex with the same features. I have not tried the Sigma flash with my camera yet.

[MackRoe]

Good morning, sunny England, from cloudy Atlanta, Ga...hope all is well with you and yours. I believe I may have a solution for you, which with some web seaching on eBay or elsewhere you can probably save yourself some funds. (Euro's?) Anyway, 25 yrs ago I bought a Canon AE1, which I still own. Shortly after buying it, I bought a Vivitar Zoom Thyristor 2500 flash attachment, again that I still own, and have been immensely happy with it's performance.

The other day I put it on my Canon G3 and turned it on (it has an orange light on the back that comes on and stays on to show its ready to shoot) put the G3 in manual mode after making sure that its flash settings were disabled, then pulled the trigger. The flash went off in conjuction with my shutter, and threw light way across the living space of my home. This Vivitar 2500 has an adjustable head, adjustable both in tilt mode for bouncing light off the ceiling, and pulled upward to put it in telephoto mode, which will throw a strong flash up to 70ft. Whether you can still buy it or not is the question, I paid less than $100 a long time ago, and I'd bet you can find them on eBay. Sorry for such long blah..blah..blah..but hope this helps.

P.S. Now that we're mates, can I come tour London and crash at your flat ? Just joking, dude.

[gicleeman]

The Vivitar thyristor 2500 has a trigger voltage that may eventually fry the electronics in your G3. Canon says no more than 6volts to trigger the flash, yet according to at least 2 people, your flash produces 11 - 14.5 volts to trigger the flash.
Read up on trigger voltages if you're not familiar with it. You can read about it here...
http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html
Peter


[quote]MackRoe wrote:
... I bought a Vivitar Zoom Thyristor 2500 flash attachment, again that I still own, and have been immensely happy with it's performance.

[JoseC]

jpglew wrote:
Does anyone know alternate (cheaper) flashguns to the EX series speedlite flashes and works well with the Canon G3? Here in Sunny England, the 420EX is at around £180 ($300), which is almost half of what I paid for the camera in the first place and a bit out of reach.
Hi, I just got yesterday my Canon 420EX that I ordered at B&H New-York for $159.95 plus $40 shipping (UPS express) + 49€ for VAT and custom fees.
I ended up saving 30percent of the lower price I found here in France.
This Flash, combined with my G3 is fantastic.
I never thought it will give so good results .
I can get very nice portraits, when the model is standing at 3 meters, and also shoot in the dark at 10 or 15 meters or even more.
Yes it is expensive, but you'll be exploring a new world with it.
Hope that helps.
Jose C.

[getg3]

420ex, though is expensive, but is the best accessory I have for my G3. It really improves the images taken indoor and outdoor as well. IMHO it's a good investment if you are planning to upgrade to Canon dSLR or next G series in the future.

[vinl1963]

Ikinaa wrote:

I have the 380EX, I bought years ago for my EOS500, and it works fine with the G3.


I just purchased a 380EX used from B&H. It took me about a week of checking back at several sites to find it but there are ones out there to be found. I paid $99.00 for it in "9" condition. The 380ex has many of the same features of the 420 but is scaled back the output is less but I feel it will be a great flash for the G3

[FlyingPete]

I used to have a 380EX, but was stolen with the rest of my SLR kit; insurance replaced the flash with a 420EX, which was the replacement model for the 380EX. They are very similar flashes except:
- The 420 supports multiple focus points on an SLR (the 380 only supported one), however this is of no use for G3/G5 users, as the focus illuminator doesn't seem to be supported at all
- The 420 has a tilt and swivel head, the 380 only has a tilt head
- The 420 is slightly more powerful (I never have really noticed it)
- The 420 has a smaller head
- The 420 is capable of being a wireless slave, only good if you have the wireless transmitter or a 550EX.

[MackRoe]

Peter....Thanks much for the link and heads-up on the voltage issue. The last thing I want to do is damage the G3, which I'm really proud of. Anyone got a cheap 400 EX Speedlite ?

[KRDV]

FWIW, I use an old Canon 199A Flash that I had from an older A-1. It works great with the G3 although you have to do some things manually that would be automatic with the 420EX. But it was free since I had it lying around! BTW, I did all of the voltage checking on this and it was fine.

[South Mountain]

Any flash that has 6 volt or below can be used on the G3 as the external flash, if it fits the hot shoe. The only draw back is that the flash is alway flash at full strength. But with some calibration and experence with the flash may make it work fine (use napkin, plastic sheet or reflection at ceiling etc to block the light partially).

[Silverman]

JoseC wrote:

Hi, I just got yesterday my Canon 420EX that I ordered at B&H New-York for $159.95 plus $40 shipping (UPS express) + 49€ for VAT and custom fees.
I ended up saving 30percent of the lower price I found here in France.
This Flash, combined with my G3 is fantastic.
I never thought it will give so good results .
I can get very nice portraits, when the model is standing at 3 meters, and also shoot in the dark at 10 or 15 meters or even more.
Yes it is expensive, but you'll be exploring a new world with it.
Hope that helps.
Jose C.


What is Vat and custom fees???? (More costs?)

Hi JoseC, could you tell me how long did you wait for your flash, and how much (dolar) did you pay for it at all? Thanks, Silverman - from Brazil.

[Silverman]

Hi, sorry if i'm being too naive, but when you buy something from other country, you just pay the price plus shipment? or is there other costs to pay?
Please, can anyone help me?

Silverman

[Silverman]

could anyone answer me?

[Deckyon]

it depends. in the UK, they have a VAT (Value Added Tax) and they mey pay customs. Other countries pay customs and that applies to the US ordering from other countries.

Having never bought from another country, I am not the best to answer...

[Silverman]

Thanks friend. I don't think it's a good idea to pay Vat and customs...cos it becomes more expensive than here in Brazil.

If it was just (price + Shipment cost), it'll be great...

Silverman

[wibbly]

What's the level of integration between the 420EX and the G3. I.e. what works and what doesn't?

I know the 420EX focus assist doesn't work, but what about other features? E.g. Does the metering integrate properly with the G3? Does it automatically zoom when on the G3? Anything else?

W

[Man-Fai Wong]

wibbly wrote:
What's the level of integration between the 420EX and the G3. I.e. what works and what doesn't?

I know the 420EX focus assist doesn't work, but what about other features? E.g. Does the metering integrate properly with the G3? Does it automatically zoom when on the G3? Anything else?

W

Yes to the specifics you mentioned. Only things (other than AF-assist) that doesn't work for me are:

* no AE and focus bracketing when 420ex is attached
* 420ex won't work in continuous shooting modes

_Man_

[Silverman]

Can anyone tell me what is the 420Ex height?
I'm about to purchase a case that fits it in...

Thanks
Silverman

[wibbly]

1. So if I set, say, the hyperfocal distance and aperture on the camera & connect up the 420EX to bounce the flash off a white ceiling or walls, it all just works automagically, right? Except that the flash distance will be set to the camera to subject distance, not the longer distance via the wall/ceiling?

2. I guess also, then, that I can set/compensate the 420EX flash output (power) too from the camera? Why/when would I use this compared to compensating the flash Adjustment (stops). ie pages 100 & 101 in the manual.

W

[al606]

I've also heard the Sunpak 383 is a good, low cost alternative to the 420ex for the G series. You will have to set the controls manually on the flash because its not ETTL, but in reality that isn't such a bother. You try a shot, if it doesn't look good then you adjust and try another until you're happy. This is the beauty of digital, right?

The flash sells for ~ $69 at B&H, where I like to shop. It is listed as safe wrt the voltage as well, a major consideration. It's a little smaller and lighter than the 420ex as well. I'm probably going to buy one for myself for Christmas.

[oldslr]

420 ex is approx 6.5" or 16.5 cm. I would allow 7" if you keep it in the case it comes in.

[Silverman]

Thank you...

[Pamela107]

Has anyone checked to see what the voltage is for the Canon 420
is?
I m interested in knowing what the voltage is on the 420.
Anyway I have a old Sunpak auto 422D Thyristor flash, with the canon module that has a slow sync switch, and it tested at 6 volts.

[Andy_T]

Pamela,

if you refer to the link, you'll observe that newer flashes that were designed for cameras with electronics normally have a low voltage.

Danger is when you have an old (5 years+) flash that was designed for manual SLR cameras.

The new canon's should be safe.

Regards,
Andy

PS: I use an old (10yrs) Metz MZ40 II that I bought for my Nikon gear with an SCA 3402 adapter on my G2. Works fine (illuminates the picture), only doesn't have options like E-TTL flash metering. So some of the photos come out blown and I have to correct.

Transmits aperture, ISO and zooms to the selected zoom level in the correct program, though. Allows for 2nd curtain sync and has a tilt head for indirect flash.

However, i can only use it in manual mode (camera set to 1/100, f5.6) as the camera doesn't change the aperture/time to correspond with the flash. No big problem for me, as I don't mind using manual mode

Advantage for me was that I already had the flash and only needed an extra 50$ for a new adapter.

[u02bnpx]

getg3 wrote:
420ex, though is expensive, but is the best accessory I have for my G3. It really improves the images taken indoor and outdoor as well. IMHO it's a good investment if you are planning to upgrade to Canon dSLR or next G series in the future.

It should be noted also that the 420 (or the 550, for that matter) is a good investment also because it can be used as a slave. So, for simply portraits, use one flash on the camera at reduced power, sort of a fill light. This sets off the slave sitting 45 degrees to the side, which serves as a key light, and gives a more pleasing illumination. I haven't yet done this with my 10D, but I plan to. I don't believe the slave option is available on any EX flashes below the 420.

Floyd

[u02bnpx]

getg3 wrote:
420ex, though is expensive, but is the best accessory I have for my G3. It really improves the images taken indoor and outdoor as well. IMHO it's a good investment if you are planning to upgrade to Canon dSLR or next G series in the future.

It should be noted also that the 420 (or the 550, for that matter) is a good investment also because it can be used as a slave. So, for simply portraits, use one flash on the camera at reduced power, sort of a fill light. This sets off the slave sitting 45 degrees to the side, which serves as a key light, and gives a more pleasing illumination. I haven't yet done this with my 10D, but I plan to. I don't believe the slave option is available on any EX flashes below the 420.

Floyd

[4walls]

Anyone tried this Vivitar digital slave flash?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2974983369&category=15215&rd=1

[phili1]

I did some checking because I own a 540EZ that I used with my eos system. It does not work in the ETTL mode only manual.

So I checked with Sunpak,Vivitar Metz and Sigma and they will all operate in manual mode but only the 420ex will operate Ettl.

So the answer is thats all youv'e got.