Is Speedlite 380EX worth anything ?

[Olegis]

Hello all,

I would like to get a flash which would be used for portraits fill in those sunny days, some indoor shooting and all the things that flash is useful for 8)
My friend at work have an old 380EX for sale (very cheap I believe), the question is - is this one worth anything ? I couldn't find many reviews about this flash, probably because of its age ...

[Tom W]

Yes, its worth something. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say about $70-90 US. Its the predecessor to the 420EX, works with E-TTL, and can do ceiling bounce. It does not swivel from side - to - side like the 420 though.

[Olegis]

Thanks Tom.
I was actually asking from the performance point of view - is the performance of the 380EX sufficient or would I better to start saving for the 420EX / 550EX ?

[Tom W]

If I recall correctly, the 380's guide number is 38 vs. 42 for the 420EX, making it just slightly less powerful than the 420. It depends on your uses, of course, but it will be considerably better than the built in flash on a 10D or digital Rebel.

If you can get it cheap, its a good one to use for now. You can always save up for the 550 in the longer term if you find you need more power.

[robertwgross]

The swivel feature of the 420EX is good, and the 380EX apparently does not have that. However, if you are not doing wireless flash, then the swivel isn't such a big deal.

The swivel feature is cute when the flash can be "looking" one way for its wireless data signal, and "flashing" the other way toward the subject.

---Bob Gross---

[Olegis]

Well, the swivel feature seems to be very useful when shooting with vertical-oriented camera, does it not ? With 380EX it would be impossible to bounce the light from the ceiling in this case ...

[xuxu1]

Well, the swivel feature seems to be very useful when shooting with vertical-oriented camera, does it not ? With 380EX it would be impossible to bounce the light from the ceiling in this case ...

It just depends what kind of shooting you are up to and your needs. As you can see in my sign, i have a 380EX (used it earlier with my Canon Rebel 2000 that i sold a few months ago). It works fine on my 10D and it´s good enough for the time being since i rarely need it. Sooner or later i might sell it and go for a 550EX.

If you can afford it go for the 550EX in the first place. I´m sure you won´t regret it. Buying the cheap stuff first ends up (most of the time) in selling it again and buying the better stuff. This method isn´t efficient and cost´s you more money in the end! :shock:

Regards
Ed

[Olegis]

Well, thanks for replies.
The guy gave me the flash for a couple of days, and from what I have seen so far - it's in great working condition. Even the FEC works very nice (from the camera of-course). The tilt provides very nice diffused lighting, I'll post some photographs I took later this day. Anyway this flash is so much better than the on-camera one !
I talked to the guy about the price - he wants $45 for is, so I'll probably go for it now and upgrade later to the 420EX / 550EX.

[Tom W]

Well, thanks for replies.
The guy gave me the flash for a couple of days, and from what I have seen so far - it's in great working condition. Even the FEC works very nice (from the camera of-course). The tilt provides very nice diffused lighting, I'll post some photographs I took later this day. Anyway this flash is so much better than the on-camera one !
I talked to the guy about the price - he wants $45 for is, so I'll probably go for it now and upgrade later to the 420EX / 550EX.

For $45, you almost can't go wrong. I sold mine in favor of the 550EX and I sometimes wonder why I did so.

[robertwgross]

I talked to the guy about the price - he wants $45 for is, so I'll probably go for it now and upgrade later to the 420EX / 550EX.

Yes. If you don't want to pay $45 for it, I think there are others of us here who would pay that in an instant.

---Bob Gross---

[xuxu1]

Well, thanks for replies.
The guy gave me the flash for a couple of days, and from what I have seen so far - it's in great working condition. Even the FEC works very nice (from the camera of-course). The tilt provides very nice diffused lighting, I'll post some photographs I took later this day. Anyway this flash is so much better than the on-camera one !
I talked to the guy about the price - he wants $45 for is, so I'll probably go for it now and upgrade later to the 420EX / 550EX.

Only $45,- !

Why did´nt you mention that in the first place? :?
There´s (almost) nothing that can go wrong. Stop concidering and go for it! 8)

Regards
Ed

[Olegis]

OK, I went for it !
So far the flash seems OK, here are a few samples that I shot using the light bounce from the ceiling (the room was poorely lit by one small window) :

http://www.pbase.com/image/31775203
http://www.pbase.com/image/31775205
http://www.pbase.com/image/31775206

The following picture was shot in a room lit by 5 40W bulbs, using ceiling bounce :
http://www.pbase.com/image/31775208