flashes ??

[GTV681]

hey guy's n girls,i am in the market for a flash to compliment my 300d,could some one explain the differences between the 550 EX,420 EX,SIGMA EF-500 DG SUPER.

THANKS
Adam........

[tim]

I just got the 550EX for my 300D. 550EX has lots of manual controls and can control a slave. 420EX is newer but it has less manual control - good for if you don't want to tweak it too much. The Sigma's more or less the equilivent of the 550EX. There are some good articles to be found on these, but it takes a bit of googling. Sorry, I don't have the links I used to decide around any more.

[GTV681]

thanks tim,
i thought the sigma was pretty much the same but a bit cheaper than the canon,now to make a decision ??


totally off topic,i just noticed that my location is some place i have never even heard of?
Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
very strange as i am in Australia and have never been to Canada???????
will have to go and sort out my location ?

[tim]

When the forum changed some settings got mucked up. Just go change it. Mine was weird too.

A friend of mine has the sigma and has no problems with it. I decided to get the 550EX to ensure compatability with future canon cameras, and because I thought "bugger it might as well get the best" ;)

[GTV681]

ok now i am freaking out,i just went in to change my user cp and found that i am a systems engineer?
somehow i am someone else?What is going on here ?

[tim]

ok now i am freaking out,i just went in to change my user cp and found that i am a systems engineer?
somehow i am someone else?What is going on here ?

Read my last post - and don't worry about it.

[GTV681]

all good now

[primoz]

I have Sigma (with eos 3 and 1v) and I use 550ex on work 1d (old one and mk2). And none of them works as it should on digital. Sigma (it's non DG version) was working fine for few years now, but lately, after replacing several hot shoes which got broken during years of (ab)use, it's acting weird. Exposures are all over place, from time to time it decides it has enough and it won't work anymore etc. So I'm waiting to get 580ex for test, and if it's any better then Sigma or 550ex on 1d, then it's only way to go, since on digital even 550ex is hmm.. well crap. At least compared to film.
But if you compare just Sigma and 550ex (not 580ex) I would probably go once again with Sigma. It's half cheaper and it offers almost all functionality of 550ex. For me personally only thing which is missing is plug for Quantum powerpack.

[crazyfoo88]

I have the 580ex on my Drebel (300d) and I love it. I havent tested its capabilities, but so far it has been great!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/crazyfoo88/Random%20Shots/flash/flash2.jpg
and
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/crazyfoo88/Random%20Shots/flash/flash4.jpg
sample:

no lights on in the house http://photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/crazyfoo88/Random%20Shots/flash/flashtest.jpg
Good luck on your search. I am REALLY happy with my new flash http://photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif

[Reminisce]

I have the Sigma 500 DG Super and it has been a SUPERB flash. You can see some of the shots of it in my sig. It can operate in optical slave mode which is awesome, and has about the same guide number (slightly less) than the 550EX. The major differences to note are that the Sigma has no slot for a battery pack, and the swirling flash head feels cheaper than the 550EX, but thats about it. The quality is superb just like the EX series flashes.

[lkorell]

I have both the Sigma 500 DG Super and the Canon 580EX. I use the 580 with my 20D and the Sigma with my Digital Rebel. In my opinion the Canon is a far better flash than the Sigma and the only drawback is the price. But, remember that the objective is good and consistent lighting results.

The Canon is great. The Sigma is adequate.
It's a choice mostly because of price, but the features on the 580 outweigh both Sigma & 550EX. Also, depending on how much you shoot, the Canon will take a battery pack - the Sigma won't.


Lou

[elbirth]

I can't offer advice as of yet, but just wanted to say that I'm getting the Sigma 500 DG Super for Christmas for my 20D, and had read some good reviews about it, as far as a really good 550EX substitute for a bit less money, which is why I decided to go with it. I'm also going to grab some rechargable AA batteries to use with it as well

[lkorell]

One difference with the 580EX is that it doesn't use up battery power as much as the 550EX or the Sigma. I shot a wedding with the Sigma and had to change batteries (2350 mAH) during the reception - got about 5 hours of use - not bad

I shot another wedding using the 580EX and still had full power at the end of the day. Obviously I didn't measure how many shots I had taken in comparison, so it wasn't a scientific test , but I have heard it is better on power consumption. Also, the recycle time is faster.

Having a battery pack is a great advantage for shooting long hours and fast recycling. You can't put one on the Sigma, which is too bad, because otherwise it is a nice unit.

One thing good about the Sigma is you can use it as a slave flash with the 550 & 580. That's cool if you ever do get a Canon flash because you can use your Sigma to great advantage as a second light.

Lou

[GTV681]

OK,thanks for all the info guy's,I just ordered a Sigma EF500 DG Super .
And now for another question,is it possible to buy a 420 EX and use it and the sigma together wirelessly,kinda like using the 420ex as a ST-E2 TRANSMITTER?
Reason is i think that the cost of a 420ex is similar to a ST-E2 ,so if the 420ex can work just as a transmitter aswell as a 2nd flash well it would be a much better option,yes?

[primoz]

As far as I know 420ex works only as slave not as master. But you can use Sigma as master and it works with 420ex acting as slave.

[Cadwell]

OK,thanks for all the info guy's,I just ordered a Sigma EF500 DG Super .
And now for another question,is it possible to buy a 420 EX and use it and the sigma together wirelessly,kinda like using the 420ex as a ST-E2 TRANSMITTER?
Reason is i think that the cost of a 420ex is similar to a ST-E2 ,so if the 420ex can work just as a transmitter aswell as a 2nd flash well it would be a much better option,yes?


The 420EX can only operate as a wireless SLAVE. It will work as a slave with your Sigma as the master though. You would have to have the Sigma on-camera.

I have to ask though, given that the Sigma and the 420EX are about the same cost, why not just buy a second Sigma? It's a lot better flash than the 420EX.

[Bruce Watson]

thanks tim,
i thought the sigma was pretty much the same but a bit cheaper than the canon,now to make a decision ??


totally off topic,i just noticed that my location is some place i have never even heard of?
Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
very strange as i am in Australia and have never been to Canada???????
will have to go and sort out my location ?

Hey! Guelph isn't such a bad place to be, I lived there for a few years when in university. Bit of a hike to where you are now though.

On to the topic at hand; I have the Sigma units and think they are fine. The original Canon E-TTL system is tricky to use but the flashes work fine are not the problem.

The new E-TTL2 in the 20D seems to be more consistent but if you do some searching in the 'sticky' threads on flash and also on the 'net, you will find there are many work around techniques for getting past the follibles of basic E-TTL.

PS: It's -35 degrees C (same in F as this point) where I live now in Ottawa and my DSLR camera works fine outside, although the battery doesn't like it).