Sigma EF-530 DG ST or 530 Super...

[soulja221]

I've been reading up on both of these lately and still cant decide....mainly due to my ignorance about light control. Here is the situation; novice shooter looking to really improve and learn a lot. I enjoy shooting everything i come across but love shooting people and animals. Would sometime in the next year or so like to work my way up to being a 2nd photog for weddings and such and doing portraits in my home. Would it really be that beneficial to me to spend an extra $100 bucks and get the super vs the st? By the way my only body is the 400D... Thanks in advance for the help :)

[Curtis N]

The ST model is a nice value, and will work well as a hotshoe-mounted E-TTL flash. There is no way to use it off-camera.

The Super model has the same power and more versatility. It has fully adjustable manual mode, high speed sync, a built-in optical slave for off-camera use and a few other obscure features. With a hotshoe adapter, it can be used with any of the various radio trigger systems available.

If you someday want to use the flash off-camera, the Super model is the one you want.

[medic583]

Actually was looking at one of these tonight myself.. but wondering if the super would work as a slave to either the ST-E2 or the 580EX II as a master (assuming it would optically)? Ha... sorry to jump in soulja221... just browsing the sigma site earlier tonight and considering it as well.

[Curtis N]

The Sigma super works as an E-TTL slave within Canon's wireless flash system... sort of. Reports vary as to the reliability, especially when you start using ratios.

But the optical slave on the Sigma works fine. So as long as your master flash has a manual mode, it's a worthy component in a manually controlled setup.

[medic583]

That is exactly the information I needed... thanks Curtis :)

[soulja221]

no prob on the tag along Medic, good information for me to know as well. I'm sure of the super now... Thanks for the help Curtis!