Another 'Which flash' question.

[Hazey]

I'm hoping you more experienced people can help me decide what flash I need at this stage.:lol:
I have a 400d, but have an opportunity to upgrade to a 40D (daughter wants to buy my camera).
My aim is to take portraits...mainly family orientated, and mainly outdoors, however I want the option to be able to shoot some indoor studio type shots a little further down the track.
My question is, should I get a 430ex flash for now or go straight for the 580ex? For the future studio type shots I am thinking if I have the stronger flash then I can fire it into an umbrella and have reasonably good lighting...possibly adding another fill light or softbox at a later stage. Would the 430ex do this just as well?
Also for using flash for portraits outdoors, I am going to need to use a diffuser right?
I know it sounds 'snobby' but I also like the idea of the 40D so that what I shoot with is different from what the average person who wants a dslr has...especially when I want to charge for the sitting and subsequent prints. I don't want people saying 'She just shoots with a low end starter camera'...despite the fact that I love my 400d. Pathetic huh?
Anyway, main question...which flash? I have the chance to buy either, right now, second hand.

[smorter]

Nothing wrong with 400D, or 430EX

I say go for 580EX though

For me personally, I would never get 430EX again because the 580EX just has so many more features

[Dermit]

For posed shots where the subject to light distance is constant I always shoot with my flashes in full manual mode and dial in the power based on my aperture/ISO. This is ideal because once dialed in I always get a good exposure. If you shoot ETTL there is always a chance the exposure will change everytime the subject/background changes and it's a pain to deal with.

That being said if most of your work will be this type, studio/outdoor posed with a manual flash setting, then any flash will do as long as it is powerful enough to reach/light your subjects. I suspect the 430 will have plenty of power to reach and don't see any advantage the 580 would have over the 430... if all your subjects are within 10 meters (or closer) to the light then being able to shoot them at 58 meters for the 580 vs 43 meters with the 430 has no bearing on anything.

I recently did a family portrait at a wedding reception in a little side room of the reception hall of 60 people! I shot it with a 580ex on camera/bracket, a 580ex II on a lightstand reflecting off an umbrella camera-right, and a 550ex off an umbrella on a stand camera-left. All in manual, all triggered with PWs. The lighting was nice an even with no harsh shadows detected anywhere. Perfect for a large group. But. I could have easily done this with all 430EXs.

I have the 580s because I do use them in ETTL for candid reception shots all the time and sometimes at longer distances (the ballroom I shot in last week was huge!).

[Curtis N]

I know it sounds 'snobby' but I also like the idea of the 40D so that what I shoot with is different from what the average person who wants a dslr has...especially when I want to charge for the sitting and subsequent prints. I don't want people saying 'She just shoots with a low end starter camera'...despite the fact that I love my 400d. Pathetic huh?Well, yeah.

But if that's the way you feel, then you may as well get a 1DsMkIII, a pile of L glass, and a $10,000 Profoto studio setup.

[Hazey]

So what are the advantages of a 430ex II over a 430ex?
I wouldn't be worrying about upgrading if my daughter didn't want to buy my camera...just seems like a good opportunity. Also if I went for the 580exII then I understand there are some aspects of it that won't work with a 400d.

I don't know what ettl is...searched on the forum...plenty of refs but no explaining what it is.

Sounds like the 430 will do the job for me at this stage, so if someone can just explain the difference between the 430ex and 430exII I will be a happy chappy.
Thanks to all.

[tim]

430EX v1 or v2 will be fine, the 580 is only a little more powerful in practice.

[Curtis N]

E-TTL (Evaluative Through the Lens) is the flash metering system in EOS digital cameras. This article is required reading:
http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

For info on specs and features of various Canon Speedlites and the differences between them, look here:
http://photonotes.org/lookup

[Hazey]

Thanks for those links Curtis...very helpful info.

[cctsm]

The only problem I have with my 430EX version 1 is that the buttons on the back are a bit of a pain to deal with - I'd much rather have the wheel of the 580. Looks like version 2 has the same design, sadly.

Other than that, it's a nice flash.