Who is happy with their 420EX?

[KevC]

Hey,

Could everyone who is happy with their 420EX please chime in? I'm planning to get an external flash and I can get this one slightly used at a decent price. I could easily get the Sigma for a little more, but I'm worried about the 3rd-party-ness. Lol.

Anybody here really frustrated with the lack of onboard controls?

Thanks!

[jeffherald]

Love it! Good price/performance choice.

Before you get it, make sure it covers the width you need. As I understand it, the new 580EX has a wider flash coverage. Just check the specs.

I use mine often and I have no plans to change.

[Thats A Winner]

As I understand it, (newbie here) the lack of onboard controls will prohibit you from having flash exposure compensation on your 300D without the hack. The XT and 20D have built-in FEC, so it is not a problem.

At least that's what I have gathered recently in this and other forums.

[Citizensmith]

I've got one and I'm perfectly happy with it. Its been used on an Elan 7e and now a hacked Rebel D. Works great. Does everything I need it to.

[snibbetsj]

I've got the 420 and am quite happy with it. If I need more control over the lighting, then I'll set up my ABs. Normally I just set shutter speed to capture what ambient light I need, set the aperture for DOF and if I need more power, then I'll up the ISO according to what the GN is and let the E-TTL II do it's thing.:)

[DieselGirl]

I have one and love it as well.

[dhbailey]

I have one and love it, also. I use it with the 20D so there is plenty of control in the camera to make up for the lack of controls on the flash itself. I don't know how that would work with the 300D, but I'm very happy with it.

[jyrgen]

I'm happy.

[Skip Souza]

My wife likes hers so I ordered one with my new 20D,

Will that UPS guy ever get here??

[robertwgross]

420EX is fine, especially if used with a camera that has FEC.

---Bob Gross---

[Adam Hicks]

I liked mine until I bought a 550EX... now it's just this side of worthless. It serves me well as a container to hold backup batteries for the 550 though :)

Adam

[lmelendez]

I liked mine until I bought a 550EX... now it's just this side of worthless. It serves me well as a container to hold backup batteries for the 550 though :)

Adam
I'll buy your 420EX ... just pm the price ...!!

Leo.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Same here,. I use the 420EX as a wireless slave.. :)

If using a 300D youre better off with a 550EX or the equivelent Sigma to give you full manual control.

[SkipD]

I like mine. I've used it with a Canon Powershot G2 for quite some time, and it seems to work just as well with my new 20D.

[Harry Settle]

I am happy with my 420. It is what it is, I don't expect anything miraculous from it. I do have some other more advanced flash needs that it won't help.

[Dchemist]

I use mine all the time. Works great. I have not found a reason to switch to a 580 for my 20D.

[figueira]

With a tilt and swivel head, you can do wonders bouncing its light. I'm pretty happy with mine...

[Jetmech1]

I've only had mine for just over a month and I reaaly like it. Still learning to use it though.

[roanjohn]

Love the 420 EX.........it balances very well with my XT!!! I even recently sold my 550 EX for this baby.............

Ro1

[Amstaff]

I had it and it worked well. I upgraded to the 580 as the 420 didnt cycle fast enough for my shooting. I like the manual control tha thte 580 adds to my 300D as well.

[pradeep1]

I love the 420EX...it is well worth the price.

[merrrrjig]

I LOVE mine! wish I could afford the 550 though

[Maureen Souza]

I like mine a lot...just got a new OmniBounce to go with it.

[Jesper]

*chime*

Besides the 420EX I also have a 550EX. The 550EX has more controls and is more powerful, but it's also a lot larger, so the 420EX is easier to carry along when travelling. I see you have a 300D. If you don't have the firmware hack installed, with the 420EX you won't be able to set Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) because that function is not available on the camera and also not on the flash. That's not a problem for most of the time, but when you want to do more advanced things and have more control over the flash output, it won't be possible with the 300D / 420EX.

[KevC]

Hm. It seems that there isn't a big price difference between a new and a used one. The going price for a used 420ex is $160 shipped where they are $180 new.

$20 isn't that much, but when you include shipping (and duties/taxes since I live up here in Canada) the gap widens.

What do you think? Is $160 a good deal or no? The difference is about $60 in savings but the fact that it's only "going for $20 cheaper" scares me...

[mikesd]

$140-$160 is the common going price for a mint 420 used.

[IainB]

Love mine. Use it with my G1 - although it gets some funny looks from the point-and-shoot crowd who usually say "What's that?" Like they've never seen an external flash bigger than a camera. Also works great on my 20D.

[Feihung08]

Same here,. I use the 420EX as a wireless slave.. :)

If using a 300D youre better off with a 550EX or the equivelent Sigma to give you full manual control.
How do you use the flash as a 'wireless' slave?? Some sort of wireless adapter I take it??

[Feihung08]

So the 420EX is better than the 550EZ with the 20D??

[robertwgross]

So the 420EX is better than the 550EZ with the 20D??

You might want to double check that model number.

There is a 540EZ that I am familiar with. It was common a few years ago during the Canon EOS film era, but it is incompatible with Canon EOS digitals, which require anything -EX.

Once all of the digitals started coming out in great numbers over the last year or two, the oldtimers have been dumping their 540EZ flashes, so there are lots of used ones on the market.

---Bob Gross---

[robertwgross]

How do you use the flash as a 'wireless' slave?? Some sort of wireless adapter I take it??

A Canon 580EX or 550EX will work as a wireless master, wireless slave, or wireless off.

A Canon 420EX will work as a wireless slave, or wireless off.

These units will operate with wireless off, and they act like a good flash unit.

With wireless turned on, and with one master and one or more slaves, they will "talk" to each other and act as an array of flashes of a system. The whole wireless system is documented rigorously around here somewhere.

---Bob Gross---

[ijohnson]

I found that the 420EX absolutely needs to have FEC to work properly. When I used the 420 on my powershot G2 it worked great, however with the 10d and some lenses, it consistently underexposed the image. Many times I had to bump the FEC up about 1 or even 2 stops. If you do not have FEC on your camera I would not recommend this flash.

However, there should be a lot of used 550EX's on the market now. If you can find one, I would recommend it highly. It is a much more versatile flash. I have had great success with it.

-Isaac

[Feihung08]

I found that the 420EX absolutely needs to have FEC to work properly. When I used the 420 on my powershot G2 it worked great, however with the 10d and some lenses, it consistently underexposed the image. Many times I had to bump the FEC up about 1 or even 2 stops. If you do not have FEC on your camera I would not recommend this flash.

However, there should be a lot of used 550EX's on the market now. If you can find one, I would recommend it highly. It is a much more versatile flash. I have had great success with it.

-Isaac
So the 20D does indeed have this FEC correct?? So it works well but just doesn't have the distance of say the 550EX or the 580EX??

[Feihung08]

A Canon 580EX or 550EX will work as a wireless master, wireless slave, or wireless off.

A Canon 420EX will work as a wireless slave, or wireless off.

These units will operate with wireless off, and they act like a good flash unit.

With wireless turned on, and with one master and one or more slaves, they will "talk" to each other and act as an array of flashes of a system. The whole wireless system is documented rigorously around here somewhere.

---Bob Gross---
Ok, so if you have a 580EX or 550EX mounted to the camera it will talk wirelessly to the 420EX and tell it how and when to flash correct?
Pardon my ignorance guys and girls!
And let's say just for fun, that that's how it works and your standing near someone with your 550EX on your camera and your 'wireless' master is turned on and someone near you has their 'wireless slave' turned on...in theory you could get their flash to pop when you shoot yours?!?!? :lol:

[Feihung08]

You might want to double check that model number.

---Bob Gross---
DOH!!!
Oops!! Good catch Bob!!

[HJMinard]

So the 20D does indeed have this FEC correct?? So it works well but just doesn't have the distance of say the 550EX or the 580EX??

Yes, the 20D has FEC. And yes, in general, the 420 works well but lacks the power (and manual functions) of the 550/580.

[robertwgross]

Good catch Bob!!

Just call me Yogi Berra.

"When you get to the fork in the road, take it." -- Yogi Berra, catcher for the baseball Cardinals

[robertwgross]

Ok, so if you have a 580EX or 550EX mounted to the camera it will talk wirelessly to the 420EX and tell it how and when to flash correct?
Pardon my ignorance guys and girls!
And let's say just for fun, that that's how it works and your standing near someone with your 550EX on your camera and your 'wireless' master is turned on and someone near you has their 'wireless slave' turned on...in theory you could get their flash to pop when you shoot yours?!?!? :lol:

The camera tells the wireless master, and the wireless master tells the wireless slaves when to flash and how to do it.

What is required is one wireless master and one or more wireless slaves. The wireless master must be either directly on the hotshoe, or else directly connected via the off-camera shoe cord. The wireless master issues command signals to the wireless slaves, and there is all sorts of ways that the light can be modified from side to side or one unit to the other. There are four different channels possible for the wireless communication, and as long as your own units are talking on the same channel, it is good. It would be theoretically possible for you to have chosen channel four, and also some other Canon shooter in the room has chosen channel four. If all of the flash units are within sight of one another, then you could have a conflict. However, if that were seen happening and recognized, then one of you can switch over to channel 1, 2, or 3, and then continue successfully. If you had more than four Canon shooters in the same room, then you could have a difficult problem. Do you get into that much? If so, then get pocket wizards or something, but you will drop a lot of flash functionality.

---Bob Gross---

[shooter2000]

I have one 420 EX and I use before with canon rebel digital; but the flash lack of control on board; its fully auto in E-TTL
mode.- No manual options; no flash compensation options; and finally I am using like slave flash drived with a canon 550ex. The 420 EX its not versatile enough.- I recomend spend a little more money and buy canon 550ex; or check Sunpak PZ-5000 its excelent and powefull and compatibility
has to be checked in advance for what type of camera you want.- But 150 bucks price its an excelent option.- Its 180 guide number with power zoom 28-135mm . check it out.
E-TTL ; automatic; and manual modes with 1/3 stop increment in power.

[robertwgross]

You need to be a little careful when comparing flash units for Guide Number.

The Sunpak PZ-5000 AF lists its Guide Number as 180@ISO 100.

What does that mean? Feet or meters?

I'll take a wild guess that it is feet, and that is about the same intensity as a Canon Speedlite 550EX, which has a Guide Number of 55@ISO 100 (in meters), at 105mm.

---Bob Gross---

[Feihung08]

The camera tells the wireless master, and the wireless master tells the wireless slaves when to flash and how to do it.

What is required is one wireless master and one or more wireless slaves. The wireless master must be either directly on the hotshoe, or else directly connected via the off-camera shoe cord. The wireless master issues command signals to the wireless slaves, and there is all sorts of ways that the light can be modified from side to side or one unit to the other. There are four different channels possible for the wireless communication, and as long as your own units are talking on the same channel, it is good. It would be theoretically possible for you to have chosen channel four, and also some other Canon shooter in the room has chosen channel four. If all of the flash units are within sight of one another, then you could have a conflict. However, if that were seen happening and recognized, then one of you can switch over to channel 1, 2, or 3, and then continue successfully. If you had more than four Canon shooters in the same room, then you could have a difficult problem. Do you get into that much? If so, then get pocket wizards or something, but you will drop a lot of flash functionality.

---Bob Gross---
THANK - YOU - BOB!
That's a great 'quick' rundown of the 'wireless slave'!! Makes sence, and if I win the lotto, like a set up I would want to try out! But knowing me....if I were in the room with someone else using the same thing......you bet I'd be scrolling through those 4 channels!! :twisted:

[Feihung08]

You need to be a little careful when comparing flash units for Guide Number.

The Sunpak PZ-5000 AF lists its Guide Number as 180@ISO 100.

What does that mean? Feet or meters?

I'll take a wild guess that it is feet, and that is about the same intensity as a Canon Speedlite 550EX, which has a Guide Number of 55@ISO 100 (in meters), at 105mm.

---Bob Gross---
Ok, now I'm lost again!
What is a guide #?? :o

[robertwgross]

Take the guide number and divide it by the aperture that you intend to use. That will give you a distance, but it might be expressed in feet or meters. Also, guide numbers are commonly expressed for ISO 100. Also, Canon specifies its guide numbers for a certain focal length of flash zoom operation, which is related to the lens focal length.

If you had one 420EX with a guide number of 42 (meters), then divide by say f/4, if that is the sort of aperture you like to use. That tells you about ten meters, at ISO 100.

If you change your ISO to 200, you can increase the distance by the square root of two. Uhh, I lost some of you on that. Let's make it easy. If you change your ISO up two stops, like to 400, then that will double the distance, so about twenty meters. Each two stops of ISO upward will allow you to double. However, sometimes the theory breaks down.

---Bob Gross---