What Flash should I get for sports

[MT Stringer]

So do I need to use a Canon OEM off Camera Cord or will aftermarket work?

I answered this question the first time you asked it in post # 25.
Mike

[JDCPA]

Count me in as a 580EXII vote.

Great flash for night time high school football.

[Gary Wiant]

Mike Sorry I missed that somehow.

So do I want to pass on the Canon EX580 and save for the EX580 II? or if I get a deal is the Canon EX580 worth having

[MT Stringer]

I used a 430EX with good results a couple of years ago. NO problems. The 580 and 580 II have more power.

I don't know of all the improvements, but the 580 EX II has some weather sealing at the hot shoe attachment point. It resembles a rubber shield that surrounds the clamp. Hmmm...since I use my flash mounted upside down on the monopod, I'm not sure of the weather sealing benefits in my case.

The 580 EX II comes with a sync port where as the 580 does not. You can get a cord from flashzebra that will connect your flash directly to wireless receivers like Pocket Wizards, Skyports or Cybersync's.

But if you are connecting an off shoe cord so you can retain the ETTL function, the sync port doesn't come into play. Just mount the cord on your camera hot shoe and the other to the flash.

Maybe I have already said it but the last two football games I shot, I used my 100-400 lens so some of the pics were at 400 and f/5.6. The flash did it's job to produce enough light for the proper exposure.

Good luck. If money counts, the 580 should work just fine for you.
Mike

[clarence]

Originally Posted by MT Stringer

Good luck. If money counts, the 580 should work just fine for you.

Or even the 550EX... it has 5% less light output than the 580EX/580EXII, but it sells for much less.

For the off-camera shoe cord, I actually prefer the "Alzo" cord better than the OEM Canon cord... it has a longer cord, more slack, and a metal connector with an adjustable angle.

[dmwierz]

Originally Posted by Gary Wiant

I can't get the podcast to start. I click next and a screen comes up with something about searching for something on mobile web.



Does this mean the Canon EX580 does not have these features? you stated "The problem with the Metz (and others) is the flash duration at full power is 1/125s" I assumed you meant the non-Canon flashes

Not sure where you were clicking, but the podcast just worked fine for me. Here's the click-through link:

http://web.mac.com/dmwierz1/Site/Pod...pisode__3.html

Let's make it simple: the 580EX and 580EXII work great for action. The EXII is more weatherproof, has a sync-port for things like Pocket Wizards (see the podcast) and has features that integrate with the MkIII. Since I don't own a MkIII I can't say what these are.