430EXII or 580EXII or 600EX-RT

Hey everyone,

First of all, a little bit of background info on my shooting style as of late:

I shoot a lot of indoor stuff (mostly at social gatherings - inside apartments/halls etc.) and will occasionally venture into landscape/cityscape mixed in with a little bit of travel photography. If I had to put a number on it, I would say approximately 60% of my shots will be indoors while the rest is landscape/travel photography stuff.

After searching through the POTN forums and digging up any information that I can find on the internet, it seems that the general consensus for indoor photography = getting a flashgun will improve your shots more so than getting a faster lens. Hence, the route that I am going now. Also worthy of note: I do not think that I will be doing any off camera flash work anytime in the foreseeable future, since it does not appeal to me personally. For now, the plan is to have my flash on my camera and bounce it off whatever is suitable all day long.

Having said that, I am now unsure of which of the 3 Canon speedlites (430EXII, 580EXII, 600EX-RT) I should purchase. So, I am humbly requesting for assistance from the POTN faithful, to please nudge me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

-Syed-

For the reason alone that the 580 EX II and the 600 EX-RT can swivel 360°, vs. the limited range of 270° for the 430 EX II, I'd select one of the larger units.

The 600 has quite a bit of more features than the 580, so between them it's mainly a question about how much you are willing to spend.

I would say 600 because of the new RT system. Granted, youll get into off camera then the 600 will be perfect. Its an awesome flash and no need to worry if it will pop with those PWs.

430ex for now. For your expressed purposes it should be sufficient.

I've used the 430EX for about 5 years and have never found it limiting.

Naturalist wrote in post #14834736
I've used the 430EX for about 5 years and have never found it limiting.

I like you avatar

I'm receiving my 600EX-RT unit today. I upgraded from 430EX-II. I will let you all know about my experience later today.

Thanks for the replies.

I must say although the 600EX-RT does look awfully tempting on paper, for my purposes I'm not sure whether the extra cost is justified. Also just wanted to ask, how many of you thought that you would never go into off camera stuff, but eventually did anyways?

Also, to owners of the 430EXII; have you ever felt like you wished the speedlite was capable of turning 180 degrees in either direction?

@LEoVaMPiRe - hey I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know your thoughts on the unit compared to your 430EXII. What kind of flash work do you personally do?

I don't mind spending the extra $$, if and only if I can reason out my purchase. :P

Most of my work is OCF. I use two 430EX-II fired via PocketWizards.

LittleFish wrote in post #14835652
... how many of you thought that you would never go into off camera stuff, but eventually did anyways?

Raises hand ...

One of the reasons I added a 580, other than the master capability.

oldvultureface wrote in post #14835753
Raises hand ...

One of the reasons I added a 580, other than the master capability.

I'm about to pull the trigger on one or two used 430ii units. For now it will be on camera, but have you found them to be very capable slave units?

mikeinctown wrote in post #14836252
... but have you found them to be very capable slave units?

Yes. No issues with my single unit. I use it with either a 580 or 7D as master.

mikeinctown wrote in post #14836252
I'm about to pull the trigger on one or two used 430ii units. For now it will be on camera, but have you found them to be very capable slave units?

That rather depends on how you are triggering them, and when/where you are using them.

430EX series absolutely worthless, at best severely handicaped, as an "On Camera" flash since the head will only swivel 90 degrees to the right. I have owned at least one copy of every version of EX Speedlite over the past 10 years and hands down the best of all of them is the 600EX-RT. If all you are looking for is an "On Camera" flash then either the 580EX or 580EX II is the next best choice. The nice thing about the 580EX II over the 580EX is the access to flash features and CF (custom functions) through the cameras flash menu if using a newer DSLR.

I use 2 600ex's. Very convenient.