FIrst flash 430 EX II or 580 EX II

I've got two 580s, an original and a mk II. Never had issues with either.

Although I'm a bit surprised that you said that you;d have to upgrade if you got a 430. Don't think of it as an upgrade if you get a 430 now and a 580 later, think of it as an expansion. Gives you a two light setup...

Tiberius47 wrote in post #12543870
I've got two 580s, an original and a mk II. Never had issues with either.

Although I'm a bit surprised that you said that you;d have to upgrade if you got a 430. Don't think of it as an upgrade if you get a 430 now and a 580 later, think of it as an expansion. Gives you a two light setup...

As I said this will be my first flash. So it will all be a learning experience. Thanks for the insight!

Agreed. The 430EX II is a great flash in its own right. As I can trigger it wirelessly from the pop-up on my 60D, I decided that I didn't need a 580EX II at all. I now have one 430EX and one 430EX II. With the two of them, I have greater light output and much more versatility than with just one 580EX.

Im also trying to decide between the two. I am fairly new to photography and have no experience shooting with an external flash. I still dont even understand the whole slave concept as of yet. I am probably going to purchase the 430 until i get more comfortable with it.

ARDOTBEE wrote in post #12565502
Im also trying to decide between the two. I am fairly new to photography and have no experience shooting with an external flash. I still dont even understand the whole slave concept as of yet. I am probably going to purchase the 430 until i get more comfortable with it.

Which camera body do you have? Cameras like the 7D, 60D and T3i have wireless built-in that can control external flash. The built-in flash acts as the "master" and triggers the 430exii or 580exii as "slave" units.

Ok guys Hugh and a couple others swayed me right at the end. I am now the proud owner of a 430 EX II. Should be here tomorrow.

I love my 430ex II, so much I bought another. As stated, they work amazing inside and even around corners using Canon wireless.

Outside I cannot claim the same as others. Although when darker out I was able to hit 25' without problems, when I was taking shots outdoors in sunlight while being only 10+ feet away the flash would only fire when it felt like it. I changed angles, verified all my settings etc... Then they worked again for about 5 shots and then stopped firing. This happened several times until I gave up.

Now I use Cactus V5's and manual flash so i can start understanding this business of lighting I won't be selling my 430's though because they are nice, paid for, and the wife loves loves loves wireless ETTL when shooting inside.

the 430 flash has only 2/3rds the power of the 580 flash.

And costs about 3/5 as much