430ex RT vs 600ex RT

Was thinking of picking up a couple of flashes and wondering what the major difference between the 430RT and 600RT was (besides the power)?

I have the 430ex ii, which I almost never use at full power. Would just be for indoor style portraits using the ST-E3-RT. Not a professional...

Is it worth it to get the 600RT over the 430RT?


And what's the preference for umbrellas vs softboxs for speedlites?

One main difference is the 430 does not have the standard AF assist lights. It uses the flash itself that pulses which is very annoying IMO or a IR beam that works on centre point only.

Lots of info here.

http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/13926​83

Off camera, i don't know if there's really any difference other than the power.

On camera, the 430rt cannot act as a master for optical firing of other flashes...so it can't fire your 430ex without a trigger of some sort.


Preference for umbrellas vs softboxes? Speedlights work with either, the modifier controls light differently for each. Umbrellas - spread and soften, softboxes - soften and direct. Umbrellas are generally easy to set up and blow away in a breeze. Softboxes generally require more work to setup, but won't blow away in a light breeze.

The 600 rotates 180 each direction, the 430 rotates 180 one direction and 90 the other. Pretty major issue if using for on camera bounce.

windpig wrote in post #17782734
The 600 rotates 180 each direction, the 430 rotates 180 one direction and 90 the other. Pretty major issue if using for on camera bounce.

Yes that is right. Just like the non RT. Has it's advantages for size and unlike the non RT you can use it as a master.

windpig wrote in post #17782734
The 600 rotates 180 each direction, the 430 rotates 180 one direction and 90 the other. Pretty major issue if using for on camera bounce.

Those numbers are for the 430ex ii, the 430ex iii-rt rotates 180 in one direction, 150 in the other, for 330 degree total. Still not 360, but better.

Some other differences of note between 430ex iii-rt and 600ex-rt that have not yet been mentioned:

- 600ex-rt can use external battery packs for faster recycle times and longer shooting, this was important to me.

- 600ex-rt head zooms to 24-200mm, 430exiii-rt 24-105mm. Not a huge difference, and in practice I've noticed that when at the 200mm setting, the 600ex-rt projects a spot in which you can make out details of the flash head's lens, which is not ideal.

- 600ex-rt comes with a gel holder, and has sensors which detect the presence and color of the gel and auto adjust white balance (in cameras that support this). The gel holder is nice to have, the white balance thing is a non-issue for most RAW shooters who use a grey card and/or colorchecker passport.

Umbrellas and softboxes available for use with speedlites tend to all be umbrella-like and portable in their design. There are some products that are hybrids of the two: shallow silver umbrellas with a softbox-style diffusion scrim that optionally attaches to them to make them into shallow softboxes to further soften the light.

True softboxes are usually deeper and focus the light more strongly than more shallow reflective umbrellas, and much more than shoot-through umbrellas (which throw light everywhere, maximum spread). They are also available in square and rectangle shapes, as well as hexagons, octagons, and other n-gons. Softboxes with optional egg-crate grids are the most versatile, since they can direct the light into an even more narrow pattern (typically 40 degrees), used without the grid as a normal softbox, or used without the scrim like a more-focused version of reflective umbrella.

If you're considering softboxes, more flash power is better.

Thanks for all the info.

agrandexpression wrote in post #17782643
Umbrellas - spread and soften, softboxes - soften and direct.

This makes sense, good explanation.

600 has HSS ....

lesz42 wrote in post #17784300
600 has HSS ....

All of the speedlites being discussed here can HSS with the bodies that support it.

Well, since the 600EX-RTs can do much more and the 430 IIIs are new. The 600s are going for about $350 used and the 430s are $299 at B&H. I would say its worth the extra $50.