New Canon 470EX AI Automatically Bounces Flash So You Dont Have To

https://www.dpreview.c​om …y-adjusts-to-bounce-flash

Thoughts?

I liked the idea, as im terrible with flash (especially bouncing and stuff) and it is a really cool thing and something actually new

Till i saw it was $400... for that cost you can almost buy a 600EX...

$400?!?!

Certainly not for cheapa$$e$ like me. I just paid $20 for a 30-year-old Yashica CS-220 auto flash that works just fine on a modern 80D. I recently got a 550EX for $50. Jeez, I only paid $175 for my 580EX II. I don't find manually adjusting the elevation/rotation of my flash heads $400 worth of difficult.

Butt-loads of YN stuff out there for 1/4 the price, too.

Shooters who don't know what they are doing with flash start cheap and experiment. Shooters who can manage flash themselves don't need the gimmick. Who is Canon selling this thing to?

Bassat wrote in post #18572432
Who is Canon selling this thing to?

Technojunkie or gadget freak definition: a person that is compelled to buy and use the latest gadgets and gizmos, whether they need them or not.

Having said that, I hope I see the day when eye-controlled focus makes its return! But I might be running out of days!

It's... interesting. I kind of like the semi-automatic mode that lets you set the bounce angle like you normally would and then if you switch from horizontal to vertical, the flash moves to preserve the bounce angle. That's kind of useful.

But Canon doing Canon things decided to leave out radio communication. Pass.

Here is the video from Canon introducing it:
Introducing the Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI with Auto Intelligent Bounce

I don't understand why anyone would buy this. You can learn to bounce the flash in about 3 minutes with no instructions whatsoever. And it's not part of Canon's RT flash system, rendering it useless for people trying to get a system that they can grow into.

kmilo wrote in post #18572499
I don't understand why anyone would buy this. You can learn to bounce the flash in about 3 minutes with no instructions whatsoever. And it's not part of Canon's RT flash system, rendering it useless for people trying to get a system that they can grow into.

If you use a fixed, multi-flash setup, then I agree that this may not be much use. But I can see some appeal to people who shoot events on-site using on-camera flash. If you're following a bride and groom around during a reception, or groups of people on the dance floor, then this allows you to switch between horizontal and vertical orientation without having to remember to rotate your on-camera flash head. It's not that it's so hard to do, but it becomes one less thing the photographer has to think about.

Think of this like first-generation AF systems in the late 1970's. I'm sure there were plenty of experienced pros and amateurs who said "I can focus my lenses just fine, thank you. Why should I pay extra for the autofocus cameras and lenses that are bigger, slower, and power-hungry?" But over time, AF systems gained more acceptance and became more reliable. They're still not perfect, but they're good enough that even pros have come to rely on them, and it's one less thing that the shooter has to think about when trying to get the shot.

This is a first generation of this technology. Time will tell if Canon continues to improve upon it and move it into the high end flashes and RT systems, or if it goes away quietly like eye-controlled focus in the 1990's.

Canon has taken a lot of criticism lately in these forums and elsewhere for not being innovative. At least give them credit for trying something new.

Mike

We can criticize Canon if they are trying to solve problems or desires that don't really exist. I don't think I ever remember anybody saying "self, I wish I could bounce my flash and then have it automatically reposition itself backward as I switch to portrait."

Is it handy? Yes, it can be. Is it going to sell more cameras? Probably not. Is it going to get people to upgrade camera and lighting? Probably not. Is it going to sell alot of these flashes? Without wireless capability, probably not.

Figure out how to add in-body stabilization, make existing features much faster and more seamless, introduce a 16pt AFMA for any zoom lens so you don't need the Sigma dock or Tamron dock, introduce auto AFMA functions, create a dual ISO sensor readout for a given high ISO shot (using dual pixel ISO in a better and more usable manner) and a host of other improvements, and we will have things to talk about!

for me, if it had RT, I'd want one ... just because it's a cool party trick, but without RT, I don't want one

There is very little in this review about the new flash, but at one point he does say (and show) that when he changed from landscape to portrait, the flash did not really adjust, and blasted the photog to the reviewer's left.

I don't shoot a ton of events, but I have never had a problem anticipating where I wanted the flash. Further, I often will manually zoom the flash head for different effects.

For what you get, it's decently priced compared to the newly announced $600 Sony flash

Wow, I like the part where it flips automatically!

What a gizmo!

I can see this feature being attractive to new flash photogs that don't realize how to do it themselves. I mean, there are people that shoot in green box. I can't really say for sure that I would not have been a customer at one point.

DBNissan wrote in post #18572910
For what you get, it's decently priced compared to the newly announced $600 Sony flash

That flash does 10fps shooting tho....so maybe thats at least worth it

rh19 wrote:
Here is the video from Canon introducing it:
Introducing the Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI with Auto Intelligent Bounce

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18572825
There is very little in this review about the new flash, but at one point he does say (and show) that when he changed from landscape to portrait, the flash did not really adjust, and blasted the photog to the reviewer's left.

The Canon video shows that in full auto bounce calculation, the flash finds the 'best' angle on its own, then it moves to replicate the same aim when you change camera orientation and DOUBLE tap the shutter button.
And if you aim in a different angle to another subject, it can find best angle for that new subject.

For folks who like to find their own intial angle, a press of a button on the flash memories the current aiming, then it moves to replicate the same aim when you change camera orientation and DOUBLE tap the shutter button.

Sounds pretty snazzy after all...the benefit is the speed, as you do not have to fidget with flash head aiming every time you change orientation from Portrait to Landscape or vice versa. So to anyone who asked, "Who needs it?"...anyone who needs to minimize overhead time created when reorientating the shooting orientation of a camera with a flash on it. When I shot with medium format film SLR, the on-camera light was my Fill, and the off-camera light was the Main, and if I was bouncing my Fill it would come in handy that the fill source re-oriented itself! I could easily see how the SemiAuto bounce mode would assist me, even when I never used the full auto bounce (point-me-here-dummy) mode.

The only downside I can immediately see is the lesser power, as the 470 is same power as the 430.
I find no claims about shooting at 10 fps, though, contrary to one poster's statement.

True. I think I'll wait for Godox to come out with one or use a Rotolight NEO2

Wilt wrote in post #18574172
[...]
The only downside I can immediately see is the lesser power, as the 470 is same power as the 430.
I find no claims about shooting at 10 fps, though, contrary to one poster's statement.

He was referring to my post regarding the cost of the Sony HVL-F60RM flash being more expensive than the 470EX. The Sony flash will do 10fps