Well, it finally happened. My $40 Sigma EF-430 was finally replaced by its bigger brother, the EF-500 Super. Sure, I love the E-TTL II, advanced features, more power, and not needing to use duct tape to close the battery door... but I still feel a little guilty.
My EF-430 and I have been through some great times:
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It was my first off-camera flash. I bought it from a gentleman on eBay who had bought it for his 20D. This flash isn't compatible with E-TTL II camera bodies, but it works perfectly with E-TTL I bodies (eg, my old 300D).
Sure, the metering was terrible, it had no swivel head, and was pretty weak. But it was great for me.
When I upgraded to my 20D, it was very unreliable. I remember once I became so mad at it that I took it and threw it on the as hard as I could a something (I forget what exactly). It still worked fine, but developed a dark spot around the element:
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It turns out that throwing a flash really hard is not good for it. The element was stuck on the palstic, and every time I fired it, it would shoot out a little puff of smoke. Still worked though
!It got to the point that I could not even use it in manual mode... or so I thought. A little bit of trial and error, coupled with a little bit of DIY surgery, and that problem was quickly rectified:
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Perfect! And it looks great too
!But alas, with the upcoming macro season approaching, I decided to finally buy a flash that could meter automatically, didn't shut off every 30 seconds, didn't need duct tape and a rubber band to hold the batteries, and didn't spit out a puff of smoke every time I fired it.
Sure, I love my new flash... but I'll still hold on to the old one. Not because of its function, but because I could never sell it, and even if I gave it away I would feel bad for whoever ended up with it.
I guess I deceded to post this as a monument for the people out there who are as frugal as me. As much as I love saving money, maybe sometimes it's best to buy the equipment you need and never look back...
