430EX AF Assist

Question,

Do you find that the 430EX or 580EX AF Assist make a big difference when shooting in low light outdoors in terms of focus precision?

Thanks.

I would answer that with a big "definitely"! (As long as the subjects are within the range of the AF assist lights)

In a dark environment like a reception hall, especially after they turn the lights down for dancing after the meal, it's pretty hard to live without AF assist. But with it, even a cheap lens like the 18-55 will snap to focus pretty quick. You can aim at a blank wall in a totally dark room and it will lock focus without a problem.

Wow

I didn't know the external flashes provided so much AF capability. I need to get one! I just bought a Tamron 28-75/f2.8 and although it's a sharp lens, it seems to miss sometimes in low-light focusing when the subject is at any considerable distance (greater than 4-5 feet away). I guess the external 430EX would help in that situation?

tfitz wrote in post #2977944
Wow

I didn't know the external flashes provided so much AF capability. I need to get one! I just bought a Tamron 28-75/f2.8 and although it's a sharp lens, it seems to miss sometimes in low-light focusing when the subject is at any considerable distance (greater than 4-5 feet away). I guess the external 430EX would help in that situation?

Yes, it would. And, as an added bonus, you can use the flash to light up the subject, too, if you want more light on it.

Is it possible with the 430EX to focus with the flash but not use the flash?

Jcrompton wrote in post #2978688
Is it possible with the 430EX to focus with the flash but not use the flash?

Yes it is. It is one of the custom functions - I don't have the manual here with me to tell you the exact one though.

-Ryan

Jcrompton wrote in post #2978688
Is it possible with the 430EX to focus with the flash but not use the flash?

It's possible via custom functions on the 20D, 30D and higher end models (C.Fn 07). I don't believe the 350D and 400D have that custom function.

pretty sure that 430 does have a function that disables the flash for anything but slave...
else, you can always set it to slave and then the light will keep blinking.. though that may be annoying after a while

Like Curtis says, camera's CF can turn off the flash and use the focus assist only. But 430EX's CF allows shutting down the focus assist and fire the flash only, not the other way around.

Lotto wrote in post #2978980
Like Curtis says, camera's CF can turn off the flash and use the focus assist only. But 430EX's CF allows shutting down the focus assist and fire the flash only, not the other way around.

That $ucks!

My mistake on that one - it is the camera CF, not the flash CF. After a while, all the CFs start running together!

-Ryan

I used to have the 400D + 580EX, using AF Assist and no flash:
set C.fn-03 to 1 (TTL) on the 580EX
Perhaps the 430EX has a similar cfn?