Do I "need" External Flash

I have taken a number of low light portrait and family pics that have left me less then enthused. Quality is weak. I realize that some of this is my "newbieness" but I thought I would look for some opinions on the use of an external flash with the DReb? I have reviewed the Canon specs and if I had to make a choice right now I'd opt for the 550EX. Primarily becuase of the differences in features but I really do not even know if I will need all that this unit has to offer. I am heading to Alaska on a cruise for 10 days and don't want to be on-board and miss some great indoor shots becuase I don't have the "right" gear. TIA.

Yes, you definitely need an external flash, especially if you're going to be doing a lot of picture taking indoors or under low lighting.

Even if you think the 550EX is a little more than what you need now, a time will come when it'll just be right and that time may come a lot sooner than you think. I started with the 420EX but quickly outgrew it. I now use the 550EX and use the 420EX if I need additional side lighting. Otherwise, the 420EX sits in my wife's bag with the G3 she inherited from me.

I wholeheartedly recommend an external flash. The first time you use bounce flash, you'll fall over yourself when see the result. You'll find the lighting so much more natural and 3-dimensional than the usual harsh, deer-in-the-headlights look you get with direct flash.

Since you have a 300D, you will need the 550EX just to have access to flash exposure compensation (FEC), a feature you will sorely miss if you get the 420EX.

If you find the cost of the 550EX a bitter pill to swallow, the Sigma EF-500 DG Super is supposed to be a reasonable, cost-conscious alternative.

Thanks for the replys. Definitely reinforces my initial thoughts.

While you're at it, add an Omnibounce and a Lumiquest pocket bouncer (when there is nothing to bounce light off) for even better flash lighting.

I have a 550EX I got for my 300D, mainly because the built-in flash has a very poor reach (low guide number) for my purposes. The built-in flash works OK outdoors for fill-flash shots, as long as you aren't more than about 6-10 feet from the subject. I opted for the more expensive and more powerful 550EX, so that I could easily set FEC on it. The 300D doesn't support FEC on the camera out-of-the-box and none of the flashes will do it themselves, except for the 550EX, although there is a firmware hack floating around that can assign FEC to the 300D 'Set' button, I believe.

You can always use the 550EX with a better body or as part of a multi-master/slave flash setup, later, as well, so I consider it a good investment if you are getting into Canon gear for the long haul.

The 550EX works fine as a bounce flash mounted on the camera, for landscape (horizontal orientation) shots. If you rotate the camera for vertical shots though (BG-ED3 vertical grip highly recommended), you will throw ugly shadows on walls to the right and behind your subjects, because the flash will now be to the left of the lens. This also happens with the built-in flash. You can help this some, by setting the 550EX for vertical bounce, and using a soft/diffuse filter, but the shadows will show, nevertheless.

What you need is something that will hold the 550EX vertically over the lens when you rotate the camera. The only thing I've found so far that works with the vertical grip installed on the camera, and still keeps the flash centered over the lens, is the Stroboframe Pro-T. You can't use the smaller Press-T, because there isn't enough clearance for the camera and grip, especially with something like the off-camera-flash cord or most certainly, the STE2 transmitter.

Some folks have complained that the Canon off-camera cord (OSC2) cable tends to break from all the flexing, and that the flimsy plastic flash mount has broken, dropping the flash. The recommended (pricier, but at least you won't be replacing broken components on a regular basis) is to use the STE2 infrared transmitter. This has the advantage of eliminating the strobe cable, and also lets you place the flash wherever you'd like, for unusual lighting effects.

I know it sounds like a lot, but if you are going on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise, you really don't want to cheap up and miss out on some great shots, because you didn't have the flash equipment you needed.

If it is made by Canon, you NEED it.

Another useful thing is a stand brolly and mount for the flash. There is one available in the UK by Lastolite. It allows you to mount the flash well off camera with an extension cord and can produce some very creditable results. This is like a small portable one light 'studio' so if you take a lot of indoor and low light but have time to set up a little first it can be the first step towards a 'proper' studio flash system.

I agree pretty much with theoldmoose, except I don't bother to use a grip. My camera and 550EX sit nicely on a flash bracket, and the bracket will flip easily. I use a different brand, but that is no big deal. The off-camera cord can get thrashed around a bit, so I attached mine semi-permanently to the flash bracket with back rubber bands. It works for me.

---Bob Gross---

550 EX with an Omni-Bounce is great for indoors. Outdoors? Set the Drebel to overexpose 2/3 /f stop and under expose the 550 by 1 f/ stop for some incredible NO BRAINER 3:1 fill flash.