580ex, here I come?

Now before you guys start telling me to check this thread, blah blah...Let me know your input.

Well...I have never looked into gettin a flash till now. The whole story is I got asked to shoot a club for the first time. Im pretty sure this is going to be a low light event/indoors. Is it safe for me now to buy a 580ex now or save the extra cash and go for the 430ex. I know the price difference, and we're always trying to save extra cash. I dont know if this is a stupid question or what, is the 580ex that much stronger/powerful flash unit?

Second Question: Also, how about "third party" flashes ie. Sigma. I went to your local Ritz Camera today, and they told me if I use any off brand flashes it voids my warranty. Please assure me on that. Although I dont have any warranties through Canon. It will still be nice. Lastly, is the Sigma as good as Canons? Because if theyre as good in lens, then I should put up a flash.

Thanks for your time.

-Kenny

How MUCH shooting do you anticipate doing indoors? The 580ex is a lot more powerful than the 430ex.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …eedlite-Flash-Review.aspx


I've heard good things about the Sigma 500 DG Super series.

Also...Ritz camera is full of crap. Does that mean if you mount a sigma lens on your canon camera it will void your warranty too? What about mounting a ebay lens hood to your canon lens...?

Lol...those guys are so funny.

After reading that, why not the 550Ex? I can get a bit of both worlds. To be honest with you though, I dont plan on shooting indoors at all. But Im always willing to try new things. As a project, a flash is needed. Ive seen how the built-in flash preformed and not the greatest.

kennys350d wrote in post #3730559
I went to your local Ritz Camera today, and they told me if I use any off brand flashes it voids my warranty.

Thanks for giving me one more reason not to ever walk into a Ritz. They lied to you.

The 580EX has about 1 stop more power than the 430EX. That means you'll be able to use 1 stop narrower aperture or lower ISO with the 580EX at full output. The Sigma 500 units are in between.

Buy the best flash you can afford, and you won't regret the decision.

Curtis, you seem to know your flashes. I have a couple of questions for you answer and POTN as well. If you guys don't mind. Have you tried the Sigma EF 500 DG? I read reviews about its pros and cons. I hope they are true...I am favoring more in the Sigma line due to the fact that I don't see myself flashing 24/7.

-Kenny

Sigma sells two models currently:
EF-500 DG ST
EF-500 DG Super

Both have the same power, motorized zoom, bounce/swivel head.
The Super model has manual control, high speed sync, built-in optical slave and a few other things.

I have two Sigma Supers and don't regret buying them. It's a good flash for the money.

kennys350d wrote in post #3730559
I went to your local Ritz Camera today, and they told me if I use any off brand flashes it voids my warranty. Please assure me on that. Although I dont have any warranties through Canon. It will still be nice.

Kenny, you have just confirmed one of several reasons why you never want to enter that Ritz store ever again. That clerk told you a bold-faced lie.

It is possible that the clerk did not know it was a lie if he/she had been lied to about the subject by someone else on the store's staff at some previous time, but I would suspect he/she was just trying to sell more expensive product.

I have NEVER been in a Ritz store where the clerks seemed to know anything more about what they sell than the price.

The prices for name-brand equipment at Ritz are almost always inflated over other places such as B&H or Adorama.

The house-brand stuff at Ritz (Quantaray) is almost always a ripoff - especially the lenses, etc.

SkipD wrote in post #3730914
Kenny, you have just confirmed one of several reasons why you never want to enter that Ritz store ever again. That clerk told you a bold-faced lie.

It is possible that the clerk did not know it was a lie if he/she had been lied to about the subject by someone else on the store's staff at some previous time, but I would suspect he/she was just trying to sell more expensive product.

I have NEVER been in a Ritz store where the clerks seemed to know anything more about what they sell than the price.

The prices for name-brand equipment at Ritz are almost always inflated over other places such as B&H or Adorama.

The house-brand stuff at Ritz (Quantaray) is almost always a ripoff - especially the lenses, etc.

This is probably a local issue. The Ritz down the street has a nice selection of cameras, lenses, tripods, etc. Before it was acquired by Ritz it was a Wolf Camera and a Waxman Photo before that. There are a number of sales folk that were a part of all three. I have gotten pretty solid answers for questions posed for the most part. The younger sales folks are surprisingly well informed. I don't buy much there because I can beat their prices easily on the net. At the same time they provide the opportunity to physically play with equipment. They have up to 2 series Gitzos and lots of Manfrotto stuff. I can play with almost the complete line of Canon lenses (even a 400 DO, but no 500,600) and lots of Sigma stuff as well. I have bought a couple of Lowepro bags there and actually a Quantaray camera bag/pack that is very nice, but only because prices for those were very comparable. Since it is now the only camera store in downtown Denver, and within walking distance over lunch, I happily spend time there.

Stew