Low Light shooting - Fast 50mm F1.4 Prime or 580EX II?

One time I was in a restaurant, 50mm f/1.4 Av wideopen...shutter speed came back as 1/5s, not even a non-existent 50mm f/1.4 IS lens would help in that case.

Flash all the way.

Riff Raff wrote in post #4946436
I'd get a 430EX and the 50mm f/1.4. But the flash would certainly come first.

I was contemplating this as well actually...though I've been eying the Canon 10-22mm or the Sigma 10-20mm and want to save a couple bucks for that.

djeuch, that is a great example of good flashwork. Thank you for that. I have zero experience with bounce flash and that really eases my mind about the possibilities.

Flash first, even you get the 50mm 1.4 you still have to use ISO 400-1600 (on my 400D) to get the shutter at least >1/50 and the IQ is not that great but you'll amaze by the bokeh that produce, but if u use a flash, u can get the pict using ISO 100 using you'r 17-55mm IS, both is great combo,..

I just got a Sigma EF-530 DG ST, only around $170 from Amazon. It's great.

mozart1899 wrote in post #4946884
I just got a Sigma EF-530 DG ST, only around $170 from Amazon. It's great.

Unfortunately, Amazon Canada sucks and Amazon.com doesn't ship to Canada. I'll probably stick with Canon for my first Flash (safer for a Noob).

As a complete newb here, the 50mm F1.4 and the 580EX II have now been my first (and only) two purchases after getting a 30D, so I guess I can relate to the OP. The one piece of advice that I consider important that I haven't seen mentioned is that the 580 is substantially more difficult to figure out. I'm sure it'll be worth it when I do, but if you need immediate results, the faster lens might be easier. But, eventually, the flash will prove the more versatile tool, I think (well, I haven't gotten there yet, but it's only been five days now).