430EX + 70-200 F4L IS...anyone try it?

Well my sister in law is getting married in November and I would like to take pictures for it so I was trying to come up with a good setup.


I am not the official photographer and will not sell any shots.


Ive been toying with the idea of picking up a 2.8 lens in the xx-70 range but I dont like the idea of living at ISO1600 and the possibility of barely getting the shots. So has anyone used the 70-200 F4 along with flash? I wouldnt imagine it being much different from the 2.8L version with flash stopped down.

So how well is flash coverage at 200mm with the 430EX at say ISO400? Im toying with the idea at shooting at F4 and no higher than F8.

Not all shots would be with the 70-200, I may play around with the 28-105 and would definately use the 50 1.8.

im thinking that you really need to consider getting a lens in the 17-50 range. the tamron f/2.8 is a great bang for the buck product in this range. my experience has been that the 430 after about 10-11 ft is not going to do what you would want it to do. and with the 70-200, you will have alot of under exposed shots because you will have to stand back to far to get the type of shots a wedding requires.........just my .02 cents

I use the 17-55 IS week in and week out and would not be without it. ISO's of 400 and 800.

Get over your high iso phobia. I used to shoot receptions with a 70-200 F2.8 IS, ISO1600, F2.8, bounce flash and it works fine. I wouldn't shoot a reception at ISO400, you'd have a dark/black hole background, at high iso you pick up more background light. Gelling the flash helps match color temps. I do things differently now, off camera lighting and radio triggers, but that's no good for a wedding where you're just taking a few snaps for fun.

I would suggest you use your kit lens, 430EX bounced off the ceiling while inside, white card on the back of the flash to put a little light forward.

Alright thanks for the info. I dont know about using my kit lens, hard to look at shots from it after using my other lenses.


I was just toying with the idea of buying a flash now instead of a lense. I dont find myself in a whole lot of situations where I would need a flash, tho one would be nice to have. Im still debating between one or the other right now.

Jimmer411 wrote in post #6023282
Alright thanks for the info. I dont know about using my kit lens, hard to look at shots from it after using my other lenses.

I was just toying with the idea of buying a flash now instead of a lense. I dont find myself in a whole lot of situations where I would need a flash, tho one would be nice to have. Im still debating between one or the other right now.

well for a family members wedding you really need both. get a decent 17-50 and the 430ex. you can use it forever and you wont be hearing about bad shots for the rest of your life:p,,its worth the extra 400.00 bucks

Funny enough i shot for the first time on Sat using my 70-200 f/4 IS and 420Ex and was quite impressed with how they turned out. Its not something i would normally do but i wanted to see how well they would work together.

Im also going to a wedding as a guest in a few weeks time but the couple have asked any DSLR owners to bring thier camera's to take some shots. No official photographer there. Tight Asses.
Anyway ill be taking my 17-55IS and 85mm f/1.8 but not sure if my 420Ex would be up to the task. I could get a 430EXII or 580EXII, just cant decide.

Just shot my 580II with a 70-200 2.8 last night. My 430 is not quite as powerful, but I was only shooting the 580 at +1 FEC, f/2.8, so I'm sure the 430 will have just enough output at f/4.

love my 430EX plus 70-200L f/4 IS. but f-stop always takes priority when choosing a lens for indoors IMHO...