430 EX II or 580EX II

What is better 430EX II or the 580EX II? I have a chance to get either one of these

580ex II

More power.

C'mon now. Do you think Canon would sell the better flash for a lower price?
The answer is that the more expensive one is better. The 580EX II is more expensive and has more features (not just more power). One major feature is that the 580EX II can be used as the master in a multi-flash eTTL wireless setup, but the 430 cannot.

What is better is subjective...specs alone, the 580 is "better". But there are other considerations that you need to take into account i.e. cost, actual size of the flash, etc...

Money not being an option, I would get the 580, but if money is a consideration, look closly at a 430EX or EXII

40Dude6aedyk wrote in post #6920716
C'mon now. Do you think Canon would sell the better flash for a lower price?
The answer is that the more expensive one is better. The 580EX II is more expensive and has more features (not just more power). One major feature is that the 580EX II can be used as the master in a multi-flash eTTL wireless setup, but the 430 cannot.

+1

You get what you pay for. Mind you though the 580 is bigger and heavier(though I don't think it's as big of a deal as people make it out).

I'm considering the 430EX or EXII version for general abuse in home and fill for oudoors. If I break it I wont cry.

I already replaced one of my "purchased brand new" less than one year old 580EXII with a new replacement because "useless" canon couldn't fix it after it was sent to them (w/ sample blackout photo's 30/80 photos NFG). The problem happened all of a sudden.

I have 2nd 580EXII with virtually no useage as a spare mint backup. I'm gonna look into the 430 flash soon.

Lonelyjew, the 580EXII does have by far a better FEC dial. The head is larger so I wonder if the 24mm zoom covers better than the smaller flash head of the 430EXII. Better to have more power rather than getting caught with you pants down with underexposed photos with small aperatures.

I'd go for the 580ex II first if you can. It is a better flash with more features than the 430. However, the 430 is great too. I use that when I don't want to carry as much gear around, as it is quite a bit smaller than the 580.

The 580EX II has a few advantages over the 430EX II, but really only you can decide which one is best in your situation.

If you don't need the extra power and aren't doing any two (or more) Speedlight setups then go for the less expensive 430EX II. Frankly, for many an older (used) 420EX is all you need.

I have both a 420EX and a 580EX II, and picked up the 580EX II only after deciding to dabble in making home portraits of my family (580EX II as my fill light and 420EX shooting into an umbrella as my key light).

truthfully it doesnt matter which one you get, the quality of the light doesnt change. just the amount of power it can flash at. put them closer together and you have more light, simple.

for the price of one 580ex you might as well get three 220 exs, depending on what you do...that's likely all you'll need.

not everyone's a massive studio photographer shooting nudes on a beach afterall

Wow this is seriously some great feed back!

the recycle time of a 580ex(I or II) is faster also... but i have two 430ex's and have never not had enough power or fast enough recycle times... so unless you are trying to strobe a football field at night or something the 430ex(I or II) is more then enough for the majority of users... but if money is no object - dont ask, just buy!

However the ability of a 580ex to command a second EX flash is huge though... so if you ever plan to use more than one flash get the 580 first

all the portraits taken on my Flickr page are taken with 430ex's or 420ex's if you need a reference for capability

joeyjoeyjoey wrote in post #6922645
and defeats the purpose of a 1D or grip's portrait oriented shutter.

what do you mean by this? i have a grip and my 430ex can be turned to aim upward when shooting in portrait... it just cant rotate completely around in one direction... hmm...

You get what you pay for, the 580ex is a later model and by definition is the better flash, more power, more features, and couple of extra years worth of Canon development.

Why buy an older model?

any difference with the 430 Ex or the ExII? Or just newer?

Smiffyman wrote in post #6925207
You get what you pay for, the 580ex is a later model and by definition is the better flash, more power, more features, and couple of extra years worth of Canon development.

Why buy an older model?

what? no... the 430ex and 580ex were concurrent and have both been replaced by a respective version II - the 580's (either one) have more power and more features