Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flashgun

[Ruffy]

Off to buy a flash tomorrow and was after some advice, do i spend big or little ???

I was thinking something like this...

Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flashgun for a little over £200

or this

Jessops 360AFD Digital Flashgun for £79

Thanks

Paul

[Donald]

Paul

That price difference had got to tell you something (and not just that Canon can overcharge for a lot of their own products). I haven't done any sort of side-by-side comparison, but would guess that you're going to get a lot more flashgun in the 430 EX II; i.e. your options for creativity will be much greater.

[rob marshall]

Paul

For less than the cost of the Canon you can get the Nissin Di866 Pro, which is as good as the Canon 580EX - in fact it has more power. I bought one yesterday by trading in my two old 430EXIIs for a straight swap for the Nissin. I could have sold you one of the 430EX for £100, had I known you were looking.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nissin-Di866...7701340&sr=8-6

[Ruffy]

Arghh, Wish i had posted this yesterday

So you think the Di866 is the way to go ?, the one you put the link too is for a Nikon but i am guessing they do a Canon fit.

The Canon 580EX is going for around £340 and you recormend the above one (Di866) which is going for around £200...am i right ??? if so how can canon get away with such a high mark up on Canon brands

[rob marshall]

Arghh, Wish i had posted this yesterday

So you think the Di866 is the way to go ?, the one you put the link too is for a Nikon but i am guessing they do a Canon fit.

The Canon 580EX is going for around £340 and you recormend the above one (Di866) which is going for around £200...am i right ??? if so how can canon get away with such a high mark up on Canon brands

Well, I have only had mine two days, but it seems pretty good. It also has some very good reviews on-line (do a search). They do a Canon fit. They also do a fairly cheap off-camera cable (SC-01) which connects the hot-shoe to the flash... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nissin-SC-01...7707621&sr=8-2 It gives you up to 5 feet off-camera for a price of £46. Or, you could use radio triggers. The only thing I can see that it doesn't have over the 580 is weather-sealing (for rain etc). But then the 430EX doesn't have it either.

How can Canon get away with a high mark-up? That's a question, isn't it - we could probably fill up Sean's CiC server with that one.

[Ruffy]

Thanks for all the help and guidence once again !

Will be placing an order for the Di866 rather than get robbed by Canon....and Jessops

[rob marshall]

Thanks for all the help and guidence once again !

Will be placing an order for the Di866 rather than get robbed by Canon....and Jessops

Don't get me wrong, the 430 and 580 are very good bits of kit. But unless you are going to be using it very heavily in all weathers I would say the Di866 is a much better buy than the 430EX for the same money. I don't think you will be disappointed with it.

[inkista]

Are you planning for on-camera use or off-camera use?

I'd actually recommend also considering a used 580EX (Mark I) if you plan on heavy on-camera usage, because of the swivel capability. The Nissin is a great flash, but it only swivels 270 degrees, while the 580EX will swivel the full 360 degrees, and that makes a difference when you're looking for a surface to bounce off, or you're bouncing in portrait without a bracket. It can be annoying to have 25% of your directional options blocked by your flash head.

Agree, though, that as long as you aren't worried about reverse-engineering future compatibility (and with the firmware updates you can do with the Nissins, this is less of a concern than with other 3rd-party flashes), or using your camera body's menus to control the flash (the 580EX Mark I doesn't do this either), then the Nissin is probably a better buy than a 430EX II.

[Colin Southern]

Personally, I stick to Canon flashes, if for no other reason than I like to support the company who spent the big $$$ developing the technology, rather than the ones who rip them off by reverse engineering all of their efforts.

As a rule, the original products typically have more functionality - plus, you can guarantee that Canon will go out of their way to find a way to make 3rd party copies incompible with their gear if they can (Sigma lenses were a classic example of this).

[Ruffy]

Well i thought i would just let you all know which one i went for in the end....Canon 430 EX II, got it today and i am more than happy !

I was going for the Di866 all the way however Colin came in at the 11 hour and changed my mind with his opinon which to be fair is a sensiable one, stick with Canon and i cant go far wrong, thanks again everyone, without C&C and its members i would either be stumped or have a load of gear which i dont really need, want or can afford, i surely would still not be married

[Donald]

Well i thought i would just let you all know which one i went for in the end....Canon 430 EX II, got it today and i am more than happy !

Paul

Congratulations. Enjoy it.