I want to buy

[Danielle10]

An external flash for my 60d.
A guy in the kodak store said the 430 ex II but why? He didn't go into anything just wrote down a few accessories I could buy when I got my new camera.

What are the differences between the 430 and 580? Anything u should look out for? And are there any tips you could give me?
Thanks :)

[reflect]

Sorry, I have no knowledge of Canon equipment, however I will say with my nikon gear the nikon speedlights do everything they should everytime and my vastly cheaper Yongnuos do everything they should almost everytime.

[macdog]

Yongnuos, I have heard a little about them lately. $75 each....6 flashes for one Canon one

Worth it?

[PH005]

Not really any tips Danielle, but just to second the choice of either the 430 or 580. Top flashes. Maybe if you think you will do a lot of flash work you might be better going for the 580. :)

[ameerat42]

A guy in...What are the differences between the 430 and 580? Anything u should look out for? And are there any tips you could give me?
Thanks :)

A guy...What are the differences between the 430 and 580?.../QUOTE]

For a start, the numbers represent the Guide Number (GN) of each flashes. The GN is a measure of its power. The 580 is almost double the power of the 430.
THIS PAGE (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-430EX-II-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx) explains it in some detail.
Am.

[Mary Anne]

I have had the 430 for many years and have used it on the 20D, 40D, 5D Mk11 and never had any problems for what I want to use it for mainly close ups and macro.
Now I have the proper macro twin flash-lite so I don't use it anymore, not at present anyway..
I have use the 430 for taking indoor photo's of the Grand-children birthdays and it works well to across the other side of a large room
Though it all depends what you want to use it for, if its for a lot further I would get the 580..

[n00g33]

I'm a nikon guy and was told to go bigger with your first flash. So I went to SB900 as opposed to the SB600. Its much more powerful but also much heavier, bigger and sucks a lot more juice. Only advantage I found was in areas with high ceilings. But I have never had a place it didn't work.

If you definately you'd rather not pay twice then go the bigger one. Many people buy the 430 and then end up upgrading to the 580. If you'd rather take the risk in upgrading or don't mind later on - then just go with what you can afford but if you can afford more, then get it I say.

If you're thinkin about off camera flash setups involving 2+ flashes, get YongNuo ones for your next flash. THey're cheap and awesome. Your first one is better to be Canon flash for the i-TTL (tahts what it's called for canon right?). Off camera flashes are better manually adjusted.

Just google canon flash 430 v 580 and a whole bunch of pages come up. THere's a comparison one thats good for details.

[Geoff]

580EX is larger, has more power, and additional features which include (off the top of my head) ability to strobe/pulse (multiple flashes in an exposure), a PC sync port, ability to act as a master unit to other off camera Canon flashes.

The 480EX is a bit more compact, has less power, and few fun features. But is a solid little unit (IMO) and a hell of a lot cheaper. Unless you really need that power and the extra features then the 480EX series is a good choice.

But...there are alternatives - the YongNuo flashes are mentioned above, an ETTL varient on those mightn't be a bad move if it's not something you expect to use often. You may lose some reliability and longevity but save some dollars.
Sigma make a nice 580EX alternative - make sure you get one with SUPER in the name if you go Sigma - I think the current model is the 610 DG Super. Mine had an optical slave built in which was handy at times.

FWIW - I started with a 430EX so I could have a robust ETTL based unit. I later got a Sigma (mine was the 530 something SUPER something) - the Canon was better made, the Sigma more feature rich...about the same price.
This was before YongNuo started making less expensive alternatives. My 430EX still gets used regularly , the Sigma I found too bulky on camera and the extra features I rarely needed.

Cheers.



Cheerio.

[reaction]

Agree with n00g33. 1st flash get the biggest one avail
or else get the biggest Sigma ETTL over the 430EX.

u don't want to spend on 2nd when u find out u wanted more power.