Canon 420EX replacement or parts?

[keninaz]

After many good years of service I dropped my Canon 420EX Speedlite and the hot shoe was destroyed. That section unscrews and unplugs from the Speedlite and could be replaced if I could find the part. Canon emailed me and said they no longer make parts or service this unit.
If anyone knows where I can buy parts I would be interested in that information.
I am also going to look for a used 420 that I can buy cheap enough for parts.

But I may have to replace the 420EX Speedlite.
I don't take near as many pix as I used to, just using an EOS Rebel I have had for many years now.
And I did not use any slave or remote features on the 420 but I did like the tilt/swivel head feature.
If I replace it with something cheaper that would fit my retirement budget, I would like something that would put enough light out for some distance for use with fill flash and such.
Any recommendations for a cheaper replacement would be appreciated.

 

[tirediron]

You may well be able find the part of a parts unit on eBay; as for a replacement unit, the Yongnuo line are well regarded for third-party, consumer grade kit.

 

[keninaz]

Yes I see several units on eBay and may just grab one of those for the parts if I can get one cheap enough.

 

[TCampbell]

The logical replacement from Canon is the 430EX II -- which is just about the same power. The 430 can help the camera focus even in the dark because it projects the focus assist pattern (a red pattern of light that the camera can use to lock focus).

The 320EX is a step down... not quite as much power (if you delete the trailing 0 in any Canon speed light model... e.g. instead of 420EX just use "42" and instead of 430EX II just use "43", then that's actually the guide number of the flash when measured in meters. The "guide number" is the distance at which the flash can illuminate a subject assuming ISO 100 and f/1. Of course you don't really use f/1 but they use this as the based because with that particular value, all you have to do is divide the distance by the ACTUAL f-stop you plan to shoot and that's the distance the flash will cover.

It's nice to be a little over-powered though because if you bounce off ceilings and walls (and it sounds like you do) then quite a bit of light gets "eaten" by the surface and doesn't get reflected (plus it has to travel farther).

Yongnuo makes budget flashes which are compatible as do a number of other brands but I do notice a lot of people seem to use the Yongnuos. Not quite a solid as the OEM flashes and I occasionally hear the story of the flash that flaked out or couldn't provide consistent power, but most users tend to be happy and they do cost quite a bit less.

You've got to be a bit more careful here... while the Canon speedlites are all compatible and support the E-TTL flash modes, the Yongnuo's come in a variety from simple manual flash (no E-TTL) to flashes which offer TTL... but keep in mind that they make these in both Nikon compatible and Canon compatible versions.

If you shop for Yongnuo flashes, you'll find a lot of YN-560 II flashes ... about $75 (prices vary) -- BUT this is a "manual" flash (it does not support E-TTL).

The YN-468 II is E-TTL (in the Canon compatible version... they make a Nikon compatible version as well) and runs about $85.
The YN-565EX is also E-TTL (again... comes in Canon E-TTL or Nikon i-TTL versions so you have to be careful when ordering). About $115.

Also, check prices on the Canon refurb store. You can save considerably vs. the price of "new" and the refurb units still come with the same 1 year warranty that a new unit has. The Canon online refurb store is located here: Canon Refurbished Speedlite Flashes| Canon Online Store