What kind of flash and where to buy?

roger.wee

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Hi,

I'm new to this forum, and was wondering if anyone can help me choose what type of Flash to buy for my new Digital SLR camera (Canon 400D).

I'm currently on holidays in Hong Kong and have seen lots of flashes (especially the Canon 580EX and 430 EX).

Does anyone know whether it is better to buy the same brand flash or are there other brands out there that are cheaper and of the same quality? I'm a beginner, so would a cheap one suffice?

Any help finding a good flash (either website or shop in Hong Kong) would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Roger.
 
I don't know 2 much about canon, But I always hear Canon makes great products! I would fork over the little extra cash for the Canon brand. Just cause your a total noob now doesn't mean you will be in a few months. then you'll be kicking yourself for not spending the little bit of extra cash for the better one. I have name brand flashes that are 20 years old or so and every one of them still work. So it's not like you won't have it for a while. maybe someone here can recommend a certain model but imo I say shoot for the best. But thats just me. I always say, why buy something twice when you could have bought the right one once.
 
Well to put it simply, you get what you pay for... I've always bought Canon products because there quality parts. I love my 430 btw.

It just depends on how much you wanna spend... 430 is worth the price in my opinion...
 
A Canon flash will work with your camera to help give you great results. The quality is also very good.

A different brand may not work with the camera the same way, which might mean that you have to figure out the settings yourself. It can still work but it's not as convenient.

There are some other brand units that do communicate with the camera, the Sigma 500 Super, for example.

I would recommend the 430EX.
 
It really depends on what you are aiming to do. If you want to have multiple flash setup up in the future make sure the flash you get has the ability. If you want to use tll metering you will have to have a 580ex for a master flash and a 430 ex for a slave. I personally stick with manual speedlites. If your interested in that route I would have to suggest getting a vivitar 285 hv, plenty cheap and my personal fav.
 
Thanks for the response,

It seems that i should get a Canon flash, but in terms of the 430EX and the 580EX, what is the difference?

Also, does anyone know where to buy the cheapest flashes (keeping in mind i live in Australia, and am currently in Hong Kong).

Thanks in advance.
Roger.
 
It seems that i should get a Canon flash, but in terms of the 430EX and the 580EX, what is the difference?
The 580 is more powerful than the 430. The 430 is still quite powerful though.
The 580 can act as a wireless 'master' unit to trigger one or several 'slave' units. The 430 can only be a slave.
The 580 has a wheel on the back for changing the settings while the 430 only has buttons.
The 580 is compatible with Canon's external battery pack, the 430 isn't.
There is a 580EX II, which has a few upgrades including weather sealing and a built-in auto thyristor sensor (although I've heard that the auto sensor is crap).

As for where to get it in Aus or HK....beats me :scratch:
 
Thanks for all the help everyone, i'll probably look into getting the 530EX II...just gotta hunt down the cheapest place.

Roger.
 
I just bought the 430ex yesterday and found the best deal on amazon. You can also go to mysimon.com or pricegrabber.com and they search for the lowest prices.
 

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