430 or 580ex which one??

antc · 22 Jul 2006 at 21:11

as per the title guys, anyone who has one, or who has an opinion on which one is best please post in this thread.

is it worth getting the stofen diffuser as well?

after photographing a party the other night im really needing a flash.

i can get the flashes for the following prices from kerso outside of his ebay shop.

430ex + stofen diffuser + delivery = £183
580ex + stofen diffuser + delivery = £260

at this moment im edging towards the 580ex as i have the £35 canon cashback voucher making it £225.

thanks

Anthony

morgan · 22 Jul 2006 at 21:35

580

it is the dogs danglies. i have the 580 & 420 (which is very similar to the 430). the 420 never ever gets used.

JonnyGLC · 22 Jul 2006 at 21:39

I've JUST got a 430EX yesterday, and so far i really am loving it

I can't get enough of the bounce, it's really nice

At the moment, i couldn't justify that extra price for a 580, the 430 suits my needs more than enough. So untill i see those, i'll be sticking with the 430

dod · 23 Jul 2006 at 00:19

I got the 580 but it was a very close decision. The thing that swung it for me was the 580 can take an external power pack, the 430 can't. If I hadn't needed the quicker recycling and extra life I'd have gone for the 430.

stu.artd · 23 Jul 2006 at 01:01

At the end of the day the 580ex is only going to cost you £42 over the 430, so I'd say get the 580 as you'll probably be hankering after it or wondering if it would perform better all the time you're using the 430.

mrk · 23 Jul 2006 at 02:22

morgan said:
580

it is the dogs danglies. i have the 580 & 420 (which is very similar to the 430). the 420 never ever gets used.

430 is actually much better than the 420, mor epower, faster speeds, more control, less battery usage, better ETTL, custom functions, more compatability, wireless support, more features, better white balancing.

Not similar

If you don't need the extra power of the 580 then the 430 will do the job for everything. If you get the 430 you can later get the 580 and use the 430 as a slave wirelessly by mastering from the 580.

430EX is £150 by the way, that includes free del, no tax, no vat, no customs, just search around.

You know it makes sense, especially for £150

You don't need a diffuser indoors, you would ideally only use one on the 430EX outdoors where even fill light is required, the 430 can more than handle indoor situations without a diffuser unless it's a hall with lots of light so a diffuser will be handy.