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Further development of Canon's flagship Speedlite has led to the production of the 580 EX II. This is the premier Speedlite for all photographers, including professionals. Newly designed to match with the EOS-1D Mark III in terms of improved dust- and water-resistance, body strength, and the ability to control flash functions and settings from the camera menu (EOS-1D Mark III only). Other features include improved communication reliability through its direct contacts, and recycling time is both 20% shorter than the 580EX and is completely inaudible.
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- 5
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- 81%
- 4
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- 13%
- 3
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- 0%
- 2
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- 6%
- 1
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| Product Rating: |
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| Total Reviews: |
16 |
The ONLY Canon flash for serious photographers
- Pros: * Powerful (at least by hot shoe flash standards)
* ETTL metering gives good results with no effort
* Clear, consistent light means no messing around fixing color casts in Photoshop
* Only Canon flash with a PC port
* Can be master for multiple 580ex and 430ex slaves
* You can hold off on buying a light meter if you use ETTL metering
- Cons: * Price
* User manual isn't great, search online for tutorials instead
* Eats batteries for lunch - invest in at least 2 sets of rechargeable NiMH AAs per flash
* Wireless mode is line-of-site only, fairly short range, and can be confused by direct sunlight
* Very harsh light without a diffuser or modifier. I use a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce.
* Not worth the money if you don't use the ETTL features - if you are going 100% manual, get some cheap optically slaved 3rd party strobes instead.
* Less powerful than a low-end studio strobe like an AB400.
- Other Thoughts: On it's own, this is a great flash.
Where it really shines, however, is as part of a multi-flash setup. Buy 2 or more, put one on the camera and the rest on stands firing into umbrellas, and you've got a professional studio lighting system that you can throw in a backpack and carry anywhere.
You can control the entire system from the camera, using automatic lighting ratios, or by setting the power manually on all the slaves at once. ETTL isn't perfect, but it's great for events and location shooting where you want studio-style lighting but don't have time to set up and meter each shot, or where the light conditions are changing rapidly.
While you can use the 430ex as a slave with one of these, the lower power and limited features really aren't worth the small price savings. If you're serious about doing professional style lighting, bite the bullet and get 2 or 3 of these; it's an investment you'll thank yourself for over and over again
Great Flash from Canon
- Pros: It is great Flash from Canon, a lot of functions upgraded from I.
- Cons: no issue
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- 5
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- 81%
- 4
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- 13%
- 3
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- 2
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- 6%
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| Product Rating: |
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| Total Reviews: |
16 |
- Pros: Ample power for a hot shoe flash, good zoom range, sealed hot shoe, controllable from camera menus, wireless TTL compatible
- Cons: Not cheap, but worth the money, especially if you get it on rebate.
- Other Thoughts: I've got two of these and often use the on-camera flash to control the off-camera flash in wireless mode. This setup is very easy to use and works far better than I expected, even when flashes do not have line-of-sight with each other.
Great Flash
- Pros: Works great in connection with Canon cameras
Wonderful results when used with flash bracket
Gives wedding photography more professional look, when flash is required
Easy to operate
- Cons: None!
Good "Smart" flash
- Pros: Powerful,smart, easy to use once you've read thru the manual or played with them for a bit.
Easy to adjust,even easier to adjust thru the camera as long as your cam body is new/updated to work with these. (I run the 40 & 50 and both work great with these)
recommend light softeners for close work or most cases, unless you have long distances you need to throw the light
These are my favorite portable "suns" besides my Alien bees, which are super great units for a great price! And these save me a bit on weight & space when circamstances do not allow me the Bees.
- Cons: requires line of sight with current wireless system.SUCKS!
Highly recommend aquiring Radio Poppers/ect.
They also are not sensitive to other flashes going off, so this can be a pain if you are counting on setting them off thru the picking up of flash light bouncing off em.Check out FlashZebra if you like to work this way, I believe he sells a little sensitive plug thinajig that will enable your units to work this way. ( I have not tried them as of yet)
These flashes would be supa' great if it were'nt for this major beef.
One note, if you have been slaving your units, then go back to just a single unit, turn OFF your master/slave options,,otherwise, your recycle time takes longer, as the units are sending/receiving/waiting for signals from units that are no longer there,this caused me a bit of confusion at first (I actually thought my batteries were dying early till I figured out I was still shooting with the Master setting set ON. Turned that off, and we were back to 1 second r
- Other Thoughts: There are cheaper units out there, and I do run in manual a lot, so some would say I may have overpaid for the extra brains I don't use most of the time [ That could sound bad in other areas as well,,:-) ] haha...anyway. BUT, A lot of the cheaper flashes I looked at also have stupendously Loooong recharge times,, upwards of 3-5 seconds. I want 1 second turnaround time, and even then I am tapping my fingers.
I also like the fact the units can communicate with my cameras, thus controlling them thru the camera menu..( Way easier then dinking with the flash controls)
If you are new to flash use, definitly take em out and experiment/play,,and read up.
normally you are limited by 250th top sync speed,but you can switch to hi-speed sync ( Which is way handy at times! ) And remember, slow your shutter speed DOWN to brighten up the background, if your subjects get too much brighter. this lets a bit more ambient onto the Background to match up with the subjects you just "nuked" :-P
| Model |
| Brand |
Canon |
| Model |
EOS Speedlite 580EX II |
| Spec |
| Specifications |
AF Assist Beam: Built-in; covers all focus points in EOS cameras with 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 45 AF points; Distance range - 2 to 32.8 feet (0.6 to 10m) at center; 2 to 16.4 feet (0.6 to 5m) at periphery |
| Compatibility |
E-TTL operation with all EOS digital SLRs; PowerShot G2, G3, G5, G6, and Pro1; and the following EOS film cameras - EOS-1v, EOS-3, Elan 7N series, Elan 7 series, Elan II series, Rebel T2, Ti, K2, GII, G.
TTL operation with all other 35mm EOS SLRs, and Canon T90. |
| Guide Number |
190 (at ISO 100, feet) / 58 (meters); flash head at 105mm zoom setting |
| AF-assist Beam |
Built-in; covers all focus points in EOS cameras with 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 45 AF points; Distance range - 2 to 32.8 feet (0.6 to 10m) at center; 2 to 16.4 feet (0.6 to 5m) at periphery |
| Recycling Time |
Approx. 0.1 to 6 seconds, with fresh AA-size alkaline batteries |
| Power Source |
Four AA-size batteries - alkaline, lithium, or rechargeable Ni-MH usable |
| Physical Spec |
| Dimensions |
3.0" x 5.3" x 4.5" /76 x 134 x 114mm |
| Weight |
13.2 oz./375g, without batteries (4 AA alkaline batteries add 3.5 oz./100g) |
| Features |
| Features |
Approx. 20% faster recycling time compared to 580EX
Superior build quality, including a metal foot for higher rigidity
Max. Guide No. 58 at 105mm setting (GN 190, feet)
Auto conversion of flash coverage with compatible digital SLR cameras
White Balance info communicated instantly to compatible digital SLR cameras
Full swivel, 180° in either direction
AF-assist beam, compatible with all AiAF points on every EOS SLR
Dust- and water- resistance to match the EOS-1D Mark III |
Introduction
Further development of Canon's flagship Speedlite has led to the production of the 580 EX II. This is the premier Speedlite for all photographers, including professionals. Newly designed to match with the EOS-1D Mark III in terms of improved dust- and water-resistance, body strength, and the ability to control flash functions and settings from the camera menu (EOS-1D Mark III only). Other features include improved communication reliability through its direct contacts, and recycling time is both 20% shorter than the 580EX and is completely inaudible.
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Reviewed By: Joe P on 1/16/2008
Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
