flash for 20d

hiya

i am looking at purchasing a flash for my 20d.

im not sure what one to purchase!

what is the best on the market? ie for value ad quality.

i have looked at the canon 550ex but may be a bit too pricey!

also what is the average weight of a flash?

thanks for any feedback

I'll sell you my 420ex and lightsphere for cheap! Only been used about 4 times.

Actually, if you do a search in the studio and lighting forum, you'll probably find some good suggestions as I posted that same question a year ago.

adina

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chopperward

hiya

i am looking at purchasing a flash for my 20d.

im not sure what one to purchase!

what is the best on the market? ie for value ad quality.

i have looked at the canon 550ex but may be a bit too pricey!

also what is the average weight of a flash?

thanks for any feedback

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The 580EX may cost more, OK, a lot more, but it uses much less power to get more power..ie, uses fewer batteries. If you use flash a lot the 580EX will pay for itself in using fewer batteries. Last year I spent over $1500 on batteries alone, and now I have the 580EX it should cost me 1/4 of that..payig for itself in a year. The 580EX is also very light, but well built and will work well with the 20D.

JS

I just read a review on the Sunpak PZ40X II flash. It was only $125 and should work with the TTL metering of your 20D. It's very small and lightweight, and has a large illuminated LCD control panel, but the head doesn't swivel, there is no auto flash sensor, and it doesn't support 2nd curtain sync. What does that mean? I don't know. :) It does have some manual controls but maybe not everything that you would want. It is small and inexpensive and will give you more power, and more control than your built in flash. I don't own a flash for my DSLR so I have no idea what this flash is like... Just thought I would mention it as an inexpensive alternative.

Sunpack 5000AF flash is another option close to the 550EX as well, and cheaper too. But really if you have the 20D you should really look at the 580EX as it is specifically designed to work with the new E-TTL side of the camera and uses less power from the batteries as has already been said above. I have a 550EX wish I had been able to get the 580EX, just for the less use of batteries. Remember you can get a battery pack for them as well which makes recycle times shorter and more shots per battery pack as well. But nothing is cheap in camera equipment is is.

I didn't consider anything other than the 580EX, I'm very happy with it.

There are some good answers here, and so I'll ask a question! (or two) Is this your first flash? Do you have a specific purpose or type of shooting you plan on doing while using it? Do you have a particular need like fill flash, stroboscopic effect/capability (i.e. stop action/sports photography), detail, portrait, etc.?

For a general flash or to learn what may or may not work for you, an inexpensive flash(around $100-150) from a third party vendor might be a good alternative. That combined with a dedicated flash meter (again a basic model for around $100 bucks) would give you a start to figure out if you need top end wireless remote capability and or studio type strobes etc.

On the other hand, should you already need specific capabilities, buy the 580. It makes the best (currently anyway) center piece to light control, particularly if combined with a remote transmitter system. The 580 in addition to some other mentioned features ( and battery life is oh so important) has two features that are better than any previous Canon Flash that I've seen, Flash bracketing and white balance/color/contrast control info. The unit and the camera communicate about color temp and such and with appropriate lens choices the dynamic range of the photos is superior.

In the real world that means black comes out black, white comes out white, and peach is usually peach. Also for product shots less time has to be spent in color correction and matching.

Flash bracketing should speak for itself and certainly with a 20d is a very valuable tool to have in the old arsenal.

If you can't swing the 580, the 550's have dropped a lot in price (at least in the US) and though not as full featured, will provide great functionality now and later as a slave to a 580 system.

Best wishes!

JSPhoto..... $1500 on batteries?

you can get a top of the line 8 cell chargers for $80 each

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/m...ry-charger.htm

I run these in my 550EX flash and Digi P&S and they rock for twice as long as any other throw away battery I have used(faster recycles too)

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/m..._batteries.php

obviously you need to check this route out before you go broke;)