Looking for advice on flash

[melscamera]

I would like to purchase a flash for my Mark IIn. It would be used mainly for shooting at events not specifically sports but people in general , parties, my kids, family, etc.. I have read alot of reviews for the 580ex.

Would you recommend this flash ?

Would it be better to have this mounted on a bracket or directly on the camera. ?

How effective is a flash for shooting sporting events like indoor basketball, hockey, etc.. not that i am going to be doing alot of indoor shooting for sports but i would like to have the ability to do so if i needed to ?

Any help would be appreciated

[JSPhoto]

There is really only one flash for the MKIIN, the 580EX, the flash was designed for the MKIIN, something Canon does very rarely. It is also backwards compatible to any EOS digital camera and adjusts flash for sensor size as well as ambient light. If you don't want to drop the $350+ on that then just about any EOS compatible flash will work in manual mode.

I use the 580EX and it works at any ISO. It also works great for sports with quick recharge, multiple bursts. I use use it almost exclusively in "fill flash" mode and the camera and flash talk very well together for this.
The 580EX has the power to reach the other side of a football field or gym, and it has the best battery life of any Canon flash I have used. I get 700+ shots useing fill flash mode
JS

[melscamera]

Great I think i will pick one up... Do you recommend a bracket for the flash or is it ok right on the camera ?

There is really only one flash for the MKIIN, the 580EX, the flash was designed for the MKIIN, something Canon does very rarely. It is also backwards compatible to any EOS digital camera and adjusts flash for sensor size as well as ambient light. If you don't want to drop the $350+ on that then just about any EOS compatible flash will work in manual mode.

I use the 580EX and it works at any ISO. It also works great for sports with quick recharge, multiple bursts. I use use it almost exclusively in "fill flash" mode and the camera and flash talk very well together for this.
The 580EX has the power to reach the other side of a football field or gym, and it has the best battery life of any Canon flash I have used. I get 700+ shots useing fill flash mode
JS

[mjs1973]

I'm not much of a sports shooter, but I think you will be happier if you can get the flash off of the camera. Head on flash is not a good thing most of the time. As far as the 580 EX goes, I have this flash, and I love it. I still don't know much about using flash, but even with my limited knowledge, I have been able to get very good results with the 580EX. Also, Canon just anounced a new flash, the 580EX MkII. I'm not sure if it's available yet, and I don't remember all the details about it as far as upgrades over the 580EX. The one thing I do remember is that it has a metal mount instead of plastic.