Canon 430EX Speedlite

[Holowlegs]

Hello there


Wife has told me what I am getting for my birthday, (well maybe I asked her if I could have ) Canon 430EX Speedlite.

After seeing what the lads can do with there flashes at the Guildford meet, and all the little gizmos they had, got a couple of questions.

First off I seen Mark and Ally used this a lot a long wire so you could use the flash remotely, does this come with the flash or is it another added extra?

Tobers had these little gizmo's that fired the flash wireless, remember these because they were a bit on the cheap side and Gordon was moaning about how much he had paid for something, that I think done the same thing.

Also another thing, after seeing Gordon's pictures, got me thinking about diffuers that fit on top of the flash. Are they any good and which ones?



Any advice will be helpful, may one day become the flash king of Ruislip


Cheers Holo

[Tobers]

Check this thread for info on the cheapo Cactus wireless flash triggers I had.

You can get a long wire from pretty much any any camera shop. It goes on the hotshoe and the other end onto the flash.

[hot-fuzz]

Originally Posted by Holowlegs

First off I seen Mark and Ally used this a lot a long wire so you could use the flash remotely, does this come with the flash or is it another added extra?

Yes it is an extra. It costs around £30-£40 for and official long one (there are cheaper 3rd party alternatives though). But for my money id go with question number 2.

Originally Posted by Holowlegs

Tobers had these little gizmo's that fired the flash wireless, remember these because they were a bit on the cheap side and Gordon was moaning about how much he had paid for something, that I think done the same thing.

See Tobers answer above. Cactus - There are some issues floating around that it mis fires with a 430EX, but i havent experienced any problems with the V2.

Originally Posted by Holowlegs

Also another thing, after seeing Gordon's pictures, got me thinking about diffuers that fit on top of the flash. Are they any good and which ones?

A diffuser really helps. I got mine from OneStop-Digital.com as its only £15 delivered.

[richard plumb]

if you're thinking of using wireless flash with those triggers, then you lose the connection between the camera and flash - and therefore iTTL. So in that case it may be cheaper to not get the 430EX and instead get one (or two) cheaper flashes, as you'll be using them in manual mode anyway.

although if you also plan to use the flash on camera (or corded) for bounce flash/fill in etc it could be good to stick with the 430EX to give you that flexibility.

[mpritch]

Hi,

yup, the long wire I was using was a cable that I bought to manually sync the camera to the flash to allow off camera firing. It forces the flash into manual where you have to set the power of the flash manually. 1/1 power, 1/2 power, 1/4 power and so on. I like using the flash in manual which I find useful when trying to balance ambient light and the flash light.

The problem with my manual cable is that although you can by them from speed graphic , warehouse express etc, it comes with the wrong connection - it's actually an extension cable. I had to cut my cable and replace on jack with the opposite (female / male) connection to use as you saw. So all in all it's about 20 quid.

The second type of cable is a special one from canon which allows metering so you can use the flash as if it were 'on' your camera. The cable is short, but again, you can splice / cut the cable and add an extension to it if you want off camera metered flash. The upside is you can adjust the exposure compensation of the flash through your camera, so you don't have to keep going to the flash to alter the exposure as you would in manual flash mode.

Or you could just try the wireless cactus triggers that tobers was using, which i'm considering buying next - I think a cable causes too many physical limitations, unless as above you really want metering / auto mode on your flash.

FYI, another option is to buy ''another' flash to trigger the off camera flash - but that's a 'if I had lots of money' option and not really applicable just now!

Hope this helps,

Mark.

[Holowlegs]

Hello there

Thanks for all the advice lads.

Going to stick with the 430, also going to order the Sto-Fen Omni Bounce. Will be using it on camera. But also want to try some fill in flash, with landscapes and waterfowl.Sometimes I may have to use remote flash so will look into leads. Something like this And when I get it maybe I can adapt it somehow to make it longer.



Another reason for getting the flash is little ones making her first Holy communion the end of May feel I will need for that day.


Cheers Holo

[Holowlegs]

Hello there



Has anyone brought from Poland before.

Here


Cheers Holo

[Holowlegs]

Hello there

Just a little update on this. Went and ordered the Off Camera TTL Shoe Cord Canon OC-E3 replacement from Poland for £22.89 with P&P, thats nearly half price off were I could off got anywhere else. Only problem is can't test it yet still waiting for the flash to turn up. Should be here this week.


Cheers Holo