hi all

i currently own a eos 5. i am thinking of buying a speedlite for it. i am thinking whether or not to buy the 430ez or 540ez for one reason. the 540ez has a exposure confirmation light and the 430ez doesn't. is this important, is there any other way in which i can find the correct exposure using the 430ez.

thanks

Dave lee

-- dave lee (hoi_s@hotmail.com), March 06, 2002

Answers

The exposure confirmation light doesn't tell you if you have gotten the correct exposure, only that the camera thinks that it has gotten enough to not underexpose the scene.

In any case, I seldom look at it unless I'm doing a bounce off of a fairly high ceiling, or am using a very small aperture with some considerable subject distance. But you can easily determine the maximum flash distance (it's written in the book and shows on the LCD in manual flash mode) or even estimate the maximum distance with a bounce (max distance divided by 2 usually works), so I wouldn't make that a primary purchase criteria.

The 430EZ is a very good flash and I think it is a bit easier to operate than the 540EZ. The best improvement the 540EZ has is the built in diffuser. That, and less than 1/2 stop more power.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), March 06, 2002.

Both 430EZ and 540EZ should have sufficiently power for shooting indoors with low ceiling and white wall for grin-and-flash shots, especially in A-TTL. But if A-TTL suggests maximum aperture for your lens, there is every possibility that the flash exposure will be underexposed.

Shooting more creatively? Or outside in bright light? You might choose to use a flash meter or polaroid test shots. There is an A-TTL underexposure warning but it only works on the EOS 1 and the EOS 630. If all else fails, bracket your aperture.

Alternatively, you can get the 430EZ to do a Guide Number calculation by setting the camera to M and dialling in your desired aperture. Check the flash for the coupling-range: stay within this range for direct flash, or half the range for bounce flash and cross your fingers.

A far cry from E-TTL - just push the FEL button and the flash symbol blinks to warn of underexposure. If you do a lot of flash photography, perhaps this is reason enough to upgrade from the EOS 5 to an E-TTL capable body?

-- Julian Loke (elan7e-owner@yahoogroups.com), March 07, 2002.