Canon Speedlite 430EX vs. 430EX II

[morphone]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for an affordable flash that will help me with my food photography in the kitchen. I have a little studio set up for taking photographs of dishes, but I often need to take photos of the process as well, and the lighting in my kitchen isn't very good.

I'm looking at these this flash, which is used by the Smitten Kitchen folk ( http://bit.ly/DVbAk ):
Canon Speedlight 430EX: http://bit.ly/XV9hz

But then I saw that there's a new version:
Canon Speedlight 430EX II: http://bit.ly/tSYtx

The newer version doesn't have a lot of info besides saying it has a 20% faster recycling time. It's cheaper, so I'm concerned that it's not of lower quality than the original 430EX. Can anyone here tell me which is the best flash for me to purchase?

Also, if you have any other recommendations for on-the-fly lighting for food photography, I'd love to hear them!

 

[timothytaylorphoto]

I have the 430EX II and its is AMAZING! im in love with it. I use it with a softbox i got off amazon for speedlites and a portable background kit and i have the ability to take a quality studio wherever i got! I HIGHLY recommend the II over the I. It is indeed faster and in my opinion brighter than my friends I. Go with the II. Its only cheaper cuz its on sale. If you go to a store to buy it, it is 300 bucks its only 245 on amazon where i got mine with free shipping as i recall.

 

[irm]

I have both. The MK II is a better build mainly because it has a metal foot. Not sure about the locking mechanism yet.

Again the MK II was cheaper in AU than the MK I, not sure why. I bought both within about a month of each other.

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Please check my profile for equipment list.
An amateur with dreams of being a good to excellent photographer.

 

[Silverwind]

ONe of the bigger differences between the 580/430EX and 580/430EX2 was the ability to be controlled with camera menus when it is attached to the camera. I believe they introduced this feature with the 40D.

 

[ScratchDisk]

Which Canon master will you be using or are you considering a long non-coiled OC-E3 clone eg from flashzebra? Either gets your 430(either) off camera but maintains Canon ETTL (both Auto & Manual flash control).

 

[morphone]

ScratchDisk, I don't know what you mean. Is this a mount for the flash?

 

[ScratchDisk]

Sorry, that was a little cryptic.

I meant that, as well as bouncing the flash (?google ' Demb Flip-it '), you may wish to get the main light 'off camera'. The OC-E3 is a coiled smart cord that preserves ETTL etc & allows 'off camera' positioning. The OC-E3 is short - there are long 'clones' - one is made by flashzebra (google) & can be nearly as long as you like. I would recommend the non-coiled variety as they don't spring over a lightstand.

A two flash master-slave setup is another way of controlling 'off camera' lighting but is more expensive. (see;
http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonwireless/discuss/72157605120081582/
)
Hope that helps, Donald

 

[Hugowolf]

The website that you have linked to, SmittenKitchen, seems to succeed only by accident.

I think that the other responders have answered your questions on the 430exII, which is clearly better than the first version.

If you are going to use the 430ex I or II as the main light source, then you need to bounce it of something. A white ceiling would work, a soft box on a boom stand would be a better but more expensive option.

If you have to use the flash directly, then consider using it only for fill. Av on the camera and ETTL on the flash gives you an automatic fill flash mode, just as Av does with the camera and the popup flash at the moment.

You could also consider buying some cheap manual flash units to use for additional dynamic lighting. You can add optical triggers so that they fire when the 430ex goes off, but if you do this you can not use the 430ex in ETTL mode, you would have to set its output manually.

Brian A.

 

[morphone]

Thanks everyone.

Hugowolf, what do you mean "by accident"? Do you mean that their lighting setup isn't effective? Or they just happen to have a kitchen that reflects light well?

I'm going to build a soft box, both for a stand and for the flash while it's on camera. That should do the trick, right?

This is all so freaking complicated that it's overwhelming. I need to take a studio class.

 

[morphone]

Scratchdisk,

Thanks for the links. Those cables are expensive, maybe I'll try a knockoff. I'm thinking of stick the flash on a stand with a softbox - will these cables do the trick?

 

[ScratchDisk]

Hi, The Ebay OC-E3 clones can be good quality. Look for heavy duty cable. Also note that the lengths of the coiled cords are quoted when fully stretched! You cannot use them when fully stretched. Cheers

 

[glsmaster]

Here is a detailed comparison: http://photo-tips-online.com/review/canon-430ex-vs-canon-430ex-ii/





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