Canon 430ex vs 550ex

Cris_L

Cris_L

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I'm looking to buy a decent flash gun. I can't afford the 580 so it's a toss up between a new 430 and a second hand 550.

Can anyone help me decide? It wont have a huge amount of use as I'm mainly into studio work but I don't want to sell myself short in case I do start doing more outdoor OCF work.

Cheers
 
Both flashes are good I have a 550 and 430 mkII the 550 is bigger and more powerfull, spec wise they are simliar can be used as master and slave flash. I have no real preference which is better, use them both roughly the same amount. I got the 430 so I could use both together and also use it with my G9 as the 550 was a bit to big on it :).

I am sure you would be happy with either flash fot the odd use.
 
I have one 550 and two 420 as I couldnt afford 3 off 580/430 combo. If I had to choose between 430 and 550 I'd choose 550 as it can act as a master and it doesnt have to take part so off camera flash is possible using a 420/430 as the slave which gives you an upgrade path. If you get a 430 now and want a slave/master set up you will need either an st-xx (master thingy) or a 550/580 and if thats in 2 yrs time you may only be able to get an expensive 580, whereas if you get a 550 now you will be able to get 420/430 to act as slaves.
550 also gives out a nicer light than 580 according to some people. 550 power over the 420/430 is a definite plus. Its also a very competent unit as it can be used as a manual gun, zoom can be set manually, strobe effect etc
a very good gun all in all.
Matt
 
430 vs 550 are fairly similar, but 550 is more powerful and can act as master while 430 is more compact and cheaper (mk1). I'd pick 550 from the two, but why not add slightly more and get 580EX mk1, which are a good improvement over 550.
 
The Di866 is a great bit of kit, equal to the 580II in almost every way except two:

a) The foot is plastic instead of metal
b) like most non Canon flashes you have to manage the settings on the flash itself rather than via the camera. As it's got a very intuitive icon led menu, I don't find that a problem at all.
 
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