I believe Sigma is the only 3rd-party flash that works with Canon's ETTL, but I could be wrong (Ziggy'll be yer man on that subject, I'm sure!)
How much flash power do you need?
The 430ex/II, 550ex, and 580ex/II are all good flashes and can be picked up for reasonable prices used and as refurbs. Since you have the built-in controller on the 7d, you don't necessarily "need" a flash that can act as a master, so the 430 (which can act as a slave) is a perfectly reasonable workaday flash unless you need the stronger output of the 5xx series.
I personally prefer the original versions (not the II) since they have external switches for some functions which became menu-based in the II models.
Or maybe a better question, what flashes are compatible with canon's infrared system?
I intermingle my Canon 580EX along with my Sigma 500 DG Super and 530 DG Super flashes and they have good compatibility, from my tests, regarding IR wireless signals (using either as master/slave), but distance is more limited than I would like. I do think that the Canon 580EX has the strongest wireless transmitter.
If you shoot in a white or light colored room up to a 20' x 10' you are probably OK. Darker rooms or larger sized rooms and the reliability is poorer to bad. Outdoors is not useful.
Sigma calls their channels and groups by different names, compared to Canon.
Generally, I prefer using an RF master/slave system and running the remote flashes in manual mode. This would be true even if I had all Canon units. The RF system is much more reliable.
I believe Sigma is the only 3rd-party flash that works with Canon's ETTL, but I could be wrong (Ziggy'll be yer man on that subject, I'm sure!)
How much flash power do you need?
The 430ex/II, 550ex, and 580ex/II are all good flashes and can be picked up for reasonable prices used and as refurbs. Since you have the built-in controller on the 7d, you don't necessarily "need" a flash that can act as a master, so the 430 (which can act as a slave) is a perfectly reasonable workaday flash unless you need the stronger output of the 5xx series.
I personally prefer the original versions (not the II) since they have external switches for some functions which became menu-based in the II models.
There are a number of 3rd party flashes that work with Canon's ETTL system besides Sigma. I use a Nissin Di866. There is also the Promaster 7500EDF (with the proper firmware version), Metz has some units, and Vivitar. I'm sure there are others to add to the list.
Comments
Or maybe a better question, what flashes are compatible with canon's infrared system?
How much flash power do you need?
The 430ex/II, 550ex, and 580ex/II are all good flashes and can be picked up for reasonable prices used and as refurbs. Since you have the built-in controller on the 7d, you don't necessarily "need" a flash that can act as a master, so the 430 (which can act as a slave) is a perfectly reasonable workaday flash unless you need the stronger output of the 5xx series.
I personally prefer the original versions (not the II) since they have external switches for some functions which became menu-based in the II models.
I intermingle my Canon 580EX along with my Sigma 500 DG Super and 530 DG Super flashes and they have good compatibility, from my tests, regarding IR wireless signals (using either as master/slave), but distance is more limited than I would like. I do think that the Canon 580EX has the strongest wireless transmitter.
If you shoot in a white or light colored room up to a 20' x 10' you are probably OK. Darker rooms or larger sized rooms and the reliability is poorer to bad. Outdoors is not useful.
Sigma calls their channels and groups by different names, compared to Canon.
Generally, I prefer using an RF master/slave system and running the remote flashes in manual mode. This would be true even if I had all Canon units. The RF system is much more reliable.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
There are a number of 3rd party flashes that work with Canon's ETTL system besides Sigma. I use a Nissin Di866. There is also the Promaster 7500EDF (with the proper firmware version), Metz has some units, and Vivitar. I'm sure there are others to add to the list.