Canon 220ex ttl Flash

k2butter

I am looking for an external flash, I know you get what ya pay for... I take mostly family snapshots, we are indoors a lot in the winter as we live in Siberia... (ok, so it is Maine, but it feels like that sometimes!)... what are your thoughts on this flash for the novice family photographer who just wants decent inside family shots.... ????

Oh, guess you want to know which camera I have... canon xt... I do use the pop up flash, recently have learned to use it as a fill with a filter on it... I am loving those shots, do I really even NEED an external flash?:dunno


Or what about this, came across this yesterday while out and about shopping... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8181148&productCategoryId=abcat0410017&type=product&tab=2&id=1164153525808#productdetail

best buy was out of this flash... I don't see anything about e-ttl though, but the price is nice, and I like the distance of 100 feet.

ziggy53

I looked at that flash for a bit, but I found the feature set limiting. The guide number of 72 feet is fine (not sure where you saw 100 feet) and it is E-TTL (but not E-TTL II) and it has an FP mode but the lack of tilt and swivel means that you are limited creatively.

I suggest the Sunpak 383 auto flash instead for even less money, more power and both tilt and swivel head. It doesn't have E-TTL, but it has a very good "auto" metering section that works almost as well for most situations. It also has a manual mode that is extremely effective and useful. The tilt/swivel are worth it alone as it gives you the ability to use bounce technique and many more light modifiers than without.

A much better choice, and what I ultimately purchased, is the Sigma EF-500 DG Super E-TTL Shoe Mount Flash. This flash does E-TTL II properly, has full head articulation, and most of the feature set of the Canon 580EX Speedlite with a price more similar to the Canon 430EX Speedlite.

The Sigma is not as sturdy as the Canon units and the user interface takes getting used to, but it delivers the goods where it counts.

While the Sigma flash is around 70% more than the Canon 220EX, it is a much more versatile flash and will perform in many more shooting circumstances.

k2butter

Thanks so much for the review and suggestion, the link was for a sunpak, on the specs it said flash range 100 @iso 100

I will check out the one you suggested, thanks so much!!!

FotoMike

i really havent played around too much with it yet, but i have a canon 230EX and i really like it. Its TTL and it has the swivel head, very nice for bounce flashing. good luck

ziggy53

FotoMike wrote:

i really havent played around too much with it yet, but i have a canon 230EX and i really like it. Its TTL and it has the swivel head, very nice for bounce flashing. good luck

Wow, I haven't even seen the Canon 230EX in stock anywhere yet. No, wait, 230EX? Is that new?

Are you sure it's not a 430EX?

pathfinder

I can't find a 230ex when I google it either, Ziggy.

I wonder if Canon didn't make one a few years ago in Asia, because I did see a few private references to a 230ex, but no current commercial references.