Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras

I own more than one Canon 580EX II flash. They work well both on-camera and off-camera. I use them mounted on my Canon 7D and the 5D. I have bounced them off of umbrellas; shot through soft boxes; used several of them at the same time; and they worked as promised. The learning curve is a little high only because one has to learn what all of the little symbols means and which settings do what. I use disposable AA batteries in mine and the recycle time never seems to get long enough that I notice. My only misgiving is that these things just cost way more than they should. I have been in the wholesale photographic equipment business for a few decades and I know that many manufacturers set their prices for accessory equipment based on the price of the cameras that they are designed for. I just have to say the six hundred dollars is way more than a flash like this should cost, no matter what it does. Having said that, I will still probably buy more of these (or its successor) when I need them.

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Overall, I love this flash. Its powerful, with plenty of features, and can be controlled from the menu on my Canon 7D camera. (This can be done with many of Canons newer cameras.) So I dont have to use the somewhat clunky display/button system on the back of the flash unit itself. The Multi function (stroboscopic) feature is great fun, although it takes some practice to get usable images. The only reason I didnt give the 580EX II five stars is the intermittent connection problem. You can find lots of discussion of it and recommended fixes on the Internet. What apparently happens is that sometimes one of the pins on the flash doesnt set quite right on the camera. The camera then thinks its a TTL flash rather than ETTL-II and fires the flash at full power. The usual result is a blown out shot. Ive always been able to get it to reset by disconnecting and reconnecting the flash cord, remounting the flash, and/or turning it on and off once or twice. Very annoying though if youve got a time sensitive shot to take. Much as I like this unit, Im thinking of replacing it with the new 600EX-RT. Although my camera wont use all the functions of that flash, the ability to focus the flash beam to 200mm (as opposed to 105mm on older Canon flashes) would be really handy shooting night football, which is my primary use. (Indoors I use the smaller and quite functional 430EX, which also works well as an optical slave to the 580EX II.)

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This is the best on-camera flash Canon makes. Im sure you can look at any number of full out reviews to tell you all about the specs. I just have 3 things to say. 1. I love this flash, I use it almost every time my camera is in my hand and Im always happy with the results. 2. You must have a Sto-Fen Omni Bounce for event photography. Its really worth the extra couple of dollars and it makes your results look great! 3. I gave this product 4 stars and not 5 because the user manual that came with the flash, and the menus built in, are USELESS. There are several third party companies that make "cheat-sheets" for this flash. Why cant Canon make one and send it with their $400+ flash? The instructions that came with my 40D were great. Anyway, as far as quality of build, and images - Nothing is better. I actually bought 3 of these for my mobile studio. Good luck with menu if youre not using a guide.

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