Hi,

I am planning to buy 420EX for my 5D. I plan to shoot mostly indoor stuff with this. Does anyone have any experience with this flash with 5D? I am really new to flash and need your input. Thanks.

Dont have any experience with it but its a very basic flash. You would be better either getting a 430EX or if thats even over budget then look towards a 3rd party flash like a sigma 500 ST, the ST is much cheaper than the Super and basicly only lacks the wireless mode

I use a variety of flash units with the 5D, including 420EX, 580EX, 580EX II, Sunpak 622, and Elinchrom monolights. The 420EX provides important capabilities, including: both bounce and swivel, AF assist, high speed synch, second curtain synch, and the ability to operate as a slave to Canon masters. The main restrictions on the 420EX have to do with the lack of manual controls on the flash itself, and so some of its features can only be set using the camera, and can't be accessed for off-camera shooting in "manual mode".

I suggest you visit (in reverse order):

1. NK Guy, EOS flash pages, http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

2. PK Frary, Canon 420EX Speedlite, http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/elan7e4.htm

NK's document is the go-to reference for EOS flash. I suggest you start with Frary. He provides a very good discussion of the 420EX, including a section near the end on Pros and Cons of the 420EX vs. the then-primo 550EX, which is still very relevant.

After you read Frary, you'll be ready to tackle Guy. Pretty soon, you'll be able to make your own cost-performance trade-off decisions for 420EX vs. 430EX vs. 580EX, and other alternatives, like the Sigmas mentioned above by Ian. BTW, I find that www.BHphoto.com is a great site for getting detailed information on 'features' and 'specs' for most contemporary gear, including Canon and third-party flash. You have to dig a bit deeper for info on discontinued gear, but most of it's out there, somewhere.

jcolwell wrote:
I use a variety of flash units with the 5D, including 420EX, 580EX, 580EX II, Sunpak 622, and Elinchrom monolights. The 420EX provides important capabilities, including: both bounce and swivel, AF assist, high speed synch, second curtain synch, and the ability to operate as a slave to Canon masters. The main restrictions on the 420EX have to do with the lack of manual controls on the flash itself, and so some of its features can only be set using the camera, and can't be accessed for off-camera shooting in "manual mode".

I suggest you visit (in reverse order):

1. NK Guy, EOS flash pages, http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

2. PK Frary, Canon 420EX Speedlite, http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/elan7e4.htm

NK's document is the go-to reference for EOS flash. I suggest you start with Frary. He provides a very good discussion of the 420EX, including a section near the end on Pros and Cons of the 420EX vs. the then-primo 550EX, which is still very relevant.

After you read Frary, you'll be ready to tackle Guy. Pretty soon, you'll be able to make your own cost-performance trade-off decisions for 420EX vs. 430EX vs. 580EX, and other alternatives, like the Sigmas mentioned above by Ian. BTW, I find that www.BHphoto.com is a great site for getting detailed information on 'features' and 'specs' for most contemporary gear, including Canon and third-party flash. You have to dig a bit deeper for info on discontinued gear, but most of it's out there, somewhere.


Thanks a lot. This is really going to help me a lot as I don't understand much about flash photography. I just had a quick look and it looks like 420EX should work alright for my purpose. I don't shoot professionally. No weddings, no sports etc. What I want is just better looking day-by-day pics, that's all! I have 5D, 17-40L, 24-70L, 70-200L, 85 1.8, 50mm 1.8. I don't care much about using it with 70-200, though. I have a 420EX available that I can pick in $100. Flash is in very good condition. Is that a good deal? I tried to search for Sigma flashes but couldn't find many. The next option I have is to go for a new 430EX II. B&H is selling it in $250.

$100 for a 420EX is a pretty good deal, I think. Consider that most of the later EX series flashes can be much more expensive.

My 580EX II is my main flash, but I also have a much older 430EZ (circa 1989 or 1990, I think). That came out before the current series of ETTL flash metering and it still functions pretty well (though its power output is noticeably lower). I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the Canon EX series flashes. Just make sure that you have a good quantity of rechargeable AA batteries.

It will work OK but only in ETTL mode. The 420ex lacks any manual control.

Also be aware that putting a flash in the hot shoe increased intensity vs a built-in flash but really doesn't improve the quality of the lighting in the creative sense. Light creates the illusion of shade when its moved off axis and mimics the natural sources we see creating highlight and shadow patterns. A single flash moved off axis will create a highlight shadow pattern, but the shadows will be dark and the lighting quite harsh unless there is a secondary source of fill. Thus the ideal flash lighting scenario is to use two of them with fill on camera to lift the shadows, and a overlapping "key" light off axis to create the pattern. Shape is defined by key light position, and finessed with the tone of the shadows controlled by the fill.

The 420ex can be the key light component of that scenario when mated with a 550ex/580ex flash on a camera bracket. Click the WWW button below and look in the Canon section of my tutorials for the ones on growth path and the use of multiple flashes.

But all things considered, i'd pass on the 420ex and look for a used 430ex/ 550ex/580ex instead because they do allow use in M mode which is better suited for some shooting situations than ETTL.

Chuck

I agree, 100 bucks is a decent price for a 420EX. I sold a minty one last year for $125 on B&S. Although the 420EX has few external controls, all the advanced features such as 2nd curtain sync, FEC, etc., may be activated via 5D flash controls. Be aware if you upgrade to a 5DII you'll lose 2nd curtain sync but retain FEC.

cgardner wrote:
It will work OK but only in ETTL mode. The 420ex lacks any manual control.

Also be aware that putting a flash in the hot shoe increased intensity vs a built-in flash but really doesn't improve the quality of the lighting in the creative sense. Light creates the illusion of shade when its moved off axis and mimics the natural sources we see creating highlight and shadow patterns. A single flash moved off axis will create a highlight shadow pattern, but the shadows will be dark and the lighting quite harsh unless there is a secondary source of fill. Thus the ideal flash lighting scenario is to use two of them with fill on camera to lift the shadows, and a overlapping "key" light off axis to create the pattern. Shape is defined by key light position, and finessed with the tone of the shadows controlled by the fill.

The 420ex can be the key light component of that scenario when mated with a 550ex/580ex flash on a camera bracket. Click the WWW button below and look in the Canon section of my tutorials for the ones on growth path and the use of multiple flashes.

But all things considered, i'd pass on the 420ex and look for a used 430ex/ 550ex/580ex instead because they do allow use in M mode which is better suited for some shooting situations than ETTL.

Chuck


Yes, I see your point in having more than one. As I said, I am just trying to begin using a flash. So, I guess, for me the best thing would be to start with one and see what happens. My main aim with this flash will be to just take nice portraits indors. If I look for 430EX, then the only option I see is from B&H and 250 bucks.

alpha_1976 wrote:
Yes, I see your point in having more than one. As I said, I am just trying to begin using a flash. So, I guess, for me the best thing would be to start with one and see what happens. My main aim with this flash will be to just take nice portraits indors. If I look for 430EX, then the only option I see is from B&H and 250 bucks.

The only reason to shy away from the 420EX would be if you plan on using it as an off-camera flash. Manual flash is very important for getting lighting just right with off-camera flashes.

The 420 was my first flash for my film camera. When I moved to the 20D it lived on the hotshoe. It's a very good flash for what it is, and for when it was new. My only concern about getting one now is that the 430EX provides some much needed improvements over the 420. Although $100 is a very good price, can you foresee a future where you might want more than the 420 provides. If the answer is yes and you can swing it, you might want to look at either a used 550 or 580. Although these are more expensive, they provide all the capabilities you will need for a long time. Now that I have a 580 my 420 stays in the camera bag most of the time. I only pull it out when I can use a multi-flash set up, and I am saving up for another 580 so that both of my flashes have the same power. Also, I personally don't like many third party options, and flash is no exception. My problem with Sigma flashes is that I try to think about what might I need in the future. I went with Canon so that I can use multi flash setups, and I'm glad I did.

Just some thoughts,
Mark

kakomu wrote:
The only reason to shy away from the 420EX would be if you plan on using it as an off-camera flash. Manual flash is very important for getting lighting just right with off-camera flashes.

Funny, I mainly used my 420EX off-shoe with reflectors and it worked great with both the OSCII and ST-E2. Here's an image I took with the 420EX off shoe:

Canon EOS 10D, EF 50 2.5 Compact Macro, Bogan 3001 tripod, 420EX Speedlite triggered by the ST-E2 and bounced off a white panel.

Gochugogi wrote:
kakomu wrote:
The only reason to shy away from the 420EX would be if you plan on using it as an off-camera flash. Manual flash is very important for getting lighting just right with off-camera flashes.

Funny, I mainly used my 420EX off-shoe with reflectors and it worked great with both the OSCII and ST-E2. Here's an image I took with the 420EX off shoe:

Canon EOS 10D, EF 50 2.5 Compact Macro, Bogan 3001 tripod, 420EX Speedlite triggered by the ST-E2 and bounced off a white panel.


My flash kit is mainly PC cables and optical slaves, so I don't use any of the master/slave communication between flashes.

At $100 you won't lose much if you decide to upgrade eventually.

I'd go for it unless you are happy to spend more.