What Speedlite or External flash for Crop Body

Hi guys. Would like to ask what kind of external flash unit suits well with my Canon 450d? and what type of batteries for flash would you recommend? thanks

Either the 430EX II or 580EX II should work perfectly fine with your 450D. I'd use NiMH battery for them. If you want faster recycle time you should use an external battery pack, but more on this when you get your flash.

I like sanyo eneloop batteries. They keep their charge over time unlike regularrechargeable.


I'd get a kit:


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/529431-REG/Sanyo_SECMQN06TG4_Eneloop_AA_Rechargeable_NiMH.htm l


and one set of extras:


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/529373-REG/Sanyo_SANEN4AA2_Eneloop_AA_Rechargeable_NiMH.html





The 430 is great. The 580 has a better build quality if thats important to you and is higher power.

The 430EX II would be your best bet. You don't need the weather-sealing of the 580EX II, and probably don't need the extra power (unless you're shooting large events or birds with a better beamer). I would not recommend the less expensive 270EX - even though it tilts for bounce flash (which is one of the main reasons to get an external flash), it lacks the red/infrared AF assist lamp found on the higher-end models. The 430EX II is also a great place to start in that if you get seriously into strobism, it can serve as an off-camera slave flash controlled by an on-camera 580EX II.


Second the recommendation on Sanyo eneloops.

If you're going to use the flash off-camera, just about anything will do (that is, if you don't mind adjusting the power levels manually). Check out my post here.

I like eneloop too. But I think most NiMH batteries are very similar. Adorama has Sony 2500mAh on sale for $6.95 with free shipping. http://www.adorama.com/IBYNHAAB4E.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rzFoto

I like eneloop too. But I think most NiMH batteries are very similar. Adorama has Sony 2500mAh on sale for $6.95 with free shipping.

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Take a typical set of NiMH batteries, charge them up, then put them in your bag to use as a backup set for your flash. Wait a couple of months, where you forget to swap them out with your main set or charge them up. Now, go shoot an event. Exhaust the batteries in your flash, and put in the backup set that you fully charged a couple of months ago. Flash-flash-fizzle-gone.


The reason people recommend eneloops is that when unused, they hold their charge much more effectively than standard NiMH batteries. To me, the extra cost is with the convenience.

I use MahaPowerex batteries. I used Eneloops for a while and tried the Maha's out and found that they hold charge longer when not in use constantly and last longer on the job too. On top of that it's an Australian company... who can argue with that! [Y]


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I found the 430EX II to be a good fit. The 580EX II is nice but it just seemed, to me, awkward and made the whole camera a little to off balanced for rapid multi-angle shooting.


Watch for rechargeable batteries they make your flash recycle time increase. Bulk batteries from COSTCO work great. I have been hunting for some really good rechargeables (VERY HIGH mAh) but they come a price. The higher the mAh number, the more power it can deliver, which means that
your flash will recharge faster.

Really? I had heard the opposite, that rechargeable batteries recycle faster.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimr

Watch for rechargeable batteries they make your flash recycle time increase.

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Sorry, but that's incorrect. NiMH batteries have lower internal resistance than alkaline batteries, and thus NiMH batteries can deliver power faster to recharge the capacitor more rapidly than alkaline batteries.


The Canon flash manuals say nothing on this issue, but if you can bring yourself to look at a Nikon manual, recycle times are listed. For example, the SB-800 manual (p. 19) states that NiMH rechargeable batteries take ~4 seconds to recycle whereasalkaline batteries will take ~6 seconds to recycle- that's 50% longer with the alkaline AA's than with the rechargeable batteries.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimr

The higher the mAh number, the more power it can deliver, which means that
your flash will recharge faster.

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Also incorrect, actually. The higher the mAh, the more flashes you get from a charge. The mAh value is a measure of the battery's capacity, i.e. how much charge it can hold, not how fast it can deliver it (although a fully charged battery will deliver power faster, because as charge is depleted, internal resistance increases). The recycling speed is primarily determined by the chemistry of the battery being used, which determines the internal resistance. That's also apparent from the manual linked above, since rechargeable NiCDs with 1000 mAh have the same 4 second recycle time as rechargeable NiMHs with 2000 mAh.

To further bolster what John said...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bryan Carnathan

Don't use alkalines - NiMH batteries will save you lots of money and will work better. NiMH batteries have much less internal resistance than alkaline batteries resulting in significantly shorter re-cycle times (up to 50% faster). NiMH batteries also give more consistent (full) power until they are discharged while alkalines will recycle the flash more and more slowly as they expend their life. Adding environmental concerns and cost to this equation should make the decision to use NiMH batteries a no-brainer. Buy lots of them and use them in everything you own that accepts them (get a smart charger such as is made by Powerex). Eneloop AA batteries come highly recommended. A new-at-the-same-time weather-sealed Compact Battery Pack CP-E4 or the older non-sealed CP-E3 can be used for faster charging and more flashes-per-battery-change.

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All good to know. Thanks for pointing out the errors in my ways.


I know what will be on my shopping list this weekend [:)]