So the beast has arrived. Not in the original form of the 580EX, but the upgraded model. Source as of late the ever reliable Kerso (Ian Kerr). Ordered and shipped within a couple of days. Superb service.
Initial reaction is ‘it’s big’. O.k. not huge but bigger than my old 380EX (Currently on Ebay!).
So what can it do. Well everything my old 380EX could but a whole lot more. Like many of the flash units produced after the 380 it is more controllable via the rear panel. Setting up second curtain sync is a couple of button presses now, rather than a hunt though custom settings.
One clear advantage is the swivel head. The ability to bounce flash on the 380 was useful, however this (and like the 420,430, 550 and 580 mk1) has much more control. Being able to bounce flash from behind gives the user more control (as with my old 380 bounce was limited to above and left/right in portrait).
Many may find my excitement over this new found flash freedom odd. But it’s a new thing for me.
One of the problems I encountered when switching to Digital was the off camera flash. With my film EOS I bought the off shoe accessories (Hotshoe adapter, extension cable and flash adaptor). Sadly these items don’t work with the digital EOS, so they were sold on ebay at a nice loss. Anyway that’s in the past and I’m not at all bitter.
Other functions I’ve discovered on the 580 mkII are strobe flash and the modelling light. Strobe flash is, well a strobe. Handy for an action burst of shots. Though it’ll be a tricky one to play round with. Modelling light is what you’d think. Though it’s only on for a second or so, and really can heat up the flash. So advisable to use it sparingly.
Power for the flash can be increase/decreased to -3/+3 in 1/3 increments. Useful to have this on the flash, though setting through the camera isn’t a problem. My main reason for getting the 580MkII is the ability to use it as a master flash. You can use it to control other 580s and 430s (probably other models as well). The flash also works as a slave with you use either another 580 or a ST-E2. Initially I may look at getting the 430 as the slave. Though I will take a look at the finances once all my auctions are clear. Preferably I would like a ST-E2 and a 430, but I’ll wait and see.
Other options on the flash are manual/auto zoom for the head, a 14mm wide angle panel and the usual flash PC socket, bracket mount and an External power connector. Recycle time of the 580 is quite fast. Though this is at the expense of the batteries (when compared to the 380). The flash is quite a complex unit and has features which I haven’t fully explored. Hopefully in time I will.
The following images are just a couple with me playing around with bounced flash.
