Canon 580EX II Speedlite Flash Unit

Product Information

The new flash unit provides photographers with intuitive controls. The 580EX new control dial, SET button and a high-speed sync / shutter curtain synchronization button put all major functions at the fingertips of the photographer. This is a white, semi-rigid plastic-like panel meant to create a bright reflection in the subject's eyes. The Sender will control all receivers set to the same channel. Receivers set to a different channel will not fire. The reshaped flash body immediately reminded me of the 580EX's predecessor, the Canon Speedlite 550EX. vs. up to 190' (58 m)(ISO 100 at 105mm) for the Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash (same as the 580EX).

Set on your camera, or just tap the center SEL/SET set button, spin the dial, and press SEL/SET again. All three can shoot bursts at lower power at 20 FPS; the difference is how many frames each can shoot before it loses steam. The answer may be obvious to owners of camera bodies without a built-in flash, but not so clear to those using bodies with a built-in flash.

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The Canon 580EX II was Canon's top professional flash from 2007 until it was replaced by the 600EX-RT in 2012. It works perfectly with all Canon EOS cameras, both 35mm and digital. document.cookie = encodeURIComponent(sKey) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(sValue) + sExpires + "; path=/"; Non-TTL Auto exposure mode with manual setting of ISO and aperture at the flash (see next section). 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. The 580EX II sports a more-rugged build quality with a metal foot being one of the most noticeable changes.

!!window.opera Communications reliability is supposed to be improved though I can't say if it has or hasn't as I haven't had problems with camera/flash communications in the past.

Slightly better than most flashes from Japan for at least the past 40 years, actual power is only about 0.8 stops less than rated, rather than a full stop as usual. Bad in that it will still be the part that breaks, but good that your camera likely will not be the part that breaks (a broken flash beats a broken camera any day from my perspective). Fast and silent recycling; keep shooting and the 580EX II keeps blasting out the power with no waiting. Canon stopped recommending lithium throw-aways when they realized they got too hot with heavy pro use. Lithium are great if you're traveling super light and want to bring a few sets of these cells on a long trip where you won't be able to charge them, or if you want to be able to leave a set in the flash and have them still fresh and ready to go ten years from now, but for all other uses, use eneloop.

As can be seen in the comparison pictures throughout this review, the new flash is slightly larger/bulkier than the older flash. Slide the round button sideways and then down - the battery door springs up for clear access to the 2x2 square (not staggered) oriented AA batteries. The 580EX II weighs 1 lb 2.6 oz (525g) with 4 NiMH batteries installed compared to 1 lb 1.4 oz (490g) for the 580EX (actual tested weights). The 580EX flash is compatible with all film and digital EOS cameras as well as G-series and Pro-1 PowerShot digital cameras. The flash includes two features especially for digital photography. EOS 20D and EOS-1D Mark II* digital SLR users will especially appreciate the Speedlite 580EX flash's ability to auto-compensate for the size of the CMOS sensor, and zoom the flash head automatically to match the effective focal length conversion. This feature allows the Speedlite 580EX flash to maximize the efficiency of its light distribution and produce more flashes from a set of batteries. When used with the EOS 20D or 1D Mark II digital SLR cameras, the flash and camera communicate to make fine adjustments to auto white balance by electronically monitoring the charge level of the batteries and the duration of each flash burst, resulting in consistently accurate colour for every shot. (typeof safari !== 'undefined'&& safari.pushNotification));An additional significant reason to use an external flash over a built-in flash is the amount of lighting output the external flash can provide. Those of you familiar with Canon's recent flashes will correctly recognize Auto and Manual External metering as being new.