Canon Speedlight 430 EXII or 600EX-RT?

Justin1971

Justin1971

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I'm torn between the two although I know which one my wallet wants, at almost £180 cheaper the 430EXII seems the obvious choice.

I know you generally get what you pay for and I guess the 600 has more features but as I'm just starting out, do you think a 430 is a good option?

I guess when I eventually upgrade I could use the 430 as back up...

Any suggestions you clever people? :D

[edit] as ever, sorry if this has been covered before, feel free to provide any links :)
 
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The 430ex mk2 is a brilliant flash and I have been using it for a year now! and really does do the job in nightclubs and dark environments. It's also the flash I started with when I first got into flash photography , I'd say go for the 430ex mk2 if it's your first and you don't want to break the bank.

The only downside is it can't be used as a master flash and the recycle time compared to the 600ex is a lot slower. I currently have the 600ex-rt on order and Will start using my 430ex mk2 as a slave.

check out http://www.digitalrev.com/product/canon-speedlite-600ex-rt/MTAwMDQwOA_A_A

That's where I just ordered mine it's cheaper than any other website I've seen it on.

Good luck!
 
thanks Jake, that's the website I was looking at (DigitalRev).

£179.90 doesn't seem too bad for the 430, I think I'll do similar to you, get to grips with the 430 then when I eventually upgrade to the 600 I too will use the 430 as a slave.

At the moment, £356 for the 600 is bit out of my reach...
 
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I'd get 600 if you are planning getting more flashguns for remote lighting, or if you use 5DIII or 1D/s cameras. Otherwise 430 is almost as good, but don't forget that mk1 (used) is half as expensive and offers 98% functionality.
 
The big thing about the 600RT is it's a radio master (and light code master also). Otherwise it's effectively identical to the 580EXII.

If you get a 430 now and then an RT later, you won't be able to use the RT's radio feature, because the 430 is a light-code slave only.
 
daugirdas said:
I'd get 600 if you are planning getting more flashguns for remote lighting, or if you use 5DIII or 1D/s cameras. Otherwise 430 is almost as good, but don't forget that mk1 (used) is half as expensive and offers 98% functionality.
Click to expand...

This interests me.
I have a 5DIII and the 430EXII flash... ive tried using all the outer (far outer) focus points in near pitch black conditions and it locks focus no problem using the IR grid focus assist of the 430EXII..
I know the 600RT is supposed to offer focus support for all focus points of the 1DX and 5DIII, but in my experience the 430EXII does aswell..

Just wondered what conditions would be required to benefit from the IR assist of the 600?
 
futureal33 said:
This interests me.
I have a 5DIII and the 430EXII flash... ive tried using all the outer (far outer) focus points in near pitch black conditions and it locks focus no problem using the IR grid focus assist of the 430EXII..
I know the 600RT is supposed to offer focus support for all focus points of the 1DX and 5DIII, but in my experience the 430EXII does aswell..

Just wondered what conditions would be required to benefit from the IR assist of the 600?
Click to expand...

600 is in theory more accurate as it's better matched and more powerful. As you've said 430 will still obviously work well enough. 2x more flash power can be quite important for some, and radio is certainly a very important feature to many (I will be upgrading too at some point)
 
HoppyUK said:
The big thing about the 600RT is it's a radio master (and light code master also). Otherwise it's effectively identical to the 580EXII.

If you get a 430 now and then an RT later, you won't be able to use the RT's radio feature, because the 430 is a light-code slave only.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by 'light-code slave'. Does that mean the 600 can't trigger the 430?

Maybe I should get a 2nd hand 580 to start with???
 
Justin1971 said:
Not sure what you mean by 'light-code slave'. Does that mean the 600 can't trigger the 430?

Maybe I should get a 2nd hand 580 to start with???
Click to expand...

All auto-TTL flash systems like Canon and Nikon use very fast morse code like pulses from the master flash head to control remote slave guns. They go out in the pre-flash phase, fractionally before the shutter opens and the main flash fires.

All Canon master and slave guns have this light-code capability, which works very well in most situations but doesn't have much range and often struggles in bright ambient light outdoors. Radio triggers don't have these problems, and the 600EX-RT also has radio mastering as well as light-code, but needs a radio-enabled slave to receive.

There's a good chance that Canon will launch a radio-enabled version of the 430EXII some time soon.
 
Canon Bob said:
The 600EX can trigger a 430EX.

Bob
Click to expand...

Not in a radio mode, but only by IR transmission, so for that you may as well have much cheaper 580 mk1

430 is rather weak in a softbox in broad daylight, that's another thing to think about
 
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