Flash for T2i

[ssbretti60]

I am looking for a flash for my T2i. I would like to be able to use it both on and off camera. I would use it to try to do some outdoor sports photography and some indoor stuff too. Can you recommend a decent flash and maybe any accesories that I would need to go with it?

Thanks in advance for any help
-Shawn

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by ssbretti60

I am looking for a flash for my T2i. I would like to be able to use it both on and off camera. I would use it to try to do some outdoor sports photography and some indoor stuff too. Can you recommend a decent flash and maybe any accesories that I would need to go with it?

Thanks in advance for any help
-Shawn

what's your budget?...this could easily be a $600+ investment mix of products

[ssbretti60]

I guess would like to keep it around 500 or less if possible. However, if there is something that costs a little more that would do the job better I am open to suggestions.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by ssbretti60

I guess would like to keep it around 500 or less if possible. However, if there is something that costs a little more that would do the job better I am open to suggestions.

If you want to stay with Canon gear the 580EXII is the best choice...however, buying a used 580EX (previous model) may be a good way to save some money. For off camera flash, you will need radio triggers, (don't think the T2i has that capability built in) and prices and brands vary all over the place. Also, lightstand(s) and some light modifier(s) are worth considering. Flashpoint (Adorama) makes decent stands and modifiers that are cost effective. I think being somewhat limited to ~$500 bucks might be your gating factor unless you find some inexpensive flash, and flash triggers...good luck

[autofocus]

some outdoor sports photography and some indoor stuff too

..outdoor sports photography?? Even the best flash units will only cover a relatively short area..and for indoors, many places will not allow use of flash. Maybe a better investment would be a fast, image stabilized zoom lens around 70-200mm. But, expect to spend more bucks for that

[ssbretti60]

Yeah I have been looking at the Speedlite flashes. I figured I would post here to see if there was any other brand that I should be looking at.

Thanks for the help,
Shawn

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by ssbretti60

Yeah I have been looking at the Speedlite flashes. I figured I would post here to see if there was any other brand that I should be looking at.

Thanks for the help,
Shawn

There are some third party flashes...some better than others. Metz is good, but also not cheap. Whatever you decide, make sure it communicates with your E-TTL

[inkista]

For on-camera work, a flash that does eTTL is a better choice. e-TTL II is a Canon protocol where the flash and the camera speak to each other and can do a few very nice things. The main feature of eTTL is to automatically set the flash's output power level based upon TTL (through the lens) metering. The camera tells the flash to send out a "preburst" of a known brightness, meters it, then adjusts the flash power for the real burst. Think of it as shooting in Av mode, rather than M: fast, in-the-ball-park, but may not be exactly right or consistent shot to shot. Extremely useful for event shooting where you only have one chance to get the shot, and you may not have time to monkey with flash settings or to check the image and reshoot if you got it wrong.

When third-party flash manufacturers claim a flash does eTTL, this automatic power setting is mostly what they mean.

Another eTTL feature is "high-speed sync". This is where you can use a flash burst faster than the X-sync shutter speed of your camera body (typically 1/200s or 1/250s). This is because of how the shutter works. Your x-sync speed is the fastest speed at which the gap between the shutters is large enough to uncover the whole sensor at the same time. Anything faster, and you're talking about a narrower gap travelling across the sensor, so only a part of your sensor would be "lit" by the flash at any given moment: upshot, you get black bars at the top, bottom or both of your frame, unless you have HSS, where the camera can tell the flash to time pulses of light to follow the gap across the shutter. Useful if you need to use high shutter speeds. (3rd party flashes, when they claim ETTL function may NOT have HSS).

The third eTTL feature is the Canon proprietary signalling system, which lets you fire flashes remotely and control their power levels from the camera. It also includes the ability to do HSS and the automatic power-setting of the flash. However, this system is based on light signals between flash units, so it can a) be expensive (you may have to buy another flash to be the "master" unit), and b) is limited in range and by line-of-sight to where the light signals can be "seen" between units. (3rd party flashes, when they claim eTTL may NOT have this signalling capability).

If you decide to do the Strobist thing with your speedlights, instead of using them on a hotshoe, depending on your sync method, you're may lose all of these eTTL II features. So, for off-camera use, a full manual flash may actually be a better buy, because it'll be a lot cheaper than a TTL-equipped one. PC sync cords, and lower-cost radio triggers do not do eTTL. Hotshoe TTL cords, and some of the higher end radio triggers (RadioPopper PX, PocketWizard FlexMini and FlexTTL, and Pixel Knights) can do i/eTTL as well, but they do tend to cost quite a bit more.

In the Canon speedlight lineup, the 580EX II is the top-of-the-line flash with the most features and the biggest pricetag. It replaced the 580EX, which in turn replaced the 550EX. These three are probably your best bets for on-camera use. As you would expect, the older units have less function. The largest difference between the Mark II models of the 430EX and 580EX are that they can be controlled either through the camera's LCD menus. The Mark Is cannot. In addition, the 580EX II is the only Canon EX speedlight with a PC port.

The 430EX and 430EX II are good mid-range flashes, and are also going to be useful for both on and off-camera work, so if you can't afford the top-end flash, theses are also worth consideration.

If you want to do off-camera work, do not consider the EZ, 420EX, or 270EX models. All of these flashes are eTTL only, and do not have manual power setting capability--so once the flash is off the camera hotshoe, you have no way of controlling the power output.