While the camera built-in flash is sufficient for filling in shadows in a harsh sunlit portrait and has adequate output strength for simple close-up portraits at night, it is simply not functional for anything beyond that. With the built-in flash being very close to the imaging axis, it produces very harsh light on you subject and often causes the dreaded and unwanted red-eye-effect. A second problem is that the output of a built-in flash is typically very low and will not produce sufficiently exposed images beyond about 5 meters.
You can now clearly see the limitations that a basic internal flash presents. If you are serious about flash photography you would greatly benefit from the many advantages an external flash like the Canon Speedlite 430 EX ii offers.
These benefits include an abundance of power, the ability to bounce the light off a ceiling, remote triggering capability, flash head zoom functionality and advanced customizable functions. Read more below.
Having the ability to tilt and swivel the flash head allows you to redirect the produced light and create more beautiful lighting. Flash light can easily be bounced off a ceiling or a wall to produce soft diffused lighting that will render an evenly exposed portrait with soft highlights and beautifully diffused shadows. This feature is often critical for wedding and event photography where soft light is desirable. The head on the Speedlite 430 EX ii can swivel 270° and can tilt 90° upward.
The convenience of E-TTL flash
Through-The-Lens flash metering (E-TTL) offered in the Canon Speedlite 430 EX ii is a feature that allows the flash’s output power to be directly measured and adjusted through the camera in real-time. This automatically corrects for subject distance and reflectance variances and insures consistent flash exposure regardless of changes in the scene. To put it in layman’s terms, it is automatic flash exposure. If you need to move around quickly and capture the moments you don’t have time to set flash output manually and the Canon 430EX E-TTL feature would be hugely beneficial.
Have all the flash power you need right at hand!
The Canon 430EX ii Speedlite features a Guide Number of 43m measured at ISO 100. The Guide Number is a measurement of flash output power and indicates at what distance the flash would provide good illumination if an aperture of F/1 was used. This means the Speedlite 430 EX ii has sufficient power to be effectively used on subjects 10-15m away, if a sensitivity of ISO 100 is used. This distance can be doubled or quadrupled by using a higher sensitivity. Plenty of power also means that the flash light can easily be bounced off the ceiling or used with a softbox, producing a soft light yet still provide adequate illumination.
This makes the Canon 430EX ii the perfect tool for indoor flash photography such as weddings, events and studio or location portraiture. If you need a flash for outdoor flash photography like wild life or sports, you should consider looking at a flash with more output power, like the Canon Speedlite 600 EX-RT.
* 1 year limited Warranty
* Included in the box
canon 430ex II speedlight
flash shoe
manuel book
carry bag
