I received this product as a birthday gift from my husband, I had requested it. At first I did not use it very much until this past December. I used it for Christmas Mini Sessions for my businesss, I used no other source of photography lighting and I was very pleased with the results. I highly recommend this flash for professionals and hobbist.

dspelasphotog

USA

I absolutely love this flash. It is a strong, durable, affordable flash capable of delivering high-quality, professional photos. Great for use both indoors and outdoors, I bought this flash a year ago and have been extremely impressed with the flash's capabilities. I highly recommend this flash to professional and semi-professional photographers.

KathleenO

USA

I know, the title sounds little off.. but, this fulfills every word of it. Once of the best reliable flash that can be used as a slave flash with higher ends.. I have got good shots and light distribution etc.

polymerique

Corvallis, OR

I purchased the Canon Speedlite 430EX II TTL flash for my Canon Rebel Xsi camera.  The on-camera flash of the Rebel isn't very good and I ruined several photos because that flash didn't work as I wanted it to.  I got the Canon Speedlite 430EX II TTL instead of the 530 EX because of the price and I didn't think there was a whole lot of difference performance-wise between the two flashes.  I am happy with my purchase.  It is an expensive flash and very, very heavy!!  I had to also purchase a frame that mounts onto my camera and flash so that when I turn my camera sideways, the flash always stays above the camera.  The instructions that come with the flash are a bit confusing and I am learning about it through trial and error.  It does light up photos extremely nice!!  The flash controls are settable through camera's LCD screen on compatible EOS digital SLR models and it has an LCD information panel.  The flash head can be tilted and swiveled for bounce flash, which is a nice feature! It has a built-in wide-angle pull-down diffuser panel which isn't the best, so I purchased an external one.

cakvd

Sun Prairie, WI

the canon speedlite 430ex ii flash is a must for price conscious canon eos camera owners. as most everyone knows, the onboard flash for the eos camera is poor and basically useless in low light situations. it blinds the subject with a barrage of light to get the image while the poor lens hunts for a focus point. the solution is to purchase this flash unit or it's big brother the 580. the 580 does cost a considerable bit more so unless you have an application for it, this flash unit will work fine. unlike the onboard flash, you can swivel this unit around and tilt the flash for getting optimal photographs indoors and in low light situations. it really does open up a whole new world for taking pictures.

gmscot

Stone Mountain, GA

This has been the best accessory/addition to my Canon SLR. The pop-up flash built into most of canon's SLR cameras is useless. It's no better than a point and shoot  when it comes to blinding your target and washing out most of their color, while leaving the background dark. The 430 EX II, on the other hand makes it possible to bounce light in any direction (more or less 360 degrees of rotation). This allows for softer, more diffuse light to be projected at you target which lends better shadows and more balanced light between the subject and background. In addition, the led beam (instead of strobing flashes) is much more conducive to shooting subjects without blinding them. If you want to go a step further, you can buy a TTL cord that will allow you to detach the flash from the camera to do some very artistic lighting for your pictures. I rarely use this flash on the hot shoe mount on the camera anymore, always to the side or up high. Having a high quality flash not only allows for a wider variety of shots in varied light, but it also allows you to stop down on the aperture if necessary.   

pdrober2

Durham, NC

Works great overall.  Seems to get the job done.  Would love for it to swivel 360 degrees but at this price point I am happy.  Seems the battery life seems pretty good compared to the output that it provides.  Wish it was a little smaller but does seem to fit well on my 60D.  It would probably look overwhelming on a T2i, but would be a great asset to the camera.  This basically compensates not having a fast lens.  The ability to bounce the flash off the ceiling and walls is a great advantage that can not be done with the cameras flash.  You very rarely get red eyes because the flash is far enough away from the lens.  The menu system could be a little easier to work but is no harder than any other flash I have every used including the sb-600.  Overall this is the best flash for your money but if money is not a factor get the 580ex it has a little more output and offers more options including commander functions. 

cliftonrouse

Kinston, NC

I sometimes wonder if it was a mistake to buy this flash.  I don't use it a whole lot, mostly because the built-in flash on my Rebel Xt is usually good enough.  Plus it is pretty bulky so it isn't easy to take it traveling.  I have used it for a few weddings and photo shoots I've done (I'm just an amatuer, not a professional).  And it has worked pretty good.  There have been a few times when it didn't recycle fast enough and the flash didn't fire for a shot.  When my son was born I used it to take photos of him in his room.  The twist and tilt feature of the flash head was nice to bounce the light off of the walls and helped me get some good shots.  But overall, even though I've had it and used it for a few years, I don't know if I've used it enough to rationalize the money I spent on it.  If I didn't have it I would probably want it so I'm obviously a little torn, but I would only recommend this to someone who had a clear vision for how and when they would use it.  If you are a casual photographer save your money.

ADeClercq

Anaheim, CA

Before my wonderful husband got me the 430exII for my birthday, I used a lightscoop. While it was an improvement from using nothing, it was less than ideal. I always had to have my ISO at 800 or 1600, which produced a lot of noise, and sometimes still produced underexposed photos. Then came the speedlite. I generally keep my ISO at 400 now, and love the results. There are so many options. You can angle the speedlite at 45, 60, or 90 degrees, and then it can swivel 180 degrees. You can even shoot in portrait orientation with the speedlite. If you buy this speedlite, I highly recommend purchasing eneloop recharageable batteries. I have rather tall ceilings, and I have to shoot close to full power (usually 1/4 or 1/2) and so my speedlite eats through batteries pretty quickly. The eneloops cost more than regular batteries, but they will more than pay for themselves. There is a mode called ETTL where the camera chooses the speed it thinks is best, but I don't recommend using that. It's much better to shoot in manual all around.

mommabear8809

Charlottesville, VA

I recently purchased the Canon Speedlite 430ex ii TTL flash because my house has such poor lighting and the on board flash is absolutely atrocious.  At first I was torn between the 430 and the 580 but in the end felt that the 430ex ii had all the capabilities I would need in a flash and I did not need to spend the extra money on the 580. The flash definitely adds a decent amount of weight to the camera, and makes the camera a bit top-heavy, so you do need to be conscious of that, especially if you like to leave your camera sitting out for easy access. The added flash makes it much easier to tip over due to the extra weight.  This flash is very powerful, and I typically only use it on about 1/8th power to get the perfect amount of lighting even in a very dimly lit room.  The swivel and tilt capabilities of the 430ex ii are great so that the flash can be bounced at a 45 degree angle behind you to avoid the harshness of a straight on flash. I highly recommend this flash!

JL1129

Somerville, NJ