Canon Speedlites Comparison

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Discover which of our Speedlites are right for you by visiting our Comparison page! This includes the Speedlite 600EX II-RT, 430EX III-RT, 270EX II and the new 470EX-AI. There’s very little available as direct comparison. Even the specs aren’t directly comparable. Speedlights’ power is given as a Guide Number (GN), and studio lights’ power is usually given in Watt-second. Compare the detailed specifications of the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT Flash to the Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash. Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash: Power: Guide No (ISO 100) 196.9' / 60m (at 200mm). Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT EX Series Speedlite with Slave function SR-N3 cable.

Looking at buying a canon Speedlite flash but not sure which one is right for you? In this post Phil Steele sheds some light on the topic (PS: if there’s anyone in our readership who’d like to do a similar post on other brands we’d be interested in publishing it).

Video Transcript. Hi, Phil Steele here. And I am long overdue for a complete review of the Canon flash lineup because the last time I did one of these it was two years ago and Canon has released a couple of new flashes since then so it's time to revisit the whole Canon flash system and see if we can figure out which one of these flashes is right for your needs.

Investing in a hot-shoe flash can be an intimidating step for many photographers. No one wants to suffer the buyer’s remorse that comes from spending hundreds of dollars only to discover that you made the wrong choice.

To help you avoid this “newbie tax,” I’d like to offer some guidance in discovering which Canon flash is right for you.

As of this writing in 2010, the Canon Speedlite flash lineup consists of three options: the 270EX, the 430EX II, and the 580EX II. (We won’t consider the specialized macro flashes here).

Canon 270EX Speedlite

Starting with the least expensive model, the 270EX is a small, pocket-sized hot-shoe flash powered by two AA batteries. It costs approximately $150. In my opinion this flash is only a marginal improvement over the pop-up flash found on most Canon SLR cameras, and therefore does not make economic sense for most photographers.

Unlike its larger brethren, it cannot be swiveled from side to side, and its angled bounce head, which allows you to bounce light off a ceiling, is pretty wimpy compared to the full-size flashes. Despite a price that is more than half that of the larger 430EX II, it lacks many useful features such as the infrared beam to help you focus in the dark, and the ability to act as a remote slave in multi-flash setups. And of course, it just doesn’t pack the power of the larger flashes.

However, there are a few cases where this little flash makes sense. The 270EX may right for you if:

  1. You really need a tiny, lightweight, or inconspicuous flash with more power than your camera’s pop-up flash.
  2. You are shooting with a Canon Powershot G11 or similar hot-shoe-equipped pocket camera that would be absurdly overwhelmed by the weight of a full-size flash.
  3. You are shooting with one of the Canon professional cameras (such as the 1D or 5D) that lacks a built-in pop-up flash, and you want a small, lightweight device to create on-camera fill flash.

Outside of these conditions (and for anyone shooting with a Canon SLR equipped with a pop-up flash) I don’t recommend the 270EX. If your camera has a pop-up flash, you can emulate the bounce ability of the 270EX with an accessory like the Lightscoop for a small fraction of the price.

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Canon 430EX II Speedlite

Moving up to the Speedlite 430EX II, we step into the realm of Canon’s full-size hot-shoe flashes. Powered by 4 AA batteries, the 430EX II sells for about $250 and offers all the features you’d expect in a full-size flash, including the ability to swivel in any direction, to bounce off walls or ceilings, and to help you focus in the dark with an infrared assist beam. This last can be a real life-saver in low-light situations where you can’t get a focus lock with ambient light.

The 430EX II is my preferred flash for most event-photography situations where I am shooting with the flash on the camera. Even though I could use the more powerful 580EX II, I find I usually prefer the lighter weight and smaller size of the 430 when I’m going to be carrying the camera for hours and sometimes shooting one-handed. The larger 580 starts to seem monstrous by comparison.

Canon 580EX II Speedlite

As versatile as the 430EX II is, however, it lacks one crucial feature that may steer you to the larger Speedlite 580EX II, despite the roughly $450 price tag. The 580EX II is the only Canon flash that can act as a Master in multi-flash setups. If you want to experiment with off-camera flash using the built-in Canon wireless flash system (and who doesn’t?), then you will eventually need a 580 as your master control unit.

In the bargain the 580 also offers more power than the 430, and other slightly enhanced capabilities. But the real deciding factor for the 580 is the master control function. So if your only goal is to shoot with the flash mounted on the camera, and if you never intend to do off-camera, multi-flash setups, then I would not suggest spending the extra $200 for the 580EX II. In my opinion, the additional power is not worth the extra cost.

Also note that the both the 430EX II and the 580EX II can serve as remote slaves in multi-flash wireless setups. So I would argue that you never need more than one 580EX II flash. Invest in that mothership one time to get your master unit, and then for any additional slave flashes, I would simply buy the less expensive 430EX II.

So, in summary, I recommend:

Canon Speedlites Comparison Tool

(links point to Amazon where you can get a price)

  • 270EX – Only if your camera lacks a pop-up flash, or you really need a tiny, pocket-sized flash despite the limitations.
  • 430EX II – As your first flash for on-camera use, or as a remote slave.
  • 580EX II – As a master control unit when you are ready to try wireless, multi-flash setups.

I hope this helps with your flash purchase decisions.

About the Author: Phil Steele is the founder of SteeleTraining.com where you’ll find free photography tutorials and training.

Canon Speedlite Model Comparison

If you are interested in off-camera flash with Canon Speedlites you may want to check out his online course “How to Shoot Professional-Looking Headshots and Portraits on a Budget with Small Flashes.”

- [Photography Expert] Flashes are strobes.We can use flash and strobe interchangeably and be correct,however, there are also studio strobes out there,and saying 'speedlight' specifies this little guyand not those larger models.Studio strobes come in two primary styles:monoblocks and powerpacks with heads.This one is a head that connects to powerpack,whereas a monoblock combines the powerpackand the head into one unit.

This is a speedlightand it always looks like this,and it's always about this big,and it always has a battery compartment built right in.Although you can buy an additional battery pack.All flashes of this style and sizecan be called speedlights,no matter what manufacturer makes them.My great uncle,who was a photographer in the Korean War,would've called this a flashgunand that term is still used in some places today.I use speedlights and studio strobesin my photography and I frequently use them together.

They both make light,but as with all things in photographythere are certain compromises with each of these,and I'll mention five of the big ones.First is size.Studio strobes are always bigger than speedlights,which means they're a little bit harder to transportand they may be harder to positionout of a frame when I'm making a photograph,but that size is also the basis of the other compromises.Number two is power.Big studio strobes are alwaysmore powerful than speedlights.

They plug into the wall,or have very large battery packs,whereas speedlights run off AA batteriesthe most available batteries in the world.In flash terms, power equals brightnessand/or reduced cycle time.Brightness means f-stops,so that means I can light a large familyoutdoors on a sunny day at f/8with a studio strobeand it just isn't possible to do that with a speedlight.Number three is modifiers.

Modifiers are anything we attach to our lightsto alter their size and shapeand make a better quality of light coming out of the flash.Studio strobes are biggerand so they can hold and fill larger modifiers,like my favorite: a seven foot umbrella.However, these modifiersare usually also massiveand they're built like tanks.Speedlights have enjoyeda huge surge of excellent modifiers latelythat are generally cheaperand easier to carry around,but they're also smaller.

Anytime we use a modifierwe also reduce the brightness of the flash.Number four is cost,studio strobes and speedlightsvary greatly in price.You might be surprised, however,to find that for less than the priceof this smallest speedlightyou can buy a studio strobe that is much more powerful.Of course, you can also spend 1000s of dollarson a single studio strobe headand there are cheaper speedlight sized optionsbut they lack this final feature.

Speedlite 600ex Ii Rt

Number five is intelligence.Speedlights made by your camera companycan communicate with your camerato automatically make the flashthe right brightnessor even offer built in remote controls.Some studio strobes are able to communicatewith cameras directly,but these strobe systems are very costly.Both studio strobes and speedlightsmake light for your picturesbut it may be a little less intimidatingto start with speedlights.I did, and I'm really glad that I did.

Canon Speedlight

I think having this mobile lightthat I could quickly set up anywherereally helped me learn to use strobes more easily.The intelligent controls made it easierto learn to use the flashand that made it easier for meto switch to full manual control later onwhich I can also apply to larger studio strobes,so I think these speedlights are a great place to startand you're really going to enjoy using them.