Canon 430EX Speedlite Flash for Canon Pro1, Pro 90, G Series and all EOS SLR Cameras

As a self proclaimed "Natural Light Photographer" I have diligently maneuvered my kids to all available windows in my house. I do this in my quest for "Light Mastery" ; experimenting with different angles and depth of field (ie. Apertures). I patiently waited for my magic hour, a time where the sun's ray filters through the window and gives me splendid natural light.
Unfortunately, because of my new work schedule I can no longer wait for the magic hour and the Speedlite 430EX became a new tool in my arsenal. Now I can take pics of my kids indoor and at night with natural looking light.
How do I get that light? I do it using the 430EX as a bounce flash. I also do it by using an off shoe flash cord, with this set up I can move the light pretty much any angle allowing me to get different effects. The 430EX with an off shoe cord is also a very powerful combination when shooting outside on a sunny day because you can point the flash anywhere to lightened the harsh shadows created by sun.

The difference between the on board flash and the speedlight is UNBELIEVABLE. Quality of pictures from bounced light (indirect) is something that you must experience to truly appreciate. If you have the 250-300 bucks to drop on it. You will really appreciate the purchase. Do yourself a favor and get some rechargeable NimH batteries and get a 15 minute charger. It will speed up recharge time and you get a lot more flashes out of one set of batteries.

Very easy to use and highly recomended for flash photography. It instantly made my pictures look a lot better compared to the regular pop up flash. A very good investment for me.

I'm very happy with this flash. It works very well with my Rebel XTI and lives up to all prior reviews. I was considering getting the newer model that replaces this one but the added features didn't seem worth extra $100 that Canon is asking for. The newer model has a metal shoe, faster refresh time, quick lock mount, new algorithms to fix some minor problems with spectral highlights confusing the metering system etc. The refresh rate is fine for my use and the screw mount let's me tighten it as much as needed and fairly fast I might add. Since I'm not a professional it works just fine for me. If I wanted a bit more I'd go for the 580 model in any case to get the extra output which is more important than all the rest. It's when you are doing certain bounce flash shots or sporting events that the extra output would come in handy but I knew this going in and feel this model works quite well for my needs.

bought this flash to do a wedding ....
works way better than my expectations, and is SUPER bright!
easy to use, also. i recommend a month or so usage with it before a wedding or anything of that sort.