550ex cpmpared to 420ex

[DaGimp 0]

ok im not real knowledgable on FPS and focal legnth and refresh rates, and all that photography lingo, so as for use when skydiving, what the big diffrence between the 420EX flash and the 550EX flash?

Benifits? disadvantages?

becides the $200 diffrence.

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[hoym 0]

One of the biggest advantages from a skydiving perspective is that the 550 is able to fire off a small number of flashes in rapid succession while the 420 will fire only one flash and then need a moment to re-charge.

The 550 is much more configurable for specialized applications. It is easy to manually set the flash for half power, 1/4 power, etc.

The 550 is able to act as a master in a multiple flash environment. The 420 can act as a slave but the 420 can not fire other remote flashes as the master.

Con: 550 is about $300, 420 is about $180.

I've got one of each. I've got my camera helmet mounted with both the 550 and 420 but so far, I've only jumped with the 550 and not both at the same time. In hind sight I would have only bought the 550. Now that I have two, I wish I had two 550's.

[DaGimp 0]

thanks, i guess thats waht i needed to hear.

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[AndyMan 7]

Hang on, it's not that simple.

You can also wait a few weeks for the 580ex.
Even faster cycling, and more light - meaning a better range. They also work better with the digitial .6 aperature...

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[speedformula 0]

will vouch for what andyman said.

paul

Keeping it real 22x7

[psw097 0]

Damn, its $480 for the 580EX. You can get a 420 and a 550 for that much.

[AndyMan 7]

There's a $20 rebate... but more importantly the prices you're seeing now is MSRP. Expect the street prices to be less. We'll know more in a few weeks...

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.