New flash for eos 6d?

[daniela]

Sorry, guys! another question: 8)

I own an 550ex AND AN 540Ex (for the old Eos 3 and 1V) flash and new, a Eos 6D.

Can I feel an big improvement when i buy an 430 EX-II or an 600EX-RT? Or an third party flash?

If I would buy one of these new flashes, what do I need to use the flash off the camera? Do i need an wireless transmitter ? the shop assistant told me to buy an 300€ transmitter. Or is there an another third party transmitter equal to it?

BG
Daniela

 

[Random Orbits]

It come down to size a power and whether or not you want to use more than one flash. If you want to use more than one flash in the future, the 600ex-rt is the way to go because the wireless works so well. Instead of getting the ST transmitter, you could use another 600 in the hotshoe as the master. The 600ex-rt also "zooms" to support focal lengths up to 200mm, so it is a great choice if you have a 70-200 lens because now you can use the flash for the entire focal length range.

I'd argue against the 430ex-ii if you were happy with the 550 and 540. Downgrading power makes you realize how useful the extra bit helps when you don't have it, unless you really need a smaller flash.

 

[ecka]

It come down to size a power and whether or not you want to use more than one flash. If you want to use more than one flash in the future, the 600ex-rt is the way to go because the wireless works so well. Instead of getting the ST transmitter, you could use another 600 in the hotshoe as the master. The 600ex-rt also "zooms" to support focal lengths up to 200mm, so it is a great choice if you have a 70-200 lens because now you can use the flash for the entire focal length range.

I'd argue against the 430ex-ii if you were happy with the 550 and 540. Downgrading power makes you realize how useful the extra bit helps when you don't have it, unless you really need a smaller flash.

It depends. Most of the time I'm using 1/8 to 1/32 of my 430EXII power and I imagine that more is only needed for longer distances, diffusers and reflectors.

Sorry, guys! another question: 8)

I own an 550ex AND AN 540Ex (for the old Eos 3 and 1V) flash and new, a Eos 6D.

Can I feel an big improvement when i buy an 430 EX-II or an 600EX-RT? Or an third party flash?

If I would buy one of these new flashes, what do I need to use the flash off the camera? Do i need an wireless transmitter ? the shop assistant told me to buy an 300€ transmitter. Or is there an another third party transmitter equal to it?

BG
Daniela

If you decide to get a new 600EX-RT, then it makes sense to pair it with the new $300 ST-E3-RT radio transmitter (some say it is well worth it, but it only works with 600EX-RT and future Canon RT flashes). There may be some cheaper third party alternatives available already (I'm not sure). If you want to use the new flash together with your 550EX and 540EX, then 600EX-RT could be an overkill, because you would still need some radio triggers for your older flashes and, despite that 600EX-RT has it built-in, you may need one more for it as well.
It may be unreasonable to get the 430EXII while your older flashes are working just fine. If you decide to save money, then you can get some cheaper third party triggers for your current flashes. What a radio trigger essentially does is making your 550EX into 550EX-RT, kind of . You need 3 eTTL transceivers for dual off-camera flash system (one for each flash + one for camera) and it would cost you around $150 (like $50 a piece), I think, or $100 for 1 flash (and even less than that for non-TTL triggers).

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It comes down to how you use the flash units. You will not get better or different images with the new flash units, but gain features. If you are using multiple off camera flashes, the radio control of the RT series is more reliable.

No advantage worth changing to the 430 series

 

[privatebydesign]

There is no 540EX, it was a 540EZ and it only works as a dumb flash on ETTL II cameras, that is, any digital camera.

For any kind of automated use, or integration with your 550 or any other EX flash, the 540 is worthless. It would make some sense to sell the 540 and get a 430 instead, then, at least, the flashes would be the same generation with the same features, primarily auto exposure with digital bodies.

The 550EX is a very good flash, indeed it is the best bang for the buck regarding Canon flashes and I highly recommend it unless you need the radio triggering of the 600EX, but then only having one 600 is close to pointless if you already have a 550.