Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - Speedlite External Flash - 580EX II
Average customer rating
4.4
(47 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 47 reviews
5 Stars
32
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
4
1 Star
2
85%of customers recommend this product.
(
39 out of
46)
Customer Reviews for Canon - Speedlite External Flash - 580EX II
Customer Rating
5
Takes A Lickin
on September 26, 2010
Posted by: Tullish
I've allways liked Canon gear, so that's all I own. This May I took a little trip off the edge of the pool with my 50D, An EF 70 - 200mm IS USM and a 580 Speed light.This little event really shook me up for about a week, just anough time for the speed light to dry out and come back to life to perform as good as the first day I bought it. Everything else was not as lucky.
Pros: very durable and easy to use
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Excellent Versitile Pricy
on March 27, 2015
Posted by: ri43210
from San Antonio, TX
I really like all of the Canon Speedlites. They work well with the cameras and offer many options. Although I have been using them forever, I must admit I'm no pro and don't know or use a lot of the options. I usually just leave it on auto and it does a great job. I do like the way it locks on the camera hotshoe, and I like being able to use standard batteries. My other favorite option is the capability of using an external power source. The main downside is the high cost. That is the only reason I could not give it 5 stars.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Speedlite!!
on March 29, 2011
Posted by: JIN
from New york, Brooklyn
very outstanding speedlite! no complain on the product at all.
for the price, it is a little over price I think.
Pros: quiet, Good Exposure performance, Superior build quality, Fast recycling time
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Excellent flash
on November 2, 2008
Posted by: Stephen
from Woodway, TX
After many years of service, my 550 EX passed away and I picked up the 580 EX II in the morning with a wedding that afternoon. It is familiar to those using the 550, but adds multiple enhancements. The hot shoe attaching bracket is much smoother. The buttons, dials and menus are incredibly intuitive, and were wonderful when I was having to photograph for money without having a chance to practice with it or even read the manual.
A nice feature is the sleep mode, which saves battery life by going into sleep mode with the camera. The flash springs back to life instantaneously when you wake the camera.
The price is high, but the flash works intuitively with the EOS series cameras, and AFAIC, there's no reason to have any other flash on an EOS camera. For a couple of hundred less, the 430 EXII is probably a better choice for an amateur, but if you're shooting for money, there's no better flash.
A nice feature is the sleep mode, which saves battery life by going into sleep mode with the camera. The flash springs back to life instantaneously when you wake the camera.
The price is high, but the flash works intuitively with the EOS series cameras, and AFAIC, there's no reason to have any other flash on an EOS camera. For a couple of hundred less, the 430 EXII is probably a better choice for an amateur, but if you're shooting for money, there's no better flash.
Pros: sleep mode is great, ettl makes for great photos, strobe mode is very cool, lots of power
Cons: price -- ouch
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
A clear choice
on November 6, 2008
Posted by: GreenLightStreet.com
from Silicon Valley, CA
All-in-all the Canon Speedlite 580EX II is a very well designed unit and is a flagship of Canon's flash line. It looks and feels solid. The unit provides good and reliable exposure. It has a very good set of features, including master/slave functionality, external metering sensor (though not the very best one), PC terminal, etc. This flashgun is a clear choice for many professionals, semi-pros and, with the prices going down, even some amateurs.
Pros: Superior build quality, Fast recycling time, Good Exposure performance, quiet
Cons: no dedicated master/slave switch, kind of heavy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Why so expensive ?
on July 1, 2011
Posted by: hjoseph7
from Washington DC
This is a great flash, but there are some nuances that you have to put up with that makes one ask why they paid so much for it. I purchased this flash to shoot weddings but the ETTL has been inconsitent to say the least. I was hoping to use the external metering which is the tried and true Thyristor metering method to compensate but that does not work very well either. The flash under exposes by 2.5 f-tsops in Automatic/External metering mode. The only other alternative is to set the flash to Manual which to me gives you the most consistency. However that's not what I paid all this money for. Some important functions are hidden under a bunch of menus and the flash is missing a battery guage which other manufacturers offer. The ON/OFF switch is kind of flimsy and it's very difficult to tell whether the unit is on or off in dim lighting situations. Other than that it is a great flash, a bit over priced for what you are getting.
Pros: quiet, Good Exposure performance, Superior build quality, Fast recycling time, rugged
Cons: external metering
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Conditionally Recommended
on November 28, 2009
Posted by: Bob
from Manchester, NH
It's an excellent product, but getting accurate exposures took weeks of experimentation. Inconsistent exposures with flash set to ETTL with my EOS 5D Mark II with 24-105 lens. Maximum flash range only 10 feet regardless of camera settings. Sometimes increasing ISO or using larger aperture actually made the picture darker. With camera set for full auto, it shoots everything at f4 .60 sec. ISO 400 regardless of distance, resulting in very narrow depth of field. I worked out a table of f-stop and ISO settings at 3, 6, 10, 15, 18 and 20 feet with the flash set on M 1/2 and the camera on manual. I printed my table on a small reference card. This method yields fairly consistent results, but checking distance from subject, looking it up on my card, then setting the camera manually is cumbersome. Later, I set the flash up for external metering as described in the manual. You're supposed to set f-stop and ISO on the flash to match the camera, but this resulted in very dark images. I set the ISO lower on the flash than on the camera to fake it out, experimented with several combinations, finally settling on ISO 160 f8 on the flash and ISO 400 f8 on the camera and this has yielded the most consistent exposures I've gotten so far.
Pros: Superior build quality, Fast recycling time
Cons: Poor Exposure performance
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Great flash. But I miss the master/slave switch
on August 16, 2009
Posted by: snapping turtle
from New Jersey
A superior flash unit with a durable design. I think it is the most rugged flash unit in the market today. Improved features are better battery door, switch lock (as opposed to wheel lock), and last but not least, the ability to control the flash through camera menu (with certain later model cameras of coarse). Though I still prefer adjusting the settings directly from the flash, changing the custom functions from the camera is far easier since, you can now read what function you are changing.
I really miss the master/slave switch found on the previous models. It was a feature that gave wireless shooting instant deployment and the ability to abort when necessary. Now that it is gone, I think wireless capability takes one step back.
Pros: Superior build quality, Fast recycling time, Good Exposure performance, quiet
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com