Doug Kerr
Well-known member
We generally use a Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash unit for on-camera flash work with our EOS 40D. But on many occasions we sortie without it aboard, and rely on the onboard flash unit if needed for indoor shots or for flash fill in outdoor flash. Carla, my favorite model, is of course an exponent of hats, typically wide-brimmed, and thus the fill flash issue arises quite often. As you perhaps saw in my analysis of fill flash matters in another thread, the onboard flash unit usually falls short of the necessary in that regard.
Recently, while we were in San Diego, Will Thompson drove down from Anaheim to have lunch with us, a really nice experience. He brought along a new toy, a Canon Speedlite 270EX flash unit. It was a cute as a bug.
Not long after we got home, we decided we needed to get one. It has quickly become a very valuable tool.
The 270EX marks a change in Canon's "small" flash unit unit line from "fairly small and not too versatile" to "very small and very versatile".
Perhaps you can best appreciate its size by this shot of Carla cradling it in her hand:
The unit runs from two AA cells, and has a respectably-short recycle time. It is almost completely silent in operation.
The unit has no clamping wheel or lever; it relies entirely on the famous Canon locking pin, engaged by a small lever on the unit. This seems quite sufficient, given the small size and weight of the unit.
The unit weighs about 8 ounces including two typical rechargeable AA cells.
It has two beamwidth settings (via a pull-out head), one supporting the field of view of a 28mm lens on a full-frame 35-mm format body and one supporting a 50 mm (ff35 equivalent) field of view. The maximum guide number is 22m (ISO 100 basis) for the "28mm" beamwidth, and 27m for the "50mm" beamwidth (the "27m" guide number is celebrated in the model number, as in all Canon Speedlite units).
Note for reference that the 40D onboard flash unit has a stated guide number of 13.
The unit supports the E-TTL and E-TTL II automatic exposure modes.
The unit has only a power switch on its "control panel", but, when used on an EOS camera with flash unit control menus, a wide range of optional features can be invoked, including second curtain flash and "high-speed sync" (FP flash) operation. It however cannot participate in any way in the Canon wireless flash system.
There is no test fire button.
The head can be tilted to angles of 60°, 75°, and 90° for bounce operation. The head must be placed in the "narrow" beamwidth position to do this. (Go figger!)
Mounted on an EOS 40D, the location of the head mouth is such that no shadowing is given to the field of view (on a "1.6x" body, of course) of an EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens with EW-7D hood for any focal length setting and all reasonable subject distances. (At the 200mm focal length, there is no shadowing with the subject at 24" from the focal plane.)
Here we see the rig with the lens at 18 mm:
And here with the lens at 200mm:
The current price at B&H for the 270EX is $144.00, free shipping.
Overall, I think the 270EX is a valuable addition to the arsenal of Canon tools.
Best regards,
Doug
Recently, while we were in San Diego, Will Thompson drove down from Anaheim to have lunch with us, a really nice experience. He brought along a new toy, a Canon Speedlite 270EX flash unit. It was a cute as a bug.
Not long after we got home, we decided we needed to get one. It has quickly become a very valuable tool.
The 270EX marks a change in Canon's "small" flash unit unit line from "fairly small and not too versatile" to "very small and very versatile".
Perhaps you can best appreciate its size by this shot of Carla cradling it in her hand:
The unit runs from two AA cells, and has a respectably-short recycle time. It is almost completely silent in operation.
The unit has no clamping wheel or lever; it relies entirely on the famous Canon locking pin, engaged by a small lever on the unit. This seems quite sufficient, given the small size and weight of the unit.
The unit weighs about 8 ounces including two typical rechargeable AA cells.
It has two beamwidth settings (via a pull-out head), one supporting the field of view of a 28mm lens on a full-frame 35-mm format body and one supporting a 50 mm (ff35 equivalent) field of view. The maximum guide number is 22m (ISO 100 basis) for the "28mm" beamwidth, and 27m for the "50mm" beamwidth (the "27m" guide number is celebrated in the model number, as in all Canon Speedlite units).
Note for reference that the 40D onboard flash unit has a stated guide number of 13.
The unit supports the E-TTL and E-TTL II automatic exposure modes.
The unit has only a power switch on its "control panel", but, when used on an EOS camera with flash unit control menus, a wide range of optional features can be invoked, including second curtain flash and "high-speed sync" (FP flash) operation. It however cannot participate in any way in the Canon wireless flash system.
There is no test fire button.
The head can be tilted to angles of 60°, 75°, and 90° for bounce operation. The head must be placed in the "narrow" beamwidth position to do this. (Go figger!)
Mounted on an EOS 40D, the location of the head mouth is such that no shadowing is given to the field of view (on a "1.6x" body, of course) of an EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens with EW-7D hood for any focal length setting and all reasonable subject distances. (At the 200mm focal length, there is no shadowing with the subject at 24" from the focal plane.)
Here we see the rig with the lens at 18 mm:
And here with the lens at 200mm:
The current price at B&H for the 270EX is $144.00, free shipping.
Overall, I think the 270EX is a valuable addition to the arsenal of Canon tools.
Best regards,
Doug
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