The Canon Speedlite 430EX II flashgun is for those who don’t want the wireless master or strobe capabilities of the 580EX II, or who don’t need the power on a Guide Number of 58. That said, it still packs an impressive punch with a Guide Number of 43 and many of the features from its bigger brother.

Who is it for?

The Speedlite 430EX II is for any photographer looking for a lightweight flash unit to keep with them at all times. It suits photojournalists and travelling photographers who don’t necessarily need the wireless master control functions of the 580EX II.

Key features

• E-TTL II flash metering
• 24-105 mm zoom head with 14mm diffuser
• Guide Number of 43
• Wireless slave
• Fast and near silent recycling
• Metal hotshoe foot for extra strength

The 430EX II is a very powerful but portable flashgun for anyone who needs to save space or weight. Like the 580EX II it features faster recycling – it’s almost 20% quicker than the previous generation 430EX. It’s also much quieter as it uses new silent recycling technologies to avoid distraction.

 

Back view of the 430EX II flashgun.

The hotshoe mount has been improved too – it is now a metal design for extra strength when mounted on the camera. The metal hotshoe also helps to provide very stable communication between the camera and the flashgun.

When used in manual flash mode you have full control over the flash out – with accurate settings available in 1/3 stop settings.

Like the 580EX II, it features full first and second curtain synchronisation as well as flash exposure compensation, and nine custom functions for you to tailor the flashgun to your preferences.

To ensure accurate scene coverage and make sure no light is wasted, the flashgun features an auto-zoom head from 24-105mm. It also takes account the exact camera being used and the sensor size. This means the flash can zoom to exactly cover the area of the scene without wasting light and power firing over too wide an area. This is especially beneficial with APS-C and APS-H format EOS DSLR cameras. By not wasting light and power, the flash recycles quicker and produces more flashes per battery charge.

When used with cameras newer than the EOS-1D Mark III, all of the flash settings and the flash custom functions can be controlled from the menu screen on the back of the camera. This makes is easier to understand the flash settings and quicker to make changes.

• Flash head auto-zoom
  The flash head will auto-zoom to fit the sensor size of the camera the flash is attached to. This ensures no light is wasted by firing the flash over too wide an area, with the added advantage of faster recycling and longer battery life.
• Colour temperature transmission
  When used with an EOS digital camera newer than the EOS 20D, the flash will transmit the colour temperature it fired with to the camera so that the camera can set an accurate white balance, providing it is set to Auto White Balance or Flash white balance.

Technical product specifications are currently unavailable.