Product Description

Combining the strengths of its predecessor 550EX while providing additional functions at higher speeds, the SPEEDLITE 580EX is Canon's new flagship flash unit featuring a higher maximum guide number, shorter recycle time, autozoom control for image sensor size, and design improvements for easier handling by digital SLR users ranging from professional to advanced amateur.

Product Details

• Brand: Canon
• Model: SL-580EX
• Dimensions: 3.00" h x 4.00" w x 4.00" l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• Autoflash Speedlite compatible with Canon EOS SLR cameras
• Accurate exposure with E-TTL II evaluative flash metering
• High output with maximum guide number 58 at 105mm setting
• Autozoom and color temperature information for improved flash
• Fully featured wireless flash capability with built-in slave and transmitter

Customer Reviews

Didn't meet expectation
This flash fell short of my expectation most of the time I have to manually set the zoom distance doesn't seem to work on my canon xt that I have. For the price wasn't worth it with and auto focus camera I expected this to interact more with the camera

Canon Speedlite 580EX
The Canon 580EX is an excellent flash.
It has plenty of power. It recycled fast. There are many setting that allow you to configure it for any situation or environment. Curtain, master or slave.

The unit is expensive, when I bought it, it was the top of the line Canon flash. Since then it has been replaced with the 580EX II. One major change between the two models is the ability to configure the 580 EX II from the camera.

Beware of slave trigger and RF wireless connection issues
You want to use the 580EX in a simple task by working as a hair or back light with your more powerful studio strobes? Then you will be in for a rude surprise when you connect an inexpensive photo-optical slave-triggering mechanism to the 580's hot shoe foot. With the 580 set on manual, it will flash once and then lockup. Yes, the dreaded internal SCR lockup will require you to power off and on to reset the flash to fire another shot before it freezes again. Repeat off/on and shake your head at this expensive and poorly designed dare-I-say toy.

Is Canon trying to screw us by not telling about this issue in their instruction manual? Who knows. To our rescue is Michael Bass Designs' blog which walks us step-by-step on obtaining a compatible Sonia photo-optical slave trigger with the proper cord and modified hot shoe to be able to perform a very simple task of using a slave triggered strobe.

Because Canon "forgot" to include a PC socket, Mr. Bass will even explain what to do in order to connect an RF transceiver like the Pocket Wizard to the 580 to enable wireless flash photography. Depending on where you live, it can be a costly retrofit of an auxilary jack by Mr. Bass. Or, even better, buy a Wein hot shoe to household synch adapter and adjust the hot shoe tabs for a custom fit.

The 580 is great as an on-camera walk about flash/camera combo. It even works well in the master/slave setup or with the expensive and 10 year old Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2. I also hate the plastic hot shoe foot which is almost impossible to slide into the tightest hot shoe umbrella adaptors. But, if you don't want the hassles of spending more money on third party parts to use the 580 as a slave with studio strobes, then buy (for example) a cheap Vivitar 285 and put a cheap photo-optical slave trigger on it for carefree studio work with the big boy lights.