Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Though the menu interface is not as nice as others, and the buttons look like they were taken from an 80's era toy, and the fact that the plastic feels cheaper than other brands this flash can hold its own against the best Canon can through at it. I had a 580ex I and while it was nice it weighed about twice as much as this 530 and did not put out a noticeable amount of power beyond this. I tested the flash on both at various f stops and power levels using full manual shutter/fstop/iso and flash power levels and found that for each fstop/power level combo I used for the 580 that the 530 provided just as much light output and my pictures were just as bright, with a slight difference at full power with f18 or higher where the 580 did push a tiny bit more light into my shots, but it is not enough matter in ANY of the other shots.
The recycle time is great on all but the 1/1 full power manual mode, where it is still better than a 580 or my 430 and heads and shoulders above a 550. It keeps up with me as well as the 580 does a stop down. It also outlasts a 580, which I always felt eats batteries more than uses them. The EF-530 seems to last about the same as a 430 somehow even though it puts out light like a 580. I am no electrical engineer but I am not sure how this is possible, but in my experience that is how it is.
It costs less than a 430, half of what a 580 runs you and does more than either one.
It does FP i.e. High Speed Sync with great results. It does second (rear) curtain sync, it can strobe based on a custom frequency you set up, so it can for instance pulse out a flash every second for 4 seconds or 5 per second for 1 second. This is cool for getting water drops, or bouncing balls, or any other moving object exposed multiple times in a single frame.
It can be a master flash, a slave flash, a non firing master, it has an optical trigger so it can be an optical slave. It works with all manor of remote triggers, albeit not as easily as a Canon does, you have to set the Sigma to the right mode first. It controls multiple slave groups via wireless, it works with ettl for automatic flash exposure, supports EV adjustments.
It does not have a sync port or pc port of any kind, it requires a hot shoe to fire or to be a remote wireless or optical slave. It pans and tilts though with 2 buttons like older flashes, not 1 button like the newer flashes do. That is more annoying than you might think.
The only real downside to this is how cheap it feels compared to the Canons, but with 2 Signas for the price of 1 580 and the fact that I have yet to actually break it in any way no matter how hard I have treated it I can honestly say that while it feels like it is of lesser quality it really isn't. Plus it is lighter than a 580, at least as light as a 430 give or take, so that may affect the feel of quality too.
I can honestly say that I would recommend this to anyone. In fact I do, to everyone who asks, because there is no good reason to pass this up. It does more, costs less, puts out roughly the same power, lasts longer, weighs less, looks good and works great. You won't regret it unless you are Brewster and need to spend your millions wastefully, at which point you would not care about reviews anyhow
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Sigma EF-530 DG Super Electronic Flash for Sony DSLRWhen there's insufficient or unsuitable light available to take a picture, it's of paramount importance to have a ready source of supplementary light to fulfill the need. That's where Sigma's EF-530 DG super-electronic flash comes into play. Designed exclusively for Sony digital SLR cameras, the flash offers a powerful guide number of 174 feet/53 meters and boasts the latest TTL automatic flash exposure control for easy operation. More significantly, the EF-530 is outfitted with a host of advanced features, including a modeling flash function, a multi-pulse flash, a TTL wireless flash, an FP (high-speed) flash, a rear-curtain synchro flash, and a manual flash mode that allows the photographer to set the flash power level by up to eight stops. The auto power-off function, meanwhile, automatically shuts off the display to save battery power. And when the flashgun is fully charged, the flash emits a confirmation-ready light, letting you check the flash exposure level through the camera's viewfinder.
Like Sigma's lenses, the EF-530 flash incorporates the latest features and technological advances, most of which aren't found on any other flash units save those made by the major camera makers themselves. They are the most powerful and completely dedicated flash units available for 35mm SLR and digital cameras.
Features:
Autozoom function that automatically sets the optimum illumination angle
Covers a focal length from 24mm to 105mm
A built-in wide panel that covers the 17mm angle
A tilting flashgun head for bounce flash (up by 90 degrees, to the left by 180 degrees, and to the right by 90 degrees)
A down tilt angle of 7 degrees for close-up photography
Sophisticated multifunction flash that can control advanced lighting techniques
Wireless slave-flash functions
Measures 3 by 5.5 by 4.6 inches (W x H x D)
Weighs 10.8 ounces
1-year warranty
What's in the Box EF-530 DG super flash for Sony cameras, soft case, hot shoe table stand, user's manual.
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