CAMCA580EXII | SPEEDLITE 580 EX Mk II

Accessory flashes such as Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash are some of the most important pieces of equipment in my kit. The 580EX II is Canon's top-of-the-line, professional grade external flash - There are very few features missing in this one.
 
The Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash announcement was a surprise to me - I was surprised to hear that the not very old Canon Speedlite 580EX Flash was being replaced already. And the first thing we need to deal with regarding this new flash is the name - The original flash was touting its ETTL-"II" capabilities in its name and now we have the 580EX "II" - which is still E-TTL II. (For the purposes of this review, 580EX refers to the original 580EX).
 
As I am writing this, I need to personally decide if I will replace my three 580EX flashes with the new version. And since image quality is ultimately important to me, my biggest concern is what my flash-exposed shots look like. So, getting down to business ... Since the flash head working area size is nearly identical between the two flashes, original size of the light thrown by them is going to be the same. The amount of light thrown; however, is always the question. How well does the E-TTL exposure work?
 
As usual, I shot a lot of direct comparison tests for this review. Using my original 580EX flashes and a new 580EX II, I tested various scenario, camera, lens and setting combinations (including the Canon EOS 1D Mark II DSLR, Canon 1D Mark III DSLR, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens and Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens). With the camera in M mode, the 580EX II is giving me images that are .3 stops darker on average - with a rather small standard deviation. I didn't notice any change in exposure comparisons with the flash head in the bounce position. Of course, a little flash exposure compensation results in identical results in most circumstances.
 
The biggest deviation occurred in a frame mostly filled with a black subject that had white highlights. In this scenario, the original 580EX completely blew the highlights, while the 580EX II exposed at over 1.5 stops lower - slightly too low, but retaining the highlights. In nearly all cases, would pick the 580EX II exposure over the 580EX without FEC by a slight margin.
 
Most (but not all) of the Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash's other changes from the 580EX are good ones ...
 
The 580EX II recycles approximately 20% faster than the 580EX. What is more noticeable to me is the lack of sound during the recharging phase. I've grown accustomed to listening to the whine of the charging flashes - I can audibly tell when they are at full power and know when the batteries are nearing the end of their charge. I definitely like the new, very-professional quiet charging, but I need to relearn my flash-ready indicators. I'm told "they switched the voltage boost oscillator to an ultrasonic frequency". I should note that the flash is not sound-free as the zoom flash head still makes noise. The flash head zoom noise is higher-pitched. I wouldn't call it louder, but it is possibly more noticeable sometimes.

The Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash sports a more-rugged build quality with a metal foot being one of the most noticeable changes. But the good news/bad news is that the metal foot is attached to a plastic mount inside the flash. Bad in that it will still be the part that breaks, but good that your camera likely will not be the part that breaks (a broken flash beats a broken camera any day from my perspective). The metal will certainly hold up better to repeated mounting/dismounting. The long-time standard plastic foot is shown above left - the new metal 580EX II metal foot is shown above right.
 
Visible dust and water resistance indicators denote another update this flash has received. This is Canon's first weather-resistant flash. Dust and water resistance is a feature that is going to be in heavy demand from sports and photojournalism photographers. The final sealing at the camera's hot shoe requires the changes implemented in the announced-at-the-same-time and appealing-to-the-same-photographers Canon EOS 1D Mark III Digital SLR. Users of older and non-sealed bodies will not get this final sealing protection, though the rest of the flash is sealed. A little tape can probably remedy this issue for older weather-sealed bodies. Rubber covers seal the external ports - for external power and the new, greatly needed receive-only PC terminal - Pocket Wizard RF remote users know what this port does for them. The PC terminal is located just above the foot on the flash's left side.

The long-time standard large round foot locking screw (above left) has been replaced with a very nice lever lock (above right). Simply thumb slide the lever from left to right until it clicks into locked position. Feet lower to tighten the flash solidly onto the hot shoe and the locking pin is lowered. A lock release button is located just to the right of the lever making unlocking easy. The new lever is faster to use - I like it.
 
What is not faster to use - what I don't like - is the now-menu-located off/master/slave remote flash setting (notice the switch is missing in the above picture - more about this function later). To get to this menu setting requires the zoom button to be held for 2 seconds - I could change the old switch in much less time than it now takes just to pull up the menu setting. Newer Canon DSLR bodies have the ability to control the flash from their menus - this becomes the easier method of controlling this flash option. Note: the adhesive Velcro shown on the original 580EX (above left) is an accessory used to hold certain flash modifiers in place.
 
There are many subtle changes in size/shape/texture in the new Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash. As can be seen in the comparison pictures throughout this review, the new flash is slightly larger/bulkier than the older flash. The reshaped flash body immediately reminded me of the 580EX's predecessor, the Canon Speedlite 550EX. Small changes include a repositioned wireless slave sensor and a reconfigured AF assist beam emitter - which now includes a small round hole containing the Auto and Manual External metering sensor. The 580EX II weighs 1 lb 2.6 oz (525g) with 4 NiMH batteries installed compared to 1 lb 1.4 oz (490g) for the 580EX (actual tested weights). The Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash sports a new power switch design - this one rotates instead of sliding. The new one is a little nicer (and likely easier to seal), but the physical change is not significant from a user perspective. The flash body finish is slightly more-textured than that of the 580EX.

Those of you familiar with Canon's recent flashes will correctly recognize Auto and Manual External metering as being new. Tell the 580EX your camera's ISO and aperture (F/stop) settings and it will calculate its own flash output. The built-in meter measures reflected light and turns off the flash when the proper amount is detected. To use the Auto External ("E") mode, a compatible body must be used - the Canon EOS 1D Mark III Digital SLR is the first to offer this feature. Compatible cameras will pass the ISO and aperture to the flash "auto"matically. Other body users can still use external metering, but will need to use the External Manual ("EM") mode which requires the camera settings to be manually entered into the flash. Metered (off a gray card) manual flash is also available. A custom function menu setting is used to select the external metering modes. High speed synch is not available and no preflash is fired in the external metering modes. My comparisons showed external metering, even from a 1D Mark III, to be significantly underexposed (typically 1.5 stops or so) unless the subject was very dark.
 
Of course, the normal E-TTL-II (or ETTL), TTL and M modes are still present. E-TTL II and the previous E-TTL are Electronic-Through-the-Lens metering modes that fire a preflash to determine how powerful the immediately-following actual flash needs to be. This is Canon's very easy-to-use automatic flash. Some people love it and some don't (I personally like it very much). E-TTL is compatible "with all EOS digital SLRs; PowerShot G2, G3, G5, G6, G7 and Pro1; and the following EOS film cameras - EOS-1v, EOS-3, Elan 7N series, Elan 7 series, Elan II series, Rebel T2, Ti, K2, GII, G. Non-electronic TTL operation is compatible with all other 35mm EOS film SLRs and the Canon T90." And likely many more models by the time the 580EX II is retired. ETTL II advances E-TTL by incorporating distance information from newer Canon lenses into flash exposure calculation. This flash also passes color information to the camera.
 
The E-TTL/E-TTL II flash output is dependant on the camera mode being used. I primarily shoot with my camera in M mode or Av mode. With the camera in M mode, the flash will provide the light necessary to get a proper exposure. This is the easiest mode to use for flash as the main light - stopping even the fastest action in the dark. In Av mode, the camera will set its exposure for the ambient light level and the flash will provide fill/subject light. Camera and subject motion can be issues in this mode - unless a custom function (provided only on some cameras) is selected to increase the shutter speed. Tv mode is similar to Av mode. I'll let you explore the rest of the modes available on your camera (see your camera's manual).
 
One more flash mode: Manual mode. If your subject distance is consistent (formal portraits for example), a manual flash output setting can eliminate shot-to-shot exposure variations. Using the control dial, it is easy and fast to set manual flash power output. Manual flash output can be controlled in 1/3 stop increments - 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8th, 1/16th, 1/32nd, 1/64th & 1/128th. Become familiar with this mode.
 
Another interesting mode available on the Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash is Multi Mode - or Stroboscopic flash. In this mode, the 580EX II fires a rapid series of flashes as setup in the menu. Unleash your creativity with this one. Modeling flash is available with the DOF Preview button.
 
In addition to being the first camera to support the Auto External mode, the EOS 1D Mark III is also the first to be able to control the 580EX II's custom functions settings from its own menu. This is a very nice feature.
 
Communications reliability is supposed to be improved though I can't say if it has or hasn't as I haven't had problems with camera/flash communications in the past. I'm sure a dry foot/shoe connection is going to help when compatible cameras are used.