Some general purchase questions??

[Lord Farquart]

Looking at buying some random stuff to fit my 30D and my daughter's 20D.

1. Canon Speedlite 430 or Sigma EF 610. Pretty much the same price. Sigma higher spec, but is Sigma good enough?
2. Manfrotto tripod or is there comparable SLIK or Hahnel product that is as good.? Currently have this in my basket. Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod with 804RC Head Kit
3. Is an 1.4 extender a worthwhile addition to your camera bag? Does quality suffer with the use of it?
4. Good remote triggers. Is this http://www.ormsdirect.co.za/hahnel-c...gger-for-canon OK for remotely triggering the shutter. I have a wired remote, but have found that the use of it can upset the tripod. Any alternatives to it.

Seems like I will have to buy new as I can't really find good second hand bargains.

[Deon RacePics]

Dear Lord ...
Read my reply oppie karre site. Daai Mafrotto is cool

[Surge]

I was looking at purchasing the Canon 430 EX II as well but now that I've seen the specs of the Sigma EF-610 DG Super Flash I have the same question.
From what I've found on the Web it seems that the Sigma has more features but is not as well built as the Canon.

The Sigma supports optical slave, the head can swivel 7 degrees downwards, it has a bounce card holder, it can be a E-TTL(II) wireless master.
The Canon 430 EX II can do none of the above but it does have a metal shoe instead of plastic one.

[Chris F]

Same LF as on the 4x4 forum ??

WELCOME to this forum.


I have the Hannel trigger - GOOD BUY !!


Excellent for group photos - while you are not behind the camera very few people realise you are actually triggering remotely and you get natural expressions.

The time lapse function REALLY works.



I have the 2x converter, Mk III - good buy ! Just note that the 2x works on the f2,8 lens to still keep AF. If you have a f4 lens the 1,4x is the limit to keep AF.

I have a similar tripod and head (dont know the numbers of the top of my head ...) HAPPY with it. Just check again, ORMS often sells similar Manfrotto units at about R 1200.




PS - ODP is a forum, but this forum is actually the digital interface of photographic store in Joburg - as in ORMS's biggest competition .....

As my office looks out onto ORMS I spend a LOT of time in ORMS. But I must give credit to the team of ODP, when ORMS dont stock something they deliver to my office the next day ..... which reminds me Sean, need to speak to you about a battery maintenance unit

[Surge]

PS - ODP is a forum, but this forum is actually the digital interface of photographic store in Joburg - as in ORMS's biggest competition .....

ODP is located close to the Menlyn shopping center in Pretoria.

[Chris F]

hey boet, for a Capie "Joburg" covers everything on the other side of the mountain ....


Was just pointing out to LF that this forum is actually a store as well. there have been posts previously about forum users that DONT know this.

[jayson]

As it so happens I have the manfrotto tripod and head you need for sale. I send you a message. J.

[Surge]

hey boet, for a Capie "Joburg" covers everything on the other side of the mountain ....

Haha! Yeah, but tell a resident of Paarl or Stellenbosch that they live in Cape Town and you'll probably get some funny looks.

[Lord Farquart]

Got myself the Sigma 610 and very happy with it. It does what it is supposed to do quite well. As I'm not a pro, I guess I will never experience the limitations it has compared to the 580EX. I also bought the Hahnel trigger. All I can so on this is WOW. Everything I wanted it to do, it does and more. Works well with the Sigma too.

Decided not to get the converter as my glass is not good enough for it. As for the tripod, will get one soon.

Thanks for the info and advice guys.

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

hey boet, for a Capie "Joburg" covers everything on the other side of the mountain .... ...

HAHAHAHahahahaha!!! That is too funny for a monday morning!

Chris, we have a very nice unit for AA batteries... but not so much for the bigger camera batts (most of the units seem to handle the Poly & Lithium Ion battery management internally quite well) If it reports it as stuffed, it generally is... That is for the brand names, I am not sure about third party ones.

Back to the OP's questions... the 1.4 converter is fine, but really depends on the lenses you are going to pair with it whether it will be a waste of time or not.

Midstream is just around the corner, why don't you just drop in and come and have a look?