Canon 430EX II Speedlite Flash

I placed order on flipkart for this 430 EXII Speedlite on 1st of October and got it delivered by 8th of October, which is reasonable considering they only had 4 working days.

Now coming to the Speedlite itself, I wanted to buy a flash for my EOS550D and was "googling" for a good match. I did a fair bit of research before zeroing on this. You can get most of the technical Specifications online, so in my review I will leave those details and will cover the points based on End-user point of view.

[1] Great and solid built, reflects the amount you've put in.
[2] Has LCD with backlight to neatly display various flash settings.
[3] Decent output power and recycling rates, could actually use it in burst mode of 3.7fps (frame count will vary based on power settings)...obviously not in full power . But it can even pull that off if you have newly charged high mAh batteries.
[4] ETTL works great (its like "Auto Mode" for flashes), detects my lens zoom and accordingly zooms its reflector head :D
Not only that, It can even differentiate between Full/Crop frame Sensors and adjusts the coverage accordingly - "Neat"!!!
[5] The AF beam is really great, specially if you, like me, hate those annoying pre-flashes. The AF beam covers all the 9 AF points in my camera and focuses pretty fast without blinding /annoying my subjects.
[6] The Quick-Release lock mechanism is great, not like the ones with knobs/screws that take forever.
[7] Last but not the least, I very much like its "Model Light" feature. You press the cameras DOF button or the trigger button on flash(if set in Custom Functions) and you flash will fire rapid pulses for about 1sec continuously...this I use off the camera to take interesting strobe photographs :)

Cons:
[1] THE BIG ONE!!! No built in bounce card... :( Come on canon...even the 8k-9k flashes have them.
[2] THE SECOND BIG ONE!!! It cannot be triggered independently using external flash strobes...again...even the cheapest of the flashes have this feature :( :(
[3] The wireless trigger costs as much as the 430 itself ppl with built in wireless triggers in their cams [600,650, 60D and 7D] need not worry though [Aaargh..I envy you guys!!! :P].
[3] Buttons are squishy...u need to press them really deep at times...which is annoying if you fiddle it a lot in Manual Mode(atleast for me).
[4] A bit on the heavy side for the small bodied cameras...not a very big problem, we can get accustomed to it... But be aware if you leave the camera+flash hanging around the neck with out any support, it can completely tilt/topple the camera forward.

[5] Due to the disadvantages mentioned above, I personally feel that it is better suited as a part of an existing flash system than a "stand alone flash that does it all". If you are beginner or new to flash photgraphy...I think you may be better off buying a cheaper, bit low performing (and much better featured) flashes like Nissin Di622 MkII, like my friend did.

I bought a Canon Speedlite 430EX II from Flipkart because the built-in flash on my Canon EOS 550D produces harsh shadows. I have been using the 430 EX II flash for about 4 weeks now.

I am a beginner as far as flash photography goes. So I chose the 430EX II above the Canon 580 EX II which costs twice as much. One thing that the 430 EX II does not do is control slave flash units. But that will come later.

Flipkart delivered the flash the next day after I ordered it. I went through the operator manual. But it gives only basic information. So I had to search the internet for practical guidance.

A feature that separates 430 EX ii from third party flashes is that it can do high-speed sync. High-speed sync in 430EX II allows you to control flash light even under bright light conditions.

The flash is shipped without batteries. I had to separately buy Ni-MH rechargeable AA batteries. Alkaline AA batteries can also be used.

Even though it is not compact, I am happy with my Canon 430EX II.

Expensive, but worth every rupee. You must have this if you need some great indoor pics. I have got some stunning pictures by bouncing light off my white ceiling. Thanks to Canon for making such a fantastic flash! I use this with eneloop rechargeable NiMH batteries and they easily last a few hundred shots with good recycle time.

Did now buy it off flipkart. Canon stores sell it for 16485/-.So no advantages there.
Menu on the flash is informative and simple.
ETTL/Manual works just as expected.
Cycle time is short(1-2 Seconds for me), but will depend on batteries.
I can use the flash in slave mode and trigger it from my on camera flash, and the whole shebang!

The only thing that bothers me is that it will not act as a master in a multi flash setup.

Nice one ... Got what i expected. Nicely Packed and Delivered by FK. Far better than in built flash. Diffuser/ battery charger along with this product would have been good ...............................