Thank you, Rod! I wouldn't say my knowledge is vast, but it's been accumulated over 40 years! My 430EX II is my go-to flash when I want an external flash. It's not as powerful as the 550EX but, to be honest, it's more than powerful enough for my needs. It's also smaller and lighter. I've been really pleased with it.

Thank you Adrian! I made a few flash videos quite a long time ago, but none received any interest so I didn't make any more. However, the KZfaq algorithm works in mysterious ways and I have received several comments in the last week about flashes so I guess that YT is giving my channel a helping hand. This gives me some motivation and encourages me to start work on the videos that I've had planned for a long time! Best wishes!

No light, no photos! Thanks for your comment.

Glad you found it useful and thank you for your kind words!

That was very generous of you 🙂 I prefer this flash to the 550EX because of it's smaller size and weight. It's less powerful than the 550EX, but it has plenty of power for most situations. It may seem perverse to some, but I actually find a flash more useful in daylight to fill in dark areas. Thanks for watching!

@@PhilUKNet I agree with you about outdoor fill flash. I can safely say that I use fill flash for 99.9% of my outdoor people portraiture.

Thanks! You've got some good gear. The 5D Mk3 was very highly regarded before mirrorless R cameras killed off DSLRs. I use the 430EX II far more than I use my 550EX. I don't need the extra power of the 550EX, and the 430EX II is far more compact. Happy shooting!

Thank you!

Thank you 🙂

Thank you! I'm glad you found it useful.

Thanks Brenden!

Its a nice little flash, compact and powerful. My 550EX is more powerful, but the 430EX II is perfectly adequate a lot of the time and quite a bit smaller. Thanks for your comment!

Thank you!

Thank you, I'm pleased it helped! It's a nice little flash. No 'Master' function, but as a hot-shoe and 'Slave' device it works really well and it's powerful for its size.

Thank you 🙂

Pleasure!

With the flash mounted, ready to fire, and the lightning symbol displayed on the camera the flash will fire in any mode. Regarding settings, it's personal preference. Exposure for flash can be a bit tricky or you can just put the camera into Program mode and let it handle everything automatically. Remember that when using a flash there are two separate exposures taking place simultaneously. The exposure for the background (ambient light) is determined by the aperture and shutter speed. The exposure of the subject, which is illuminated by the flash, is determined by the aperture and the duration of the flash. The shutter speed can't be faster than the sync speed of the camera and the aperture can't be bigger than the maximum aperture of the lens. My favoured method is to take a reading of the ambient light and then to set this reading in the camera manually, making sure that my shutter speed is slower than the sync speed. Then I turn on the flash and let TTL handle the exposure of the subject. It will measure the light being reflected back through the lens and turn off the flash when there is enough. With digital cameras it's easy to review an image and then make adjustments to the exposure if required. You can change the aperture, shutter speed, EC, and/or FEC. When you say fixed opening I guess you mean aperture priority. I'm not sure why the camera neglected your flash. If your camera has a flash Auto mode, the flash will only fire when there is insufficient light. Even if it was low light the camera may have decided there was enough light and didn't operate the flash. You need to make sure the flash setting is turned on so that it fires every time.

I've not encountered this problem. What kind of batteries do you use? If alkaline batteries are left in a device for a long time, they can leak and cause problems. The tricky part will be using enough force to get the cover off without breaking anything. Sorry, but I have no magic suggestions. Good luck!

This seems to be something that Canon reserves only for its top-of-the-line flashes. There's a socket for an external power source on my 550EX, but not on the 430EX II. The little door I think you are referring to is the bracket mount cover. Inside is just a threaded hole so that you can attach a bracket directly to the flash. I resolved my battery problems years ago by starting to invest in Eneloop batteries. I have dozens of remote controls and electrical devices in the house that use AA or AAA batteries and I was getting fed up keep buying replacements. Everything is now powered with Eneloops and I have several spares. If I go somewhere and I think battery life will be a problem I just take a handful of charged Eneloops with me. Wonderful things!

Good morning Biswajit Das. This is a very difficult question for me to answer as I have no experience with Godox triggers. I've done plenty of wireless flash, but only with Canon devices. I would love to be able to help you, but I don't think I can. Can you find any videos or forums about the Godox triggers?

Thanks

Hello James. Depending on your skill level you could try opening it up and seeing if it's something simple. However, it's unlikely to be something simple and you could do more harm than good. Second option is to get Canon to repair it, but that could be expensive. A camera repair shop might be able to do it cheaper, but it will probably still be quite expensive. Third option - and this is probably what I would opt for - is just to buy a used one. I've seen these for sale at very low prices and this will probably be the most cost-effective solution. It's unfortunate that it's gone wrong after you've looked after it, but these things happen.

@@PhilUKNet , thank you for your reply. I saw a video on how to take apart this Speedlite and I'm afraid I won't know what I'm looking for. I had a feeling it wouldn't be an easy fix. It started acting up just last weekend at a family function. My nephew is getting married this coming Sunday & wanted to take pics with my Speedlite. I've been looking for answers all weekend. Saw your video clip & figured why not ask you. Might check marketplace on FB to see if I can find a used one. Thank you for your advice & time.

@@jamesblandino4384 No problem! I actually have a similar predicament. My EOS M6 has a sticky shutter release button. I thought about buying a replacement button on-line and trying to do it myself but the camera needs to be stripped down and without any experience there is lots of potential to screw it up completely. Canon Thailand tells me that the button and the top cover need to be replaced and this will be about $200. I bought an M6 Mk2 recently and I'm still not sure what to do about the M6. Another thing that Canon told me is that if a repair is uneconomic they will sometimes offer a replacement product at a discount price. I don't have any details and I don't know if this applies in all geographies. There's a website here called Kaidee and they have quite a few flash units being offered: www.kaidee.com/browse?q=canon%20speedlite%20430ex&suggest=1 I suspect it is the same where you are. If you need one in a hurry for the wedding, finding a good used one might be your best bet.

I've been using EOS M cameras since 2013, currently an EOS M6 Mk2.

@@PhilUKNet thank u 🙏🏼

It will. EOS is a system. Any EOS camera will work with any EX flash as far as I'm aware.