Canon 550 EX Flash for G6, G5, G3, G2, G1, Pro1, Pro90 & all EOS SLR Cameras

by Canon

Product Details

• Item Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004THM7
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 31, 2000

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Speedlite 550EX is the main component of a new flash system designed together with the EOS-3 SLR camera. It provides full compatibility with the new area AF technology employed by the EOS-3 and refined E-TTL autoflash for improved performance. Other main features include a maximum Guide Number of 180 (ISO 100, ft.), an AF-assist beam which links to the EOS-3's 45-point area AF, FP Flash (high speed sync), FE lock (a flash version of AE lock), and FEB (Flash Exposure Bracketing). The Speedlite 550EX also incorporates a built-in wireless transmitter, which can control other Speedlite 550EX units set up as slave units. Flash coverage is set automatically from 24mm to 105mm, and a wide-angle panel extends the coverage to 17mm. The new Speedlite runs on 4 AA-size batteries, and can also be used with optional external power supplies such as Compact Battery Pack E and Transistor Pack E. Recycling times are faster than those experienced with the Speedlite 540EZ. Speedlite 550EX is compatible with all EOS models.

Product Description

Speedlite 550EX is the main component of a flash system designed together with the EOS-3 SLR camera. It provides full compatibility with the area AF technology employed by the EOS-3 and refined E-TTL autoflash for improved performance. Other main features include a maximum Guide Number of 180 (ISO 100, ft.), an AF-assist beam which links to the EOS-3's 45-point area AF, FP Flash (high speed sync), FE lock (a flash version of AE lock), and FEB (Flash Exposure... Bracketing). The Speedlite 550EX also incorporates a built-in wireless transmitter, which can control other Speedlite 550EX units set up as slave units. Flash coverage is set automatically from 24mm to 105mm, and a wide-angle panel extends the coverage to 17mm. The Speedlite runs on 4 AA-size batteries, and can also be used with optional external power supplies such as Compact Battery Pack E and Transistor Pack E. Recycling times are faster than those experienced with the Speedlite 540EZ. Speedlite 550EX is compatible with all EOS models.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-End Flash Unit, July 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Canon 550 EX Flash for G6, G5, G3, G2, G1, Pro1, Pro90 & all EOS SLR Cameras (Electronics)

This is Canon's top of the line flash unit. The list of features is extensive for this camers:

* Dedicated to Canon cameras. * -7 to 90 degree bounce. * -90 to 180 degree swivel. * E-TTL and TTL metering. * auto-zoom head. * high speed shutter sync. * rear-curtain sync. * flash exposure compensation. * flash bracketing. * strobe flash. * Manual-flash mode. * Back-lit LCD screen.

The most impressive part of this flash is the ability to perform E-TTL sync among multiple flash units. This allows you to locate various flash units around the subject and trigger them symultaneously. The flash output is adjusted based on the E-TTL and a flash ratio that is set up between the flash units.

The flash unit also includes a distance scale that will read the film speed and aperature from the camera to let you know the range the flash can be used for. Fast film and a wide aperature will often cause the effective range to go off the end of the scale (18 m).

This flash is not for everyone. If you prefer to point and shoot, then this flash is probably more than you'll need. However, if you prefer to think about how the flash should be used or take the flash out of automatic mode then this flash is what you should be looking at.

If you can do without the high speed sync and remote operation, then the Canon 540 EZ may also be worth looking at.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expensive but worth it, especially for eos digital rebel, November 18, 2004

By 

S. J McCartin (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon 550 EX Flash for G6, G5, G3, G2, G1, Pro1, Pro90 & all EOS SLR Cameras (Electronics)

I just bought a digital rebel about a month ago. Love the camera, my old 380EX speedlight integrates with the camera but just doesn't offer enough cycle speed to keep up with continuous mode on the Rebel. This flash does the job for the Rebel and the plug for the external battery pack promises even better performance once I grab that item. Another big selling point that really makes this unit worth the cash, is that it has its own infrared focus assist lamp which the digital Rebel lacks. When this flash is mounted on your digital rebel, you don't get that annoying set of quick flashes that the camera has to set off to focus in low light when using the built-in flash. The Rebel body uses the infrared focus assist on the 550EX to focus the lens; this feature alone is worth the big bucks this baby costs. The flash has tons of features that most of us might never use, but as a advanced amateur I'm glad they're there so I can play with that if I should choose to try out some fancy stuff. The wireless slave capability is handy but you've got to have at least one more 420EX, 550EX or 580EX to use that. I like the digital readout on the back of the flash and also the two way bounce head, it's important to note that you have to press a button to make the head turn either side to side or up/down---this should make the head sturdier than I've seen on some units that get loose after awhile and drive you nuts. This unit is a HONKER--really big, and, no lightweight either. Get yourself a big deep camera bag if you want to lug this thing around with you. What's the difference between this and the 580EX? The 580 has very slightly faster cycle times and offers some fancy new automatic flash exposure bracketing modes, for me anyway it wasn't worth almost two hundred dollars more for the 580. All of the newer EOS camera bodies are fully supported by this unit, it also works on older EOS bodies but there are functions available on the newer ones that aren't there on older stuff. I like this flash it covers well, cycles fast and the controls are fairly intuitive and easy to use. When you get yours don't lose that book, Canon doesn't seem to have them online anywhere I can find and I've seen places that want to charge you 18 bucks for a new one.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent flash (though soon obsolete), August 27, 2004

By 

Theodore Littleton (Millburn, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon 550 EX Flash for G6, G5, G3, G2, G1, Pro1, Pro90 & all EOS SLR Cameras (Electronics)

This is an absolute do-everything flash, with master/slave operation, wireless control of multiple channels for slave flashes, A:B:C lighting ratio control (better than the ST-E2's mere A:B ratio), full manual or automatic operation, strobe effects at selectable Herz rates and power, and even a small panel that serves either to widen its flash coverage to 17mm or simply provide a catchlight in a model's eyes when using bounce flash. Range is excellent, battery life is very good and can be compounded with one of the battery packs. The light itself provides excellent color, and a red lamp near the base adds a much more accurate and less harsh focus assist lamp than most of Canon's cameras provide.

If you have an SLR, you'll almost certainly want an external flash. You can provide fill flash to reduce shadows in subjects eyes etc. during harsh daylight shots, take the flash off the camera to eliminate nasty shadows, and avoid the shadows caused by larger lenses and onboard flashes.

Minor quibbles: most DSLRs have crop ratios of 1.3x or 1.6x, but don't pass this information on to the 550EX, which wouldn't care anyway. This means the flash thinks you want greater coverage than you really need (i.e. it will give you a 50mm's angle of flash coverage, when you only need an 80mm's), so you waste a lot of flash power and don't get optimum recycling times. Also, the interface is a little non-intuitive.

If you want a slave- or onboard-only flash and don't need all the extra features, the considerably cheaper 420EX is for you. That said, if you do want all the extra features, the 550EX is still not for you. You want the 580EX, slated for October 2004 release, which fixes the minor issues with the 550.