Customer Reviews

Canon Speedlite 270EX Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The 270EX is a simple, two AA battery flash that should be perfect for someone wishing to add a bit more power or bounce to an digital EOS camera, or one of a few Powershots with a hot shoe.

The flash is very small, and balances well on cameras like the Powershot G10. I did most of my flash evaluating on a Rebel T1i, and was pleased with the handling of the duo.

The flash has almost nothing to set for increased power. Slide it on, turn it on, take pictures. Unlike fancier flashes, there is no power zoom flash panel, but you can manually set the flash to get a bit more distance with telephoto lenses by simply pulling the flash head out a notch.

If you want to make your closeup shots a bit less harsh, pull the head out (as per above), and you can tilt the head of the flash up at different angles to bounce the flash. My simple test worked very well, with much more pleasing skin tones (although bouncing does seem to lose, on all flashes, some of the whites of the eyes).

Compared to more expensive Canon flashes, several features are missing. Most notably is a sophisticated (such as a pattern) focusing assist system to help the camera's AF in low light or low contrast shooting. Additionally, don't expect advanced features like wireless flash, High Sync, etc.

Thus, the 270EX is great for anyone wanting a bit more powerful flash, adds bounce, and is in a nice, small, package.

I purchased this flash for my new (and awesome!) Canon 5D Mark II. Most of the time, the Mark II can handle indoor and low lighting conditions without any issue; it's quite usable up to 3200 ISO. Still, even in RAW mode it can't handle all lighting conditions as it doesn't have an onboard flash. I like using flash for fill lighting especially for shooting flowers and insects. That's where the 270ex comes in as a carry around flash. The most surprising thing was how small and light it is; it really does fit in a shirt pocket. It powers up and is ready much faster than I expected considering it just takes 2 batteries. Considering the low profile, the forward angle of the build helps to eliminate lens shadows on long lenses. Still, it isn't without some faults; it isn't the build quality of a 580ex or 430ex. It also isn't the widest coverage I've seen on a flash with just 28 & 50mm settings. Still it's pretty great considering that it isn't supposed to be a replacement for a 580ex II.

Pros
*Light & small, fits in a shirt pocket
*Forward tilt angle doesn't cause lens shadow on a 24-105IS when fully extended
*Usable bounce angles
*Takes just 2 standard AA batteries
*Fast flash recharge
*Quite operation; way better than my 430ex Speedlite
*Good color temperature, not too blue
*Simple foot lock switch
*Easy operation with both the 5dII and 9G

Cons
*Less impressive build that more expensive Canon Speedlites
*So-so flash coverage when lens is 24mm or wider

Nice flash, better than the built-in pop-up flash on my Rebel XTi. However, the AF-assist on the flash will not work on an XTi, even with the lastest XTi firmware. I didn't know this before buying and will may return the flash.

Update (7/22/09): I've decided to keep the 270EX after all. The compact size is the main reason why I've decided to keep it. I will just have to compromise and put up with using my built-in flash instead in those really low light situations where I want to auto-focus.

For those that do not know, the AF-assist feature in the 270EX is supposed to help in low light situations where there isn't enough light for auto-focus. The 270EX works in the same way as the XTi's pop-up flash in that it fires a few bursts in order to help auto-focus.

I don't know why Canon had not decided to offer a firmware upgrade to support the 270EX, especially since the XTi is still displayed on the Canon USA cameras page.

Update (7/5/11): AF-assist works with my Canon 60D.

I bought this because of it its small size and ease of use. I needed an external flash for indoor photography for reducing red eye and deer-caught-in-headlight effect. This flash is more than enough for my needs. Used it with Canon T1i. AF assist worked fine. The range is slightly better than the built-in flash in terms of telephoto and wide angle range but the evenness of lighting is pretty good compared to built-in flash. Excellent for indoor bounce flash photography. After getting this flash I have stopped using built-in flash for indoor photos. It needs only two AA batteries vs. 4 in bigger flashes. The bounce flash worked perfectly even in rooms with high vaulted ceiling. The colors are awesome vs. washed out colors with built-in flash. The faces don't look shiny anymore and no sharp shadows in the background. This flash is the way to go for indoor bounce flash. This flash can not tilt sideways so it can not be used for bounce flash for vertical photos.

Ok, first of all please dont even try ty to compare the performance of this flash against their bigger brothers.

This is a flash intended to greatly improve the lightning conditions on prosumer point and shoots and entry level DSLR. My review is based on a Canon G10 and i must admit this unit is the best purchase i ever made for my G10.

It will help you avoid undesired shadows in portraits, group portraits, iluminating backgrounds and best of all it is the perfect fill flash for outdoors, you will even be able to shoot people in between the sun and the camera, it will light them and avoid shadows. This unit has the ability to be set in 1/3 increments when used in manual mode, it has flash exposure compensation, it doesnt have focus assist but you are ok with the in camera focus beam.

One of the features i really like is that you can "zoom" this flash by pulling it forward, this will increase the coverage by almost another 3 meters (depth) and if you want a widder and softer flash put on the Zeikos difusser - a must - . The unit doesnt swibell (turn left or right) like the bigger ones but you can direct it upgards, it has 3 "click" steps up to 90 degrees and this feature is really awsome because you wont be trowing the light directly to your subjects, which means you will never ever have closed eyes in your picture due to a harsh flash hitting someones face. Think about taking pictures of your grandma... they always argue about harsh light of flashes hitting them!

The size and shape of the unit couldnt be better, it is sort of pulled forward and this means you will be able to cover longer distances, it isnt too tall but enough for avoiding shadows created by longer focal lenghts (high zoom) and best of all... you can put it in your jeans front or rear pockets... if you are wearing a coat, jacket, sweatshirt, etc... you wont even feel it is in one of your pockets.

If you are planning in getting one of this units dont hesitate, you wont be dissapointed... just dont spect it to work like the bigger ones with complicated functions, mettering functions, sync modes, etc,etc... if so spend the extra dollars and get a bigger unit.

This is the perfect balance for any canon G series, specially G10 and the newer G11. I also use it on my girlfriends XSi and it works like a charm.

One last technical spec... i know they are really expensive but try the lithium batteries once, you will love the recycle time and output power, they last even longer than any other battery out there and weight a lot less. Typical alkaline batteries thake a little longer to recycle and last a lot less.

It is also a plus that the unit has a solid metal base, it wont wobble and it has a vry practical locking mechanism. It has one single button... on/off and it automatically swithes off if you dont used it for more than 3 minutes or so... your batteries wont drain, you can trow it in your bag that you will have batteries the next time you want to use it. If it is set in your camera and it goes to "sleep mode" and you turn your camera it will automatically turn on too and will be ready to flash anything.

I've used a 580EX II and own a 430EX II. Of course those swivel everywhere, has proper AF assist that doesn't involve firing the actual flash, and can fill flash a whole room. However, where the 270EX wins over the two larger flashes is size. I often left my 430EX II in the bag in the car, or hated every moment of carrying it. The 270EX fits in my pocket, and I can take it everywhere. Granted it's funny seeing a 270EX attached to an EOS 3, but hey, it works. And lighting is greatly improved.

Good accessory for my X4 and 5D Mark ii when I dont want to carry a larger Canon flash. I bought this primarily to help the 5D focus in total darkness.. Once it can focus, the full size sensor can capture an amazing image; the only limitation is that initial focusing. So, 5D owners, this is strongly recommended for you.
For people shots, A bounce flash is a necessity; direct flashes look horrible. This is a vast improvement over the X4 built in flash. So, X4 (T2i, 550) owners, grab this as well.

2 AA's mean light and small; I can keep this in my back pocket when the camera's on my shoulder. Integrates perfectly with the onboard menus. A beginner (like me) can learn a lot from this. Fool with flash exposure compensation, -1/0/+1 AND also exposure bracketing, -1/0/+1. This gives you 9 combinations of effects from subtle to intentionally over exposed/artistic.

The one TERRIBLE feature of this flash is the 'missing' IR light which should be on-board for AF and red-eye. The old Canon 220EX flash used an IR light for focus assist; it was subtle. But it had no bounce angle (that's a no-go). This flash uses a horrific full power visible light strobing effect which annoys people off and blinds them. It is really like some technology from 1960 or something. (this can be disabled but then you lose the AF assist entirely) And, the flash doesn't use that strobbing when it SHOULD, just before the shutter opens, to reduce red-eye. Canon could have had a perfect little flash if it had included IR and red-eye, but as is, they fall short. I would have gladly payed more to have than in a pocketable flash. The workaround for the 5D, is to add the flash menu item to the 'quick menu' so you can turn AF assist on/off quickly.

So, overall, its small and compact, but it is missing critical features you expect in the 21st century, IR AF assist and red-eye bursts. C'mon Canon; release a complete 2xAA version soon.

Update: Visible light AF assist works on my X4 (T2i), not on my X2(T1i). T1i owners, be advised.

I wanted a small shoe mounted flash for my G11. This is a great choice. It is small and light, has enough power for a small room, works well as a fill flash outdoors. fits in a shirt pocket, and has some bounce capabilities (but at its modest power, do not expect to be bouncing off of 18 foot ceilings!). It DOES NOT have IR auto-focus assist as all other EOS flashes. That is a big loss, but it keeps it small and light. This flash will go with me whenever I use my G11. It might even go on an SLR for a day outside when I need a small fill flash. It will not be a substitute for a real EOS flash like a 580EX. Then again, it is small and light!

A friend of mine bought a Leica point and shoot (M8?) for $800+ and wouldn't stop bragging about the images it took. But they were all with ambient light. My Canon EOS DSLRs are not very portable, so I rarely have them when I'm not working, but often get last second requests to shoot images of people or short events. Or maybe I just see something in the right light and just want to capture it spur of the moment. I needed a "bridge" camera. So I bought a Canon G10. Same Digic 4 processor as my big cameras and all the bells and whistles to make one happy outside of the little green rectangle of full auto (what pro doesn't hate that mode?). I put my 580EXII on the hotshoe and it worked just fine, but looked completely ridiculous. So I bought the 270EX and found a StoFen diffuser for it (that was the hard part). I actually worked two events just with this kit. The optics won't give you what an "L" series lens will, but everything else is manna from heaven. The speedlight takes a ton of images on just two AA lithiums and recharges quickly. It packs very small and light and the head has two bounce positions.

The downsides are that the head doesn't swivel and all you get is ETTL. Since my G10 will shoot in full manual, it would be nice to be able to adjust the flash output. But this kit isn't a replacement for my EOS DSLRs, so I can easily live with those trade-offs.

Now when my friend brags about his Leica, I just pull my G10/270EX out of my pocket and shoot a well-lit image in a darkened room for less than what he paid for his camera alone. He doesn't bother to deploy his fancy in-camera flash to show me a poorly lit room full of red-eyed people. This is easily one of my favorite new toys and is built with the quality you expect in a Canon Speedlite.

I'm really happy with this flash. I tested it against my 430EX in my livingroom by bouncing both off the sloped ceiling. I tested both with and without a diffuser. I have an Omnibounce for the 430EX and a Zeikos diffuser for the 270EX. The 270EX did just as well as the 430EX with consideration to exposure, albeit the 430EX took no time to recycle and the 270 about 1-2 seconds. No recycle time if shooting straight ahead. Not bad for such a small package. Fits my G11 and SX10 very nicely. At less than 1/3 the size of the 430EX it's very light and easy to carry.
Couple of caveats -
270EX has no manual controls so flash exposure must be done with the camera.
The head doesn't swivel so the camera cannot be used in the portrait position if you want to bounce the flash off the ceiling; although in portrait position bouncing the flash off the ceiling can be accomplished by using a hot shoe adapter cord and removing the flash from the camera and then aim the flash at the ceiling.
Although the 270EX isn't as powerful as the 430 series, extra reach can be obtained by bumping up the camera's ISO one notch.
All in all a powerful flash for it's size.