Canon 580EX II Speedlite Flash + Gary Fong Lightsphere-II with Inverted Dome + 4 Batteries & Charger for Canon EOS Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, 50D, 40D, 5D SLR Digital Cameras

by Canon

Product Details

• ASIN: B000VTSVZG
• Item model number: 1946B002
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 7, 2007

Product Description

Kit includes:
♦ 1) Canon 580EX II Flash
♦ 2) Gary Fong Lightsphere-II with Inverted Dome
♦ 3) Multi-Voltage Rapid Charger with 4 NiMH Batteries
♦ 4) Precision Design Deluxe 6-Piece Lens & Digital SLR Camera Cleaning Kit

Canon's state of the art 580EX II Speedlite is fully compatible with the electronics of Canon EOS Digital & Film SLRs including Canon's E-TTL, E-TTL II & TTL dedication. This top-of-the-line flash is as good as it gets with more power, faster recycling time, more automatic and professional modes for creative effects, plus improved dust- and water-resistance. The 580EX II's auto-zoom head automatically adjusts to lenses from wide-angle to telephoto and a built-in ultra-wide angle panel provides flash coverage for a 14mm lens. The height of the 580EX helps to greatly reduce or eliminate red-eye and its flash head bounces and swivels for professional-looking portraits. Canon 580EX II includes: Case; Stand; Instructions; Canon USA Warranty.

Great looking flash pictures aren't just about how powerful or expensive the flash is, it's about the quality and texture of the light (soft and diffuse versus direct and harsh).

The Gary Fong Lightsphere II Inverted Dome Flash Diffusion combo includes the Lightsphere II with the standard inverted dome. The Lightsphere is a large, round, soft and flexible diffuser that slips over the front of compatible flash units. The inside of the Lightsphere is completely textured to make the light dispersion even more "soft" than it would be otherwise. And because of this design, it is possible to make the material more translucent, keeping the unit from losing a lot of light while actually increasing the diffusion and softness of light. The standard inverted dome allows you to softly diffuse direct light with a large, soft source without creating flare on the front of your lens.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product. Best performance money can buy., March 15, 2009

By 

bunnyfafa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon 580EX II Speedlite Flash + Gary Fong Lightsphere-II with Inverted Dome + 4 Batteries & Charger for Canon EOS Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, 50D, 40D, 5D SLR Digital Cameras (Electronics)

First of all, I am not a heavy user of this product. So for some of the problems I have heard, they have not occurred to me so far so I will not comment them here.

The flash is very quick as expected. My house is very dark. I use this in attempt to capture the Kodak moments of my 4 and 1 year old daughters and it out performed my expectation. The flash sits very tight and the rubber boot give you the reassurance of protections.

With the Gary Fong diffuser, it help soften the flash and created the perfect photos I wanted. I do not own a standard size diffuser on this flash so I can't compare the performance. One thing I do noticed is the fitting is a bit difficult compare to my friend's standard size diffuser when I was using his Nikon. It is fairly large when travailing so expect to get a bigger bag.

Those rechargeable batteries are also high performance 2900mAh NiMH with no memory. For those who knows, you will recognized you can't buy these from stores (for 3 more bucks plus tax, the best you can get from stores are 2500mAh ones). I got this kit for a month now and I still haven't use up the batteries yet (may be they are LSD NiMH). The initial charge does take very long though. Hopefully, the following charges will be shorter. I am planning to get more of these batteries for spare in case if I don't have time to wait for these to recharge.

Overall, the flash is excellent and the kit comes with quality items (like most others, I don't care much about the cleaning kit, sorry). The price is fair and the store (I believed they are the only one with this kit) is very professional. I am very satisfied with this purchase.