Digital Concepts Powerzoom 952AF/CAN Flash for Canon Cameras

by Sakar

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4 x 2 inches ; 12.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000EIQJF8
• Item model number: 952AFCAN
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 8, 2006

Product Description

Hot Shoe Type AF Bounce Flash for Canon.. The power zoom flash is made to assist you in low light conditions and to help you reduce that nasty red eye. Fits Canon Digital and SLR cameras. Features auto focus, an illuminated LC display, an automatic shutter speed setting, a built in reflecting plate and diffuser, built in slave function, and even a power saving function, how can you go wrong? If you want a great zoom this power flash has it, digital power auto zoom and manual flash head from 24 / 28 / 35 / 50 / 70 / 85 mm!! Works with: Canon G1, G3, G5, G6, Pro 1, EOS 50, EOS 200, EOS 10D, EOS 20D, EOS 30D, EOS 35D, EOS RebelXT, A1, A2 and A200.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of flash for your buck!, November 15, 2008

By 

Wesley "WES-MAN" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Concepts Powerzoom 952AF/CAN Flash for Canon Cameras (Electronics)

I have the Canon Rebel XT, XTi, and XSi and have used this flash on all of them. It is very easy use...especially compared to the Speedlite 430 EX that I use on my XSi. I am a semi-professional photographer and an Art professor. I use this for my XT, when I'm at work, both on and off camera. It has a slave flash setting that works well, but I mostly use a wireless transmitter when it is off camera (on a stand with a reflective umbrella). It gives off great, consistent light. The ETTL function is wonderful, but mostly use the manual setting since I use it off the camera. You can change ISO, speed, and zoom very quickly in manual mode. It also regenerates quickly for the next shot. People that give this flash a negative review need to remember 2 things: 1. if you are shooting the flash strait at an object or person, you really need a diffuser besides the built-in one that comes with the flash. I like the inflatable diffuser that acts like a mini soft box. 2. If you are trying to lighten up objects BUT reduce their shadow, you need to bounce the light off of the wall or ceiling. If you are in a room with high ceilings (church, gym, auditorium, etc.), then you will either have to bounce it off a wall OR get your diffuser out and shoot directly at your objects. So in short, the built-in diffuser is junk (just like the one in the Canon 430 EX) so get a soft box diffuser for it and it will be just fine. Remember, practice makes perfect...so get some NiMH AA batteries and start practicing angles, zoom, and speed. Once you know how this flash works and its capabilities, you will be very happy that you purchased this flash.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great product, May 1, 2010

By 

Gregor Nicolas - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Concepts Powerzoom 952AF/CAN Flash for Canon Cameras (Electronics)

it is a great product, the item does the work. It may not serve you if you are a professional cameraman but for amateur it does the work. light, this flash also allow to get better lighting that the comparables

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Flash for Powershot S5, February 3, 2010

By 

C. E. BEEHLER - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Concepts Powerzoom 952AF/CAN Flash for Canon Cameras (Electronics)

I needed a flash for my Powershot S5 IS and decided to get this middle-of-the road flash instead of a cheap point and shoot flash or a full-blown Canon flash.
Having done a lot of film photography in previous decades I was concerned that the TTL metering wouldn't match up well with the Powershot's abbreviated feature set as compared to a full Canon DSLR.
My concerns, I'm happy to report, were unwarranted.

A flash this size with a tilt/swivel/zoom just begs for you to be creative with bounce and diffusion and it doesn't disappoint. I was able to take all kinds of shots of my newborn son using the built in bounce card and various rotations and swivels of the flash head. Throughout my experience the TTL was pretty much dead on with both exposure and color balance remaining almost perfect. The combination of natural, incandescent and strobe light led to few issues with color temperature and the exposure in P mode on the camera very effectively biased exposure values towards mid tones.

This is, of course, what Canon's TTL is supposed to do and this flash appears to play along nicely.

The zoom on the flash works flawlessly when the flash is in standard position and moves through it's range immediately when the lens is zoomed. It moves back out to its widest setting when it is tilted or swiveled out of parallel with the lens.

The build quality of the flash is adequate with moving parts that move through their range of motion without any binding or creaking. The tilt/swivel on the flash clicks nicely through its range of motion and stays put when you set it. The hot shoe is mainly plastic, not metal, which could be a point of failure if you drop it while on the camera. The buttons are small but well marked and the display, if you need it, is easy to read. The unit comes with a vinyl pouch which may be attractive to some but isn't particularly useful for me.

In summary -
PROS: Powerful flash
Seamless Canon TTL integration
Consistent metering
Good tilt/swivel/zoom operation

CONS: Pricier than many point and shoot flash units
Can blow out details of you are too close (as with any big flash)
Not as full a feature set as Canon's dedicated TTL flashes if you're using a DSLR
Looks kind of funny on a Powershot S series that's 3/4 the size of a DSLR...