Last Updated on 02/28/2018 by Chris Gampat
Believe it or not, the new Canon 470EX AI might be one of the best flashes made in a while.
When I spoke to other journalists about the new Canon 470EX AI, they didn’t seem too excited. But knowing what it was like as a photographer trying to learn how to use flash, I knew how important something like this is. The Canon 470EX AI is a flash designed for photographers who know absolutely nothing about using a flash–and I can tell you from experience that there are tons of them who masquerade as natural light photographers. In many ways, the Canon 470EX AI is designed to take the guesswork out of flash photography as long as the flash is in the hot shoe.
Demo Video
How does the Canon 470EX AI do this? It moves the head automatically by using sensors in the flash head. The flash has three big settings: manual, semi-auto and automatic. Manual is, well, manual, and works like a typical flash–note that this isn’t in terms of power output control but instead references movement of the flash head. Semi-auto will work with you by allowing you to direct where you want the light to bounce from ((by pressing a button on the side) and it changing accordingly every time it needs to. Automatic figures everything out for you based on the distance to the subject, ceilings/walls, etc. That works by pressing the blue button on the back and double tapping the camera’s autofocusing button. It will take some getting used to. Sometimes there’s a pre-flash involved and the head will rotate a whole lot like a robot arm or something.
The Canon 470EX AI also works in slave, but can’t act as a master flash. The main specs are below.
Canon 470EX AI Specifications
Main Unit Spec |
|
Compatible Cameras |
Type-A EOS cameras (E-TTL II/E-TTL auto flash) |
Guide Number |
The maximum Guide No. is approximately 154 ft./47m at ISO 100 and 105mm ash coverage. When the extendable wide panel is pulled out, the ash coverage is 14mm. |
Number of Flashes |
When using ash only and AA/LR6 alkaline batteries Approx. 115–800 ashes When using ash only and AA/HR6 Ni-MH batteries Approx. 140–966 ashes * Nominal min. time when using 1900mAh type AA/HR6 Ni-MH batteries. * Based on Canon Testing Standards. |
Recycling Time |
When using ash only and AA/LR6 alkaline batteries Normal ash: 0.1–5.5 sec. When using ash only and AA/HR6 Ni-MH batteries Normal ash: 0.1–3.5 sec. * Nominal min. time when using 1900mAh type AA/HR6 Ni-MH batteries. * Based on Canon Testing Standards. |
Flash Range |
Effective ash range with EF 50mm f/1.4 lens at ISO 100 and standard light distribution 1. Normal Flash: Approx. 2.3–77.1 ft./0.7–23.5m |
AF Assist Beam |
System: Infrared AF-assist beam Supporting 1–16 AF points (28mm or longer focal length) Effective Range (Approx.): At center: 2.3–32.8 ft./0.7–10.0m At periphery: 3.3–16.4 ft./1.0–5.0m |
Custom Functions |
10 Custom Functions 9 Personal Functions |
Power Source |
Four AA-size/LR6 alkaline batteries |
Dimensions (W x H x D) |
Flash unit: Approx. 2.94 x 5.13 x 4.14 in./74.6 x 130.4 x 105.1mm Bounce adapter: Approx. 3.08 x 2.19 x 1.58 in./78.3 x 55.7 x 40.2mm |
Weight |
Flash unit (excluding batteries): Approx. 13.6 oz./385g Bounce adapter: Approx. 0.53 oz./15g |