Canon Speedlite 540 EZ Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by: Lior Dagan
(Expert)

Review Date
May 22, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.33 of 5,
12 votes

Review 1 of 14

Price Paid: $300.00 from Golden Camera

Summary:

A great flash for non digital users. I got this flash "used". It was almost brand new and still had the original batteries inside. The man who sold it. had to it because it didn't oprerate bproperly with Canon D-30. That is a fault caused by canon product managers. I own an A2E, and it worked flawlessly with the 540. As someone mentioned earlier, EOS 5 and A2E do not use external flash's assist light. Again, not a wise decision by Canon product people. If you don't use digital cameras, this is one great flash to use, with ample power and features. And unless you really need that higher speed synch, go with it instead of the 550.

Strengths:

Excellent metering, because of the power that this flash has, Bounce and catchlight photography yield amazing results. Copies of the pictures taken with this flash were ordered by my friends, and I recieved praise for them. That's all we want from our photo equip. is it not?

Weaknesses:

Doesn't work with Digicams

Similar Products Used:

None

Customer Service:

Canon's service in Israel is unproffesional

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Rating
Reviewed by: lee4130bmx
(Professional)

Review Date
May 13, 2002

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
4 votes

Review 2 of 14

Price Paid: $150.00 from second hand

Summary:

now, this flash is a strange thing. its focus illuminators will not light up with the eos 5 which i so rely on for my work. this is something which i loathe. apart from this, the flash is an excellent addition to your canon kit. it is fully specced for the eos 5, so if you own one, then this is the flash you need. if you''re looking for a good flash but don''t want to pay too much, i would also recommend the Vivitar 850AF, which is very adequate if your budget is lower. otherwise, it is worth splashing the cash on a 540ez.

Strengths:

power. accuracy. features.

Weaknesses:

no in-camera exposure confirmation with eos 5. no focus assist with eos 5.

Similar Products Used:

none but the vivitar 850AF

Customer Service:

none

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Rating
Reviewed by: Odneb
(Beginner)

Review Date
November 13, 2001

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5,
3 votes

Review 3 of 14

Price Paid: $200.00 from used

Summary:

This is a great flash unit! All of my flash photographs are dead-on metered. The only thing lacking is the ETTL and the High Speed Sync which is quite important but for the price and feature this is a bargain. Even if features are lacking this is still a prefessional grade flash unit, it is very reliable.

Strengths:

54 guide number! All other features are ok. Backlighting is a plus!

Weaknesses:

Lack of ETTL and High Speed Sync.

Similar Products Used:

None

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Rating
Reviewed by: Kasper Andersen
(Expert)

Review Date
June 11, 2001

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Review 4 of 14

Summary:

This is the best flash for the Canon eos 1n, becouse it is dedicated for that camera. The light is great, and much more natural then the Sigma EF 430. The head is good becous it can turn left and right.
I've seen a review where a Truc sees that the flash is wery loud, that you can hear it zoom and fire. Well then he hasn't used the Sigma EF430, that is loud. More then twice as loud as the Canon Speedlite 540EZ. It's silent!!

Strengths:

This is a great flash, much better then the sigma ef-430 st. The light is great with the omnibounce. It also makes the camera focus faster, when you use the AF-beam.
The buttons are big and good. The backlight is wery usefull.

Weaknesses:

Can be a little heavy when you use the hot-shoe extender 200.
(But if you workout a little, then it shouldn't be a problem)

Similar Products Used:

Canon Speedlite 550EX(better, big surprise)
Sigma EF-430 ST

Customer Service:

Not used yet.

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Rating
Reviewed by: john smith
(Expert)

Review Date
May 11, 2001

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
2.29 of 5,
7 votes

Review 5 of 14

Summary:

It is expensive. If you really need one, get it. Otherwise, try third party's

Strengths:

o compatiblitiy with new EOS camera.
o nice large buttons

Weaknesses:

1) too heavy to be on hot-shoe
2) recharge too slow on Energizer.

Similar Products Used:

Canon SPEEDLITE 420EX
Metz 45CT-1, 50-MZ5 TTL
Minolta 280 PX Auto
Nikon SB-28
Olympus 32 TTL
Sunpak 323 Auto

Customer Service:

n/a

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