Any experience of the Speedlite 430EX II?

I'm considering my options for a replacement flash, after "cooking" my 580EX II. :Whoa!:

The 430EX II seems like a good option - most of the power and less of the bells and whistles of the 580EX II. And the price is less than half the price of a new 600EX-RT.

Is there anyone out there with experience of using this device?

Would you recommend this as a good primary flash for general use or would I be better to bite the bullet and go for the 600EX-RT.

Thanks,

Gerald

Note that you cannot connect an external battery pack, such as EP-C4, or equivalent, to the 430EXII.

<embed id="application/x-exifeverywhere" type="application/x-exifeverywhere" width="0" height="0">I have 5 of them, and use them primarily for multiple flash hummingbird photography. They've been trouble-free for me.

Gentlemen, thanks for your responses.

I didn't realize the 430EXII couldn't be externally powered, so that was useful information. And Doug, that you are using them in a multiple flash set-up reminds me they are probably not the right choice as a principle flash unit. So, I decided to go for the 600EX-RT, and my dealer gave me a good discount, so I feel better about it already!

Thanks again,

Gerald