Thoughts and Reviews on the Bower SFD35C Canon Flash?

Question

Title says most of it, I am looking to see if anyone has any personal experiences with this specific flash. I am looking at it because of the extreme affordability and the reviews that I am finding are not that bad. It is one of the few flashes that I am finding that supports TTL, E-TTL, and E-TTL II.

Answer 1

No personal experience with the flash, so please accept that this is my educated opinion.



If you notice in most reviews, the key words are ok for the price. It is definitely built to a price, no where near the build quality of a Canon flash, and thus will the Bower fail on you at a very inopportune time or not? With anything of low quality build, you just never really know. I certainly would not want to rely on it for any kind of extremely important shoot such as a wedding.



As to the specs, the flash only has a guide number of 112. Certainly better than a pop up, but a long way from a Canon 580 with almost 200. When you use the flash with a diffuser, (which you should do with any flash), then that lower power will really make itself known.



Also, the flash has no variable power. This means you have no manual control of it. You are forced to accept whatever the flash deems to be an appropriate exposure. ETTL is good, but not always perfect. There are times when you MUST have full control of the flash power to get the lighting you need / desire.



Bottom line, you can't expect a $50 flash to equal the near $500 Canon 580EX II, (though I also agree that the price of the Canon flash is absurdly high).



I suggest you study some other flashes, such as made by Sigma or Vivitar or Sunpak that are also dedicated flash units made to work with the ETTL function of the Canon. They will cost more than the Bowers, but will be less than the Canon, and a better unit than the Bowers.



steve

Answer 2

Bower Flash For Canon

Answer 3

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The External Flash Func. setting only works with compatible flashes. You'll have to check your manual to see if it is compatible. Though I am betting your Bower SFD35C isn't. (Don't worry, my Canon 550 EX isn't either... but my 580 EX II is.) For my 550 EX, to select between 1st and 2nd curtain sync, I've got to set it on the flash, I can't do it in camera (the option is grayed out). Now if you can't select between 1st and 2nd curtain sync on the flash... welcome to the world of "third-party meets Canon". Canon has a way of making you get what you didn't pay for when you bought any third party electronics such as flashes and lenses.

Answer 4

I will make it much simpler... it is junk. Any Bower flash is junk. They claim all sorts of things, but you would be much better served with a cheap Chinese auto thyristor than this piece of crap. Don't waste your money.