Okay, enough with the specifications and features. How do they translate into actual field work? For a start, the 420EX is capable of bounce flash. When used with any Type A EOS camera, E-TTL is the default flash metering system. In these photos below, I took the first shot with the flash head set to the 90-degree horizontal bounce position and in the second, direct E-TTL illumination was used. The bounced flash photo had more depth and contrast compared to the direct illumination shot, which could be rather flat especially when no ambience lighting was present. Program Flash AE was used in both shots. Bounced E-TTL flash Direct E-TTL flash     Shot in Program E-TTL mode Also shot in Program E-TTL mode The E-TTL algorithm used for the EOS 30/33 models in Program AE is the same as the one featured in the EOS-1V. Regardless of the EX-series of Speedlite used, you can be sure of correctly-exposed E-TTL flash illumination photos provided that you get the right AF point on the main subject. The above two photos of Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau during his recent visit to promote his 100th movie, were shot with direct E-TTL illuminations in Program AE mode. This time, with some ambience lighting apparent in the photos, the flash illuminations have added depth and contrast to the scenes, rather than flat as in the earlier shot. As mentioned earlier, proper flash illumination on the subject is ensured if it falls within any of the correct AF points of the camera. However, if the memory of the locked exposure has lapsed (releasing finger pressure off the shutter button), yet the subject still remains within the focus zone, improper exposure will occur. The first photo below is an example of such an error on my part, using the 420EX fitted on the EOS-1V. In the next shot, with the main subject locked in focus and the flash exposure memory intact, proper flash illumination was realized. Slightly overexposed shot Properly exposed shot     E-TTL value retained despite recompose Another off-center subject When it comes to shooting off-center subjects, the 420EX/EOS-1V combos were great, as evident in the two photos (bottom part, above). No FEL was used in these two shots as the camera's off-center AF points were able to focus onto the respective main subjects' and they retained the locked values. And still retaining the value despite the recomposition in one of them. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 .