Canon SPEEDLITE 580EXII Mode D'emploi page 3

Thank you for purchasing a Canon product.
The Canon Speedlite 580EX II is an EOS-dedicated, high-output flash
unit automatically compatible with E-TTL II, E-TTL, and TTL autoflash.
It can serve as an on-camera flash as well as a master unit or a slave
unit in a wireless, multiple-Speedlite system. It has the same dust- and
water-resistance as EOS-1D series cameras.
Read this instruction manual while also referring to your
camera's instruction manual.
Before using the Speedlite, read this instruction manual and your camera's
instruction manual to familiarize yourself with the Speedlite operations.
The basic operation is as easy as with normal AE shooting.
When the 580EX II is attached to an EOS camera, almost all automatic
exposure control for flash photography is handled by the camera.
It is almost the same as using the camera's built-in flash if it has one. You can
think of the 580EX II as a built-in, high-output flash, but attached externally.
It becomes automatically compatible with the camera's flash
metering mode (E-TTL ll, E-TTL, and TTL).
In accordance with the camera's flash control system, the Speedlite controls
the flash automatically in the respective flash metering mode:
1. E-TTL II autoflash (evaluative flash metering with preflash reading/lens
distance information)
2. E-TTL autoflash (evaluative flash metering with preflash reading)
3. TTL autoflash (off-the-film metering for real-time flash metering)
Regarding the camera's available flash metering modes, refer to the
"External Speedlite" specification in the "Specifications" of your
camera's instruction manual.
The camera instruction manual's chapter on flash photography will refer
to cameras having flash metering modes 1 or 2 as a Type-A camera
(compatible with E-TTL II or E-TTL). And cameras having flash
metering mode 3 (compatible with only TTL) are called Type-B
cameras.
* This instruction manual assumes that you are using the Speedlite
with a Type-A camera.
For Type-B cameras, see page 55.
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