newbie reporting in....
HELLO EVERYONE~!!!
Welcome Steven!!
The nice thing about auto-ISO is that the camera can select incremental steps (like 640, 1250 etc) which isn't manually possible. But it only goes up to a max of 1600. If 1600 doesn't give you a fast enough speed, you'll have to manually crank it up further.
It's too bad that the 500D's 'auto'-ISO locks to 400 in manual mode, otherwise you can fix an aperture and shutter and let the camera adjust the ISO to maintain both-very useful for action shots. Even the 50D suffers that deficiency, you'll have to get the 7D to have it-firmware crippling on Canon's part. I believe most Nikons can do that.
Actually you don't have to manually crank it up. If you're okay with using a higher ISO, you can change the auto ISO limit in your settings.
Am interested in getting a speedlite 580 ex 2 for use on my 500d.
Can anyone advise whether it is good?
And whats the price of the flash.
Thanks
Yep, it's good. It's the top-of-the-line flash from Canon. You can also get creative and shoot wirelessly. However it is very very expensive. Earlier this year, I was quoted $800+ for a new one. Dunno issit the guy trying to cheat me or what, but I think you can expect the price to be around there.
If you're just starting out on flash, I would suggest getting the Nissin di622 instead. It's half the price and can also shoot wirelessly. I use it for events as well and it does the job.