Off Camera Flash

[Joel Bookhammer]

Hey everyone. I have been thinking of getting another flash to use off camera in conjuction with my 580ex II. Im remotely fireing the flash with a non canon off camera remote that attaches to the hotshoe (unfortunately not a pocket wizard). I just reviewd Chucks "tech tips" for this month and he answered a question for someone that is sort of what I have been wondering. But just for further clarification, If I use my 580ex II off camera remotely fired via a hotshoe adapter will it or will it not in turn fire lets says the 430ex II when set to master mode? I have Chucks review below incase you want to read it before responding. My personal feelings are if I cant use it to to remotely fire another Canon flash it is a pain because I would then have to spend more money on ast-e2 or another flash unit in able to have 2 off camera flashes. Why cant Canon put a commander mode in camerato fire them, ok done ranting.But yes if anyone could help me out it would be greatly appreciated.






<p class="colBody"]I have a remote flash control (3rd party), a Canon Speedlite 580EX II, and a Canon Speedlite 430EX II. I can use the flash control to fire the 580EX II via the PC Sync cable. It works flawlessly. I can set the 580EX II to use its internal meter and still be fired remotely. What I want to do is use the 580EX II in an umbrella and the 430EX II as a background or secondary light. When I put the 580EX II into master mode, it will no longer fire from the PC cord. Is this user error?
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<p class="colBody"]I'm not so sure I would call it user error, but there is definitely an equipment limitation here. The issue is that once you set the 580EX II for external flash metering (auto or manual), it can no longer be set to Master mode to control another flash. Or conversely, you have to set the 580EX II to ETTL, M or Multi in order to access its wireless features. In your case, I would recommend using either a Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 or another 580EX II in the camera's hot shoe as a master unit, then set up your 580EX II and 430EX II off camera as slave units. If your lighting set-up is static, as it appears to be, I would further recommend setting both of the off-camera flashes to Manual flash mode and adjusting their power settings along with the camera's ISO and aperture settings as necessary to get a correct exposure.

[Keith B]

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The 580 needs to be set to master to control any other flashes. With what you are doing it is in Slave mode.


As much as I hated spending $200 on the ST-E2 in hind sight it was money very well spent. Pocket Wizards would be more versatile, but it much more expensive. The St-E2 has let me get some great shots in all kinds of situations. I use 2 580Ex II and one 430EX and as long as my batteries are fresh it is very, very reliable even outside (within it's range).
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[Joel Bookhammer]

So while off camera it cannot be set to master instead of slave?

[Keith B]

The ST-E2 will not fire an off camera 580EXII set to master. I imagine this will be the case with any Slave actuator.

[Joel Bookhammer]

Well I will try and see if it works, Im going to get another reciever from the company that I got the slave remote from, just in case. But Canon needs to get on top of things and put a dedicated commander mode in camera to set off the flashes.

[Sean Setters]

Joel-


I think the best thing you can do if you want to dive into off-camera flash is head on over to the strobist blog and read through the Lighting 101 section. After that, get a Flickr account (if you aren't already a member) and join the strobist group on there. I check the discussion threads and pictures posted to that group every day. The pictures posted to the group are supposed to have information describing how they were lit. You'll get alot of great ideas, inspiration, and educational insights there.


Strobist principles basically revolve around getting good quality lighting results (relatively cheaply) by using off-camera shoe-mount flashes. The most expensive thing recommended by David Hobbey (the strobist) is in fact PocketWizards. However, there are plenty of other much cheaper (yet much more unreliable) wireless triggering options available (like the Cactus V2s, CTR-301, PT-04 series, or the soon to be released Cactus V4). If you can wait about a while, the RadioPopper JrXs are scheduled to be released in the third week of April (however, they have been delayed many times, so that release isn't set in stone). If they can perform as promised, the JrXs will provide PocketWizard functionality at about 1/3 the cost. I'll be picking up a set once they are released.


Using strobist techniques economically, you'll need to get comfortable with using your flashes on manual power. It's not hard by any means, but it takes a little practice. If you read through the above material, and decide to get your feet wet, it'll probably be the best thing you ever did for your photography.