Anyone with 7D and 430EX Flash... Help

[vitomalpi]

Hello!





In the instructions that i have read from the 7D it says that i can use the wireless remote without using the built in flash from the camera. No matter what settings i try, the only way that the 430 will fire is if the on camera flash fires.


Does anyone have the same issue? Or is my model flash not fully compatible with the 7D?





If someone has a different model flash, can you let me know if it also happens to you ?








Thanks !!!

[msmiley]

That is unfortunately how the wireless speedlite on the 7D works. There is no infrared(IR) triggering, only using visible light from the built-in flash.


If you set the flash settings to external only, the 7D will try to minimize the power of the built-in flash relative to the 430EX, but there is still a tiny bit.


In my opinion, it's not a deal-breaker, as it's always nice to have a tiny bit of fill-light. I've even used the external:internal setting and used the ratio control anywhere between 8:1 to 4:1.


If canon would have broken down and put an IR focus-assist lamp on the outside of the 7D, we could have had wireless triggering without the pop-up having to be up. Oh well...

[vitomalpi]

Check this video out, they say that the on camara flash will not fire.. i tried the setting they say to set, but no go.





http://cdn.sellpoint.net/canon/EOS_7D-15_Flash.html

[msmiley]

That is an informative video, but the script is not entirely accurate in regards to there being absolutely no built-in flash in remote-only mode. It's weak, but it's there.


Incidentally, Nikon's CLS system, which some would argue is more advanced than the Canon system, does the exact same thing. They even sell a blind that converts any forward light to IR (might work for the 7D):


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E1G0LI

[neuroanatomist]

From the EOS 7D user manual, p. 121: "The slave unit is controlled by the built-in flash's light pulse signal." In other words, the 'built-in speedlite transmitter' on the 7D is the pop-up flash. When used in controller-only mode, the light output from the flash is too low to illuminate the scene or even to provide fill-light. The only way around that would be to use a different method to control your off-camera flash(es) - an ST-E2 IR transmitter or RF controllers (Pocket Wizard, Radio Popper, etc.).

[vitomalpi]

Ok, well this might answer another issue i had. last week i was shooting outside on a very bright 12 noon day, my 430 was not firing at all. I thought that it was the batteries but when i got home i tried it and was working fine.


So in other words, if there is to much ambient light, then the flash will not capture the light signal from the on camera flash that will make the speed light fire ???

[jcrowe87]

That would make sense, even some IR triggers are faulty in extremely sunny conditions. Sadly this makes radio triggers that much more necessary.

[neuroanatomist]

So in other words, if there is to much ambient light, then the flash will not capture the light signal from the on camera flash that will make the speed light fire ???

Absolutely true. One solution (short of buying RF triggers) that has worked for some folks is to tape a small card above the sensor on the flash(es), to shade them from overhead light.

[vitomalpi]

Absolutely true. One solution (short of buying RF triggers) that has worked for some folks is to tape a small card above the sensor on the flash(es), to shade them from overhead light.
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Will try that next weekend that there is sun out, lately it has been raining a lot here NY.





Thanks all for the answers...