Electronic flash used as slave

Weissman · Mar 19, 2015

I use a Canon 430EX Speedlight on my Canon EOS camera for interior photography. I want to add 2 other flash units slaved to my Speedlight, battery operated, located in other parts of the room or in adjacent rooms.
1. What equipment do I need to trigger those flashes? Some sort of radio transmitter?
2. Must I use matching Canon Speedlights (quite expensive) or would other brands work & sync? For example, I see similarly powerful Meike MK-430 flashes for sale on EBay.
Any advice/suggestions much appreciated.

tirediron · Mar 19, 2015

If they're going to be in other rooms, or away from direct line of sight of the on-camera flash, then radio triggers are about your only practical option. I would look into Yongnuo speedlights and triggers; they're a good balance of quality, features and cost.

Braineack · Mar 19, 2015

radio!

Weissman · Mar 19, 2015

Thank you for your reply!
Would it work to use the Yongnuo's as slaves, while keeping the Canon Speedlight on camera?
Can the Yon's be manually throttled down to fire 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 power? Do you know their Guide #?
Can you recommend a radio trigger?

qleak · Mar 19, 2015

Joe McNally is a big fan of stringing a ton of TTL cables to another flash used to trigger the ones in other rooms.

I personally believe he's paid by nikon to sell multiple flash units when you could do the same for cheaper with a studio head. Edit: or radio triggers

tirediron · Mar 19, 2015

Weissman said:
Thank you for your reply!
Would it work to use the Yongnuo's as slaves, while keeping the Canon Speedlight on camera?Yes. You will need to purchase a trigger which has an integrated hot shoe.
Can the Yon's be manually throttled down to fire 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 power? Do you know their Guide #?Yes. Depends on model; they have many.
Can you recommend a radio trigger? Visit their website, see which one(s) meet your requirement in terms of featureset and price.

I'm sure there are others who will be along shortly to offer specific suggestions on models.

beachrat · Mar 19, 2015

Many,many people will suggest the Yongnuos,and I have no reason to dispute them as I have never used them.
I will,however,advise against any of the Cactus triggers or transceivers.
They absolutely fell apart after some normal to heavy use. I had 5 of them and they all had problems with the battery doors and fittings were really sloppy and failed on a regular basis.

I wound up with used,perfect condition,(and in some peoples eyes outdated) Pocket Wizard Plus units. No ttl,no auto anything and they have been flawless for what I need. 2 transmitters and 4 receivers for less than $300.
90% of what I do is web viewed product so I use a lot of lights and even more foamcore. :biggrin-93:

Weissman · Mar 19, 2015

Thank you TiredIron. Which model can be radio controlled?

Weissman · Mar 19, 2015

beachrat said:
Many,many people will suggest the Yongnuos,and I have no reason to dispute them as I have never used them.
I will,however,advise against any of the Cactus triggers or transceivers.
They absolutely fell apart after some normal to heavy use. I had 5 of them and they all had problems with the battery doors and fittings were really sloppy and failed on a regular basis.

I wound up with used,perfect condition,(and in some peoples eyes outdated) Pocket Wizard Plus units. No ttl,no auto anything and they have been flawless for what I need. 2 transmitters and 4 receivers for less than $300.
90% of what I do is web viewed product so I use a lot of lights and even more foamcore.

Beachrat: Thank you for suggestions. I don't need anything fancy, just fully manual with 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc. power options & high GN. I'm new to this, so am unclear just what equipment I need. I have a Canon IOS, Canon Speedlight 430EX on camera, want 2 slave operated flashes radio triggered, but in sync, of course.
Ideas?

Braineack · Mar 20, 2015

Amazon.com Yongnuo 2 Sets RF-603 2.4GHz Radio Wireless Remote Flash Trigger C1 for CANON Camera Photo

Weissman · Mar 20, 2015

Everyone: Thank you for your help. Just don't want to invest in a system that won't work & I have no experience with slaved flashes.
Looking at the Nissin Speedite Di622 Mark II Flash System For Canon because it does not require the extra equipment of radio transmitters & receivers. It features a wireless slave mode.
Scenario: on-camera master flash (Canon Speedlight 430EX) in corner of living room, bounding off ceiling. Slave flash around the corner in adjacent dining room. No line of sight. Do you think this will work?

Weissman · Mar 20, 2015

Don't want to invest in a system that won't work & I have no experience with slaved flashes.
Looking at the Nissin Speedite Di622 Mark II Flash System For Canon because it does not require the extra equipment of radio transmitters & receivers. It features a wireless slave mode.
Scenario: on-camera master flash (Canon Speedlight 430EX) in corner of living room, bounding off ceiling. Slave flash around the corner in adjacent dining room. No line of sight. Do you think this will work? YouTube video on the Nissin mentions having to set the "Master flash channel." Can that be done on a Canon Speedlight 430EX? If so, how?

Designer · Mar 20, 2015

Weissman said:
Everyone: Thank you for your help. Just don't want to invest in a system that won't work & I have no experience with slaved flashes.
Looking at the Nissin Speedite Di622 Mark II Flash System For Canon because it does not require the extra equipment of radio transmitters & receivers. It features a wireless slave mode.
Scenario: on-camera master flash (Canon Speedlight 430EX) in corner of living room, bounding off ceiling. Slave flash around the corner in adjacent dining room. No line of sight. Do you think this will work?

Lots of flashes have optical slave mode, you don't need to think you are locked into one particular model.

I would not expect the optical slave mode to work around corners and into the next room, because the slave has to be able to detect a flash. It might and might not detect the master flash.

Perhaps if you had a "chain" of them, so that a secondary flash would fire the tertiary flash, although RF transceivers are handy for such applications. Be sure to inquire if the signal will penetrate house walls.