Question about Canon 430EX Flash

KhronoS · May 24, 2008

OK, so i bought myself a brand new flash, and i;m quite excited. Played with it for a while. And tested some functions. Now i have a question, it is possibile to fire the flash wireless?.. i mean without being connected to the camera.

It's explained in the manual, but only tells me how to make slave with at least 2 flashes which i don't have

Looking forward for your answer, thanks.

PhotoDonkey · May 24, 2008

I found this review.

"Many people start out with a Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash (or started out with 420EX) and later move up to a 580EX. The 430EX can then be used as a remote flash."

This seems to imply that you must have the 580EX to fire the 430EX remotely. My best guess would be that you'd either need the 580 or some kind of remote that can be attached to the camera to fire the 430 remotely.

KhronoS · May 24, 2008

I know it can act as a remote, in fact, i bought the 430ex because its the best gear for the buck (the 580EX it too much for me

) and the buy 1-2 cheap slaves maybe.

But until i buy those i wanna know if the camera itself can act as a remote control.

PhotoDonkey · May 24, 2008

My guess is no. Looking at the pictures of the camera, the only sensor I can see is the one for the remote shutter trigger.

Tiberius47 · May 24, 2008

Canon cameras cannot act as masters for off camera flashes. You will need to get a 580EX flash to act as the master, or a radio slave along the lines of a Pocket Wizard to fire the 430EX from off camera without using wires.

JimmyO · May 24, 2008

There are a few ways to trigger your flash off-camera. I suggest going to strobist.com for all the info you will ever need on this.

Rhys · May 24, 2008

The 430EX can be fired remotely if the photographer uses a 580EX or an STE2 as a trigger. I understand that Nikon users already have their speedlight commander built into their cameras.

An alternative is remote radio triggers although this usually loses ETTL. The cheap ebay triggers have a reputation for not being that reliable. Indeed, I had a set and they kinda-sorta worked so I sold them as kinda-sorta wasn't good enough for me. The next guy couldn't get them to work at all.

davebmck · May 24, 2008

Read this for everything you want to know about flashes for Canon EOS cameras. http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

There are three parts to this article and it's very thorough.

JimmyO · May 24, 2008

Rhys said:
The 430EX can be fired remotely if the photographer uses a 580EX or an STE2 as a trigger. I understand that Nikon users already have their speedlight commander built into their cameras.

An alternative is remote radio triggers although this usually loses ETTL. The cheap ebay triggers have a reputation for not being that reliable. Indeed, I had a set and they kinda-sorta worked so I sold them as kinda-sorta wasn't good enough for me. The next guy couldn't get them to work at all.

For the best results on the cheap i recommend the Cactus V2 triggers from gadgetinfinity.com . The ebay triggers look exactly the same but ive found the ones from this website are much more reliable.

KhronoS · May 24, 2008

OK guys, now i understand.... thank you very much for the info

KhronoS · May 24, 2008

Ok, so triggering wireless you need a remote, but what do you guys know about PC cords?

TCimages · May 24, 2008

For wireless you need a transmitter

. PC cords do not retain ETTL (Thru the lens metering). So unless you want to manage the flash in manual mode, the PC cord is a no go. You have two or three main choices for off camera full auto shooting for your 430. The Off Camera Shoe Cord 2/3 for wired or the ST-E2 or a 580 for wireless. If you want to go wireless, buy another 580. The ST-E2 has limitations.

Some of the optical slaves I've heard work (no ETTL), but the preflash (used to capture proper exposure) causes problems.

I've also heard the latest Radio Triggers do maintain ETTL, but I can't comfirm it.

davebmck · May 24, 2008

ETTL metering requires two way communication. That is why you can't get ETTL metering with 430EX via wireless. It can only act as a slave in this mode.