Canon & Wireless AE trigger??

[bazooka]

I went to the flash bus here in Houston and was impressed by McNally's demonstration of Nikon's optical AE system. He changed exposure compensation for all light groups from the master mounted on the camera. This was my first practical demo of using auto lights.

After doing a bit of reading this morning, I'm disappointed to find that this isn't possible with Canon lights??? Am I misreading? If so, it's quite rediculous that Canon lights don't offer this. I'm about to do a big photography job at work (not my profession, just something on the side) which involves taking 175 portraits in different locations. I can't imagine doing it using my manual flashes. I want to be able to have E-TTL off camera... preferably wireless. What are my options? (Besides the obvious expected reply of "switch to Nikon")

 

[Big Mike]

I don't know the Nikon system that well, but I believe that the Canon system is very similar. If you have a 'Master' unit on-camera, you can wirelessly control remote 'Slave' flashes. You would retain E-TTL metering and you can set the ratios between 'groups'.

The Master unit can be either a 580EX (or older 550EX) or the non-flash master unit ST-E2. The Slaves can be 580EX, 550EX. 430EX, 420EX.

One main difference between the Canon and the Nikon system, is that most Nikon DSLR cameras can use their built-in flash as the Master. Canon has just started to do this and only the most recent bodies like the 7D have this ability.

These systems do have their advantages, most notably, the ability to use TTL metering with the off-camera flashes. But there are also reasons why 'most' photographers choose to use radio triggers (manual flash control) instead. The first one is the reliability of the communication. In the Canon system, the master flash uses flash bursts to communicate with the slaves (the ST-E2 uses infra-red). This works well when the units aren't too far apart, indoors and when there are little or no obstructions. But if you take this system outdoors, especially in sunny conditions, it's much more hit and miss. And when outdoors with no surfaces to bounce the light, you pretty much need line of sight between master & slave.
Radio flash triggers usually work much reliably.

Now, while E-TTL flash metering can be great, it's still an 'auto' system, which means that it's taking some control away from you. Photographers who have a very good understanding of how flash exposure works, often prefer manual flash control because it's consistent and this easy to predict and thus easy to control. It can be daunting for those who don't have a good understanding of it though.

 

[bazooka]

Thanks Mike. Maybe my vocabulary is wrong. When I hear "optical slave", I think a slave fired by a master flash, which includes E-TTL and groups. I must be misunderstanding these articles I've read as they must be referring to Optical manual slaves, as opposed to optical E-TTL Slaves. I have a 550EX and I know I saw a group setting in there so that makes sense. I also read that my 40D does not have master e-ttl capabilities which blows. So I'll probably need to get another EX flash because I only have two other manual flashes with optical slave which doesn't work with e-ttl master.

Fortunately, these shots will all be indoors and in poorly lit and close-quarter areas so I don't think e-ttl remote will be a problem. And after the flash bus, I feel like I've got a solid base for getting started with remotely controlling groups. I just need a little practice.

 

[Big Mike]

I forgot to mention it, but another disadvantage to the Canon/Nikon wireless system is cost. 580EX flashes are what, $500? And even a 430EX will cost you $285. So if you were to buy a 4 light set up, you are looking at a big expenditure. For that much, you could probably get a cheaper set of actual studio strobes.

But, if you don't need that built-in wireless ETTL ability, you can just get any old flash and fire it (manually) with a radio trigger.

 

[bazooka]

Yeah, I've got a radio trigger which I usually just trigger one flash and set the others to optical. I'm thinking this job is going to be too big for manual flash though... 175 different setups in just a few days. I will have an assistant though, so maybe manual isn't out of the question. I can just set the power and make sure he keeps the light a set distance away. On-camera hotshoe for fill, and the triggered in a softbox held by assistant to my right or left and up close... Basically I'm walking around the building to everyone's desk/workplace and taking something between an environment portrait and a standard portrait.

 

[bazooka]

I just did some test shots and discovered that M, my preferred mode, is going to be a real pain so it's time to step into Ap world! The shots turned out pretty good though... just used on camera fill at 1/64th and a 1x1 softbox for key. There's a lot of different types of lighting in this building so that's going to be tricky as well.

I did find a 580ex on CL for $350... says it's never been used. Waiting to hear if he still has it.