OFF CAMERA FLASH SETUP (CANON)

[sinjans]

Here's the scoop. I have a 580EXii and want to go with one more eventually 2 more units. The 580 can be used as the transmitter. I wouldbe satisfied for now with another 580 for a slave. Instead of the STE2 i figured a few extra bucks for the 580 would be fine. What are you canon shooters using and if you can help me out with this without going too far off track it would be great. I was looking into PW's and RP's but really canons IR system seems ok. Cheers

 

[keith foster]

You could save yourself some money by going with 430's as the slaves.

 

[sinjans]

Yeah i was thinking about that and i am not sure i will need the extra power of the 580s. I 'm just used to the 580s now and have confidence in it.

 

[Big Mike]

It really depends on the situations you will be shooting in.

If you are going to be shooting indoors, is a studio-like environment, then you should be fine with just the Canon units. The 580, as a master, uses light pulses to communicate with any slaved units. Indoors and in close range, that isn't a problem...it can even bounce off walls etc. But when you go outdoors, you pretty much need line of site between master & slave, and bright sunlight can really hamper the effective range and reliability.
Note that the ST-E2 uses IR, rather than light pulses, but you have the same issues.

Those are the reasons that many photographers go with a radio system, it's a much more reliable form of wireless communication. The basic radio triggers work really well but will only fire the flash. This means that you don't get E-TTL metering or HSS etc. You have to figure out and manually set the power of each remote flash. It's not really that hard once you get the hang of it and many photographers actually prefer the manual control because it's consistent.
The Pocket Wizard Plus II units are the industry standard for this type of trigger...but there are other, less expensive options, but none with the 1600' range.

The latest trend is for radio triggers that allow you to keep full functionality...things like E-TTL and HSS etc. There are two options; PWs and Radio Poppers. The new PW unit can act as a master on it's own. So you wouldn't necessarily need a 580 on-camera...just the sending unit and then receiving units on each slave flash. There are issues with functionality and the range isn't outstanding...something to do with radio interference from the flash units.
The Radio Poppers appear to work well, but they are a 'piggyback' system, meaning that you still need to have a master unit (580) on the camera along with the RP sending unit.

Last week, I refereed someone to Mike Fulton, which is an avid user of Radio Poppers, but he's also tested the PW units. You should be able to find the thread pretty easy. You could even contact him and ask him a question or two, he's a really nice guy.


Oh ya, you could go with 430 units as slaves, which would save you a good chunk of money. But I know many working photographers who prefer to just have a handful of 580 units so that all their flashes are the same.

 

[sinjans]

Thanks Mike,

I have been reading the other threads and have gained a bit of knowlege on the radio versions. I guess i feel cozy with the canon IR and light pulse setup. Perhaps the ST-E2 and another 5802 may come my way if i can get a good used price. Still thinkin gon the PW's too. If i could get a set now i probably may not need the additional flash for a while. I will be using them mainly outdoors not from too far of a distance but for some help for outdoor portraits. Thanks again

 

[Big Mike]

Unless you get a good deal on an ST-E2, it's not something I'd strongly recommend. Firstly, it's not cheap and all it does is act as a master, you may as well shell out and get a 580 which is a master and a very good flash unit.

Also, if you do expand into the Canon wireless system, the ST-E2 isn't as functional as a 580. I think it can only control two groups of slave flashes, while the 580 can control three groups of slaves. Might not be an issue for everyone...but still something to consider.

If you just want to get into this whole off-camera thing. You might consider trying out the cheap Cactus triggers. For $40, it's hard to go wrong. I've got a couple sets of the older version...but I've since upgraded to the Cyber Sync system from Paul Buff (Alienbee etc).

 

[sinjans]

Your new name is HUGE MIKE!!

Thanks fella.