Very confused :S

[Lmphotos]

That's a first right?? Ha! I'm confused on triggering my OCF. Right now I am Optically triggering in but I learned quick into very unreliable and doesn't work well. This is what I want to do is wirelessly trigger it where I don't have to be next to it for it to go off or it doesn't have to see me. But I also want one to stay on the hot shoe and maintain ettl or at least manual function while my slave is off camera. I know it's possible because I've heard of people doing it but all the triggers I've looked at doesn't seem to be a me to place a flash on top of it for the on camera master. I'm sure this sounds jumbled anyone who can help it is appreciated

 

[Robin_Usagani]

This is what I use. You can put a flash on the top of the transmitter and the flash will still act like it normally would. The off camera flash will be in manual though.

Phottix Strato II Multi 5-in-1 Wireless Trigger

 

[pgriz]

Simple sync triggers only give the command to fire, there's no communication between the flash and the camera to establish the "back-and-forth" that allows E-TTL. If you want E-TTL with your radio triggers, you need to go to the high-end wireless units (Pocketwizard Flex, Radio-poppers, and some others) that explicitly support E-TTL (and by no coincidence cost a lot more). Note that Canon and Nikon E-TTL units are incompatible since the two companies have their own communication protocols. If your off-camera flash is close enough to the camera, you can use a flash extender cable, which has the physical contacts to all the live pins, and will allow you to have the flash up to 2 ft. away AND use E-TTL.

If you are in a studio situation, using the simple sync triggers is usually not a huge problem, as you can walk over to the flash units and set the power levels manually. In fact, manual control of the flash is much more reliable than using E-TTL, because YOU are in control. When using E-TTL, the camera makes a lot of the decisions for you, and the flash exposure you get varies a lot from shot to shot if you're moving the camera around. On the other hand, I've been in situations where E-TTL was a much better fit (because I was moving around all the time), so I put my flash on a flash bracket, connected the flash to the camera with an extender cable, and put a diffuser on the flash to make the light "larger". Works, but you're hauling a rather impressively sized rig.

 

[manaheim]

By the way the optical triggers (at least Nikon's CLR system) work VERY well in relatively small and not overly-bright settings.

 

[480sparky]

By the way the optical triggers (at least Nikon's CLS system) work VERY well in relatively small and not overly-bright settings.

FIFY. CLR is for cleaning sinks & bathtubs.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

By the way the optical triggers (at least Nikon's CLS system) work VERY well in relatively small and not overly-bright settings.

FIFY. CLR is for cleaning sinks & bathtubs.

 

[manaheim]

By the way the optical triggers (at least Nikon's CLS system) work VERY well in relatively small and not overly-bright settings.

FIFY. CLR is for cleaning sinks & bathtubs.

Whoops.

 

[KmH]

Note that Canon and Nikon E-TTL units are incompatible since the two companies have their own communication protocols.

Canon - eTTL. Nikon - iTTL.

Using either eTTL or iTTL requires a lot more knowledge and skill than just controlling the flash unit and camera in manual modes.
Manual moide produces more consistent results too because the camera is not involved in settings decision making.
In eTTL/iTTL the camera is only able to follow a software program that often chooses settings that don't give you the result you want, particularly when you are shooting a scene that varies somewhat from shot to shot.

Using an optically triggered system (infrared light - IR) you have to be mindful of the sight lines. You may need to rotate a flash head so the optical sensing window on the flash unit's body faces the camera. You can sometime get optical triggering systems to work around a corner or otherwise out-of-sight if you set up a reflector.

Direct sunlight is a problem for optical triggering systems because the Sun produces quite a bit of IR light that overwhelms the cameras IR light signal.
Range is another limitation of optical triggering systems. While radio triggering systems can work reliably at 100+ feet, most optical systems max out at 30 to 40 feet or so.

In short, radio triggering is so popular because radio triggering has far fewer physical technical limitations.

 

[Mully]

I recently bought these for studio and they work great AST Yongnuo RF-603 3 PCS Wireless Flash Trigger Nikon about $60 on Amazon for 3 of them...... work great

 

[manaheim]

Note that Canon and Nikon E-TTL units are incompatible since the two companies have their own communication protocols.

Canon - eTTL. Nikon - iTTL.

Using either eTTL or iTTL requires a lot more knowledge and skill than just controlling the flash unit and camera in manual modes.
Manual moide produces more consistent results too because the camera is not involved in settings decision making.
In eTTL/iTTL the camera is only able to follow a software program that often chooses settings that don't give you the result you want, particularly when you are shooting a scene that varies somewhat from shot to shot.

Using an optically triggered system (infrared light - IR) you have to be mindful of the sight lines. You may need to rotate a flash head so the optical sensing window on the flash unit's body faces the camera. You can sometime get optical triggering systems to work around a corner or otherwise out-of-sight if you set up a reflector.

Direct sunlight is a problem for optical triggering systems because the Sun produces quite a bit of IR light that overwhelms the cameras IR light signal.
Range is another limitation of optical triggering systems. While radio triggering systems can work reliably at 100+ feet, most optical systems max out at 30 to 40 feet or so.

In short, radio triggering is so popular because radio triggering has far fewer physical technical limitations.

And sometimes the "reflector" can just be walls or other objects in the room. I'm not trying to amp them up beyond their limitations, but the point is with a little creativity in the right circumstances you can make them work pretty well. I think they get poo pooed a little overmuch at times, but they are a pretty viable option if you're clever.

 

[cgipson1]

IF you want TTL OCF, you will have to get TTL capable triggers as mentioned.... I prefer the PW's, but have heard that these do fairly well: Amazon.com: Yongnuo YN-622C Wireless TTL Flash Trigger for Canon 600EX RT 580EXII 430EXII: Camera & Photo . And they are very inexpensive!

 

[IByte]

FIFY. CLR is for cleaning sinks & bathtubs.

The stuff works wonders.

 

[Lmphotos]

This is my problem please let me know if there is a solution you know of. I have two sigma flashes the ef 610 dg super and the ef 610 dg st. The super boast that it has master and slave capabilities the ST doesn't say any of that even though it came with a flash stand in the box.....I can optically trigger the super but its more limiting than I would like. What I want is one flash off camera with an umbrella or soft box on it at manual 1/16 power ( no ettl) then I want one to remain on my hotshoe on camera on ettl mode. I want to wirelessly be able to trigger them though not optically. Tell me if this is possible please?

 

[Robin_Usagani]

Yes.. What i suggested.

 

[gsgary]

Optical trigger on your off camera flash FLASH WIRELESS OPTICAL SLAVE TRIGGER HOT SHOE for ANALOGUE and Other Flashes | eBay, but i don't use ettl does ettl pre flash if so it will set off your other flash with pre flash and not flash when needed, forget it and just set them up on manual