Canon ST-E2 controller for a softbox

<p>Hi,<br>

I'm going to shoot a few interior pics using a Canon 5D Mark II , a 580 EXII in a soft box and a Canon ST-E2 to trigger the speedlite.<br>

Is this going to work when the Speedlite is in a softbox?<br>

Thanks.</p>

<p>You might struggle if you've not got direct line of sight to the flash; something hugely improved by the new ST-E3/600EX radio system. If you turn the flash body 90 degrees to the side with the head directed into the softbox and the body facing the camera it's possible to trigger, but that can limit your options as to softbox location.</p>

<p>Other options are pocket wizards, or you may find it easier to use off camera flash cable (it's possible to extend off-camera flash cables by splicing in RJ45 if you're stuck for length). As I've only used the newer Canon gear I'll let other people weigh in with more tips to get things going. Good luck!</p>

<p>I've had good success with the Yongnuo YN622 transceivers, you can pick up a pair at amazon for around $90 US. They are fully E-TTL.</p>

<p>I have used that combination with the Lastolite hot shoe(?) softbox by rotating the 580 hear around and having the sensor facing away from the soft box, it can be a little troublesome, so it's worth experimenting with the set up before it has to be used for real.<br>

Hope that helps.</p>

With the 580EX II a good option could be to use a long sync cable. Both, your camera and flash, have PC-Sync

connectors. The only possible "drawback" (I would call it an advantage) is that you must work in manual (the real

drawback is to manually set a speedlite if it's installed inside the softbox).

I don't know how you are mounting it in or to your softbox but if you swing the head so it faces sideways or backwards in

relation to the body of the flash, so the sensor in the front of the flash faces your ST-E3 you should be able to make it

work.

 

In your situation, something I do regularly I either use radio transceivers (the Pocketwizard ControlTL system to be

precise. Why the ControlTL system? Because its the most reliable of its type that i've worked with.) or to keep things

simpler than any wireless system (optical or radio), cheaper and faster to deploy I use a 33 foot camera to flash cable

from http://www.ocfgear.com so I have wired off camera e-TTL controlled flash. I especially like to use this solution in

multiple Speedlite set ups. The Master is hard wired to the camera (and set up in master mode (hold down the zoom

button until you see "off" on the display and rotate the control dial on the 580EX II until it says "master")) and the

additional flashes in "slave" mode ( to set a 580 EX II or 430 EX II to slave mode hold down the zoom button again and

turn the control wheel on the flash until the LCD reads "Slave."

<p>It more likely will not work. Use Pocket Wizards II (which I have) or III and shoot the flash on Manual mode. Or (as Randy Stiefer says) try the new Yongnuo YN-622C Wireless TTL Flash Trigger for Canon which (I would imagine) supersedes the well received RF-602 Flash Trigger + Receiver.</p>

<p>I've had good luck with the ST-E2, I use it with the Pocketwizard ControlTL so I can dial exposure up and down on the fly. I don't do a ton of flash photography, but when I do, that combo works well.<br>

Why don't you do a test? That's the only way to really know.</p>

<p>I do a fair amount of interiors photography and found no softbox and bouncing towards a corner works best for me. The softbox kills too much power and often warms the light giving it a slightly different color making it hard to get all my lights the same color. I use anywhere from 2 - 6 flashes bounced when shooting interiors and prefere the sharper look you get when not using a softbox which diffuses the light and makes things look soft instead of sharp.<br>

If you must use diffusion material have you thought about shoot through umbrella's or shoot through / bounce relector panels?</p>

<p>Thanks, all.<br>

I have been asked by a hotel owner to shoot their hotel for their hotel's website. They want me to get early morning, dusk and night shots of their property.Plus interior shots during the day.<br>

I have the following equipment:<br>

Canon 5D Mark II<br>

Canon 50mm f1.8 II<br>

Canon 17-40 f/4 L </p>

<p>For the Canon 400D I have the:<br>

Canon 10-22 <br>

Canon 55-250<br>

and the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8<br>

A 580 EXII speedlite, tripod, reflectors, STE2.</p>

<p>I'd like to get long range shots of the property with the 55-250.<br>

That's the equipment I have and I have to work with what I have.<br>

The hotel is surrounded by vegetation (tall trees) so I'm likely to get lots of 'dark spots' / shadow areas inside the cottages and the individual rooms - which is why I was thinking of using a soft box.<br>

I guess I would need to use a small softbox (less diffusion, perhaps?) to light the corners.<br>

What size of softbox should I be looking at?<br>

I would really appreciate any tips from someone who has shot hotel exteriors and interiors previously.<br>

Thanks a lot.</p>

<p> </p>

You should be looking at more powerful lights and a 36x 48 in ch light bank. Also a 24mm f/3.5 TS-E lens. The tilt function

you really won't need but the shift you'll find useful.

 

This is a considerable amount of wirk (bern there / done this) To do it right (defined as: creating value for client) will

involve a lot of time on your part. How much are they paying you?

<p>Thanks, Ellis.<br>

I have only recently started charging a fee for my work. I haven't negotiated the fee with the hotel yet but they told me I could sleep over for a night :-). Hardly what I need.<br>

I will experiment with the limited lighting apparatus I have, if that doesn't get me results I will take additional shots for HDR in CS5.</p>

 

Jeff Schewe has a very useful technique for using the Pro HDR Tool in PsCS5 & PsCS6 + Lightroom to create realistic

expanded tonal range images in his book "The Digital Negative."