Radio transmitter

[cjbryant]

Hi everyone. I am wondering if there is a radio transmitter out

there that I can hook up to my canon 420 ex flashes and a Sigma 500

Super flash? I have the ST-E2 but I do not like the "line of sight"

requirement. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[jasonsmith]

You could go for a Pocket Wizard which are a little pricey or go for one of the cheaper Chinese made varieties on Ebay.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7598731456&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:AU:12

 

I am yet to try them however I know others here have with no problems.

[jimstrutz]

I know the cheap radio slaves on ebay will trip your flash as a manual only flash. Since the 420EX doesn't have manual mode, it will fire full power every time. The Sigma Super has manual power control, but exposures will be up to you to control manually.

 

Is the Pocket Wizard different in this reguard?

 

The ST-E2 will work around corners if not to much distance is required, and providing there are some reflective surfaces to bounce it's communication flashes. I believe this communication distance is increased a bit if you use a Canon 550EX/580EX as the master. Perhaps the Sigma EF-500 Super has more powerful communication pulses as well.

 

I never like the Sigma as an E-TTL wireless master, since it's control interface is a bit strange, but it does work.

[jasonsmith]

My understanding of the Pocket Wizards is they merely fire the flash - so TTL is not an option. The advantage of the PW's is that they are super reliable and work over a fair distance.

 

Seems strange that you cant vary the output of the flash in manual mode. Can you change the ISO to reduce power.

[ellis_vener_photography]

If you are working professionally you want a Pocketwizard system . Pocketwizard is a brand. Second place (but close) is the Quantum Freewire system. Both systems are more reliable than the Canon system.

[cjbryant]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I do have one more question. I was looking at the pocket wizard setup, however I cannot find out how I would hook it up to the flashes, as neither of them have a PC Sync plug-in. Is there a hot shoe adapter that will work with Pocket wizard? Thanks

[jimstrutz]

The typical way to connect the receiver to the Speedlite is to use a generic hotshoe adapter that has a PC connector on it. A Nikon AS-15 is one of the better ones, but you can find others in most photo stores and on line at B&H, Adorama, etc. Flash exposures will be manual only and a flash meter will help. YOu can figure it out with a digital camera without the meter, but it's easier with the flash meter.

 

The 420EX is pretty lame for this since it only fires at full power this way. You can "adjust" it's output by layering tissue in front of it's flash head. Figure about 1 stop reduction for each layer.