Wireless 580exII

[doug_holcomb]

I just purchased my first speedlight, the 580exII. I'm struggling to figure out

how to have it fire off camera, I've followed the steps in the manual to the "t"

with no luck. I'm starting to wonder if I'm misunderstanding the literature. I'm

shooting a 40D, do i need another 580exII (or other strobe) to use as a "master"

or is the built in flash capable of acting as a master.

 

I know a trigger system such as PW, or Ebay triggers would be best, but for now

I'm trying to use what I have.

 

Thanks in advance for all your replies

[doug_holcomb]

If I should post in lighting forum instead please let me know and I apologize for the mis-post.

[adam_gifford]

From what i know the 40d's built in flash cannot act as a master. I Know the 580ex & st-e2 can function as master's, but i dont think the 430ex can(but i could be wrong about the 430ex).

[wilbur_wong]

Your built in flash can not act as the master. You must use either the 580 as the master or alternatively purchase and use a speedlite transmitter ST E2.

 

These units will instruct the remote units to fire different banks of light (at low power) your camera analyzes the actual output and then instructs all of the remotes to fire the resultant calculated power output at the time of exposure. This instruction set is separate from what your built in flash can do.

[doug_holcomb]

this is what i was afraid of. very disappointing. for a student on a budget would it be better to get the st-e2 or a set of pw's?

[zigzag]

If you are a student on a budget have a look at the eBay wireless triggers or an OSCS2 cord (extended, maybe). Better still, have a look at <a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/">Strobist</a> Lighting 101 which will tell you all about the options plus a few more useful things.

[colinsouthern]

Cheapest solution would be to simply use a PC cable.

[dave_holland]

Hi, Doug. Guess we surf the same sites, as I also found your post on Flickr strobist, and posted a reply there (spelunkerd). I would make the hardwire trigger option, as it will cost you less than $30 and you will always be able to use it as a backup in the future, even as your flash set grows.

 

I would not buy the ST-E2, as it is almost as expensive as a 430EX, and it isn't much better than a 430 (and if you get a 430 you automatically get a second flash).

 

If you want to go with optical triggering, I would get a 430, so that you can use the 580 as master, the 430 as slave.

 

Dave

[charles_lipton]

I just bought an excellent 550EX for a second off camera strobe. I use my 580EX as the master and the two 550's as slaves. I paid $200 for the 550EX on ebay.

 

just another thought.

[zigzag]

Correction to my previous statement: I believe you would need to use an OSCS3 cord (not 2) for the 580ex II.

 

See also <a href="http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/">Photonotes</a> for lots of info.

[colinsouthern]

Glen Flower wrote:

 

"I believe you would need to use an OSCS3 cord (not 2) for the 580ex II."

 

The OCSC2 will work just fine - the only thing that the OCSC3 adds is weather proofing to the same standard as the 1D3/580EX II.

[zigzag]

Ah, OK, my mistake (twice ;-). Thanks.

[kemmerichphoto]

also try the S2E2 from Canon allows off camera flash using ttl and I think about $200.

 

http://keithemmerichphotography.blogspot.com/

[wilbur_wong]

Doug,

 

The essential difference of using either the 580EX or ST-E2, versus other wired and/or wireless aftermarket solutions, is that the first two allows for TTL exposure settings along with losing the flash from the camera position.

 

Getting the flash off of the camera is the most important step of losing the deer caught in the headlights look. Using wireless TTL control is great for lazy togs like me. Without going back to where the flash units are set up, I can control ambient light setting of the camera, and dial flash (fill) up and down right from my camera.

 

The "strobist" has some pretty concise info about many different lighting conditions.

[doug_holcomb]

Thanks alot for all the help everyone, sounds like I have alot of figuring to do. I think I'll pay my camera store a visit and play around with different options, after all it seems like there are lots of possibilities.

 

thanks again!

[colinsouthern]

At a pinch Doug, grab yourself an STE2 - later on you can add additional flashes to your kit and it'll control them too - you can even got into things like differeng ratios (in fact there's very little that you can't control from an STE2).

 

Inside they're flawless - outside they're good, so long as the slaves aren't too far away from the controller.

[bob_osullivan]

Doug:

 

I think you'd lose ETTL function with a regular PC cord or optical slave accessory plugged in. A nice compromise would be the canon original 2' cord for about $40 that keeps ETTL functionality.

 

Another option, which will cost you nothing, is to return the 580 and get a STE-2 and a 430. Combined they cost about the same as the 580. This is the setup I started with and just used reflectors for fill light. Later, when I had more $$ I got the 580 and now have lot's of flexibility.

[mike_young1]

Take a look at this. Maybe not up to pro standards but it has been working fine for me for several weeks and the price is right.

http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/home.php?cat=274

Good Luck mike