Best way to fire a Metz 48 AF-1 flash wirelessly with Canon Xsi? Should I consider NIkon CLS?

[jet_tilton]

<p>Hello, <br>

Really wanting to use my flash off-camera, wirelessly. I have a metz 48 Af-1 and a Canon Rebel Xsi. I know that there is no PC Sync port on the Xsi, and none on the Metz. Does anyone know if the ST-E2 will work with the Metz flash? Would it be better to sell the Metz for a Canon flash? If I really want to do more "strobist-like" portraiture, since I'm not heavily invested in the Canon system, should I invest in a D200 or D90 since they have commander mode, and I could take advantage of Nikon's CLS system?<br>

Thanks,<br>

Jet </p>

 

[NK Guy]

<p>I think the Metz 48 AF-1C (Canon version) is supposed to support wireless E-TTL in slave mode. Never tried it myself. If it's true then it could work with an ST-E2.<br>

You don't need Nikon CLS or Canon wireless E-TTL or anything to do "Strobist" photography, though. Just off-camera flash. If you want to do wireless with automatic metering, CLS and wireless E-TTL are basically fairly similar. I don't know if the wireless system alone is something that'd make or break a purchasing decision for me.</p>

[allardk]

<p>Hi Jet,<br>

I have a 48 AF-1 too, I'm also considering to move it off the camera without losing ETTL capabilities but I haven't tried yet. I would be surprised if it wouldn't work with an off camera shoe cord. Those are not wireless but FlashZebra (<a href="http://www.flashzebra.com/ttlcords/ettlcords/index.shtml">http://www.flashzebra.com/ttlcords/ettlcords/index.shtml</a> ) has pretty long ones. You could also go for a pocket wizard minitt1. Or get a canon 580 or Metz 58-AF1 flash to use as a master. Or a canon 7D with built-in flash control.<br>

If you are willing to give up ETTL there's loads of possibilities with hotshoe-to-pc-sync adapters and cheap wireless triggers and whatever you want.</p>

<p>You have a fine camera and a fine flash that can do what you need, I would invest my money in other things than switching to Nikon if I were you.</p>

<p>Allard</p>

<p> </p>

[richard_cochran]

<p>If I'm able to take the time to set up my lights off camera, I generally find that the time required to set the flash power manually is pretty much a negligible addition. Standard vanilla basic sync lets me use cords, cheap compact optical slaves, or PocketWizards, and lets me mix and match triggering modes and flash brands.</p>

[jet_tilton]

<p>Thanks for all of the responses! I guess it makes more sense to get the money together to buy the PW FlexTT5/mini TT1, for a little over $400 I can use this setup to control my flash away from the camera, and considering that the ST-E2 costs around $200, I'd rather use the money for the pocket wizards. Thanks Allard for your suggestions about this! </p>

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