earl_moore

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<p>is it possible to trip the speedlight without a receiver thus tripping the Bs?</p>

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<p>No need to get argumentative, just reread.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>is it possible to trip the speedlight without a receiver thus tripping the Bs?</p>

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<p>Actually, an optical slave will not work, since you would need a flash to trigger it in the first place. Unless you would be firing an Alienbee via sync cord or trigger. The Alienbees will come with a sync cord. You could also fire the 580ex via pc cord. <br /> Bottom line, Margie, is that you will need a light fired either via sync cord, radio trigger, or on the camera shoe. Since the 580exII lacks a built in optical slave, it is the likely target.</p>

A couple things that pop out to me Margie.......

 

1.) Those Westcotts are adjustable from only full to 1/4 power. The Bees will give you much greater range.

2.) Alienbees resale value is pretty insane. I frequently see people paying over new from PCB prices for used Bees on Ebay. It blows my mind. So if you did decide to make a change in a year, you really would not be out money at all.

 

A recommendation, if I may. Depending on your use, you may want to look at something like the RF-602 wireless triggers instead of the Cybersyncs. These can work with the shoe to trigger your 580exII or with the included 3.5mm cable to trigger the Bees. Use the money you save to upgrade one Bee to the 800, and grab a new Mini-Lithium battery to power your strobes on location.

 

Also, Michael recommends a larger softbox, but with 7' ceilings I think you may find space an issue.

<p>Simon, if you are fine with the Sunpak, there are plenty of models to look at. I use several auto 26dx, which I found quite a few on Ebay UK. <br /><br />They are not overly large, have fully tilt/swivel and the adjustable manual output to 1/16th. I have purchased all of mine for under US $20.<br /><br />Another consideration may be the lower numbered Yongnuo flashes ie YN-460. Most are selectable down to 1/64th or lower,<br />and feature simple slider/dial/or button adjustments.<br /><br /></p>