remote flash control: Canon

[Scott Brady]

My Olympus kit had integrated wireless flash control, but now with the Canon bodies (5D MKII and 60D), I need to beef-up our flash systems.

What is everyone using for remote (off-center) flash? I cannot bring huge flash kits, so my initial concept is the following- ideas?

Canon ST-E2 Speedlight transmitter

580 EXII flash and a 430 EXII flash. A few diffusers too.

Thoughts?

 

[Lost Canadian]

Pocketwizards mini transmitter and flex transceiver would most likely give you the greatest flexability with the smallest amount of bulk.

 

[Pathfinder]

The ST-E2 is strictly line of sight, and does not always work well out of doors. I find it quite useful indoors - the IR can reflect from the walls to the flash, but out of doors people do complain about it not working well.

I sometimes use my hand or a white card as a reflector in front of the ST-E2 to direct the IR beam towards the receiving flash when out of doors. Or use an off camera OC3 cord to direct the ST-E2 beam at the receiving slav flash. The range of the ST-E2 out of doors may be less than 15 feet at times, and sometimes far less than that.

The Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and the associated Flex TT5 will be significantly more reliable in sunlight out of doors, with almost unlimited range.

I have ended up owning both systems, and like the simplicity of the ST-E2 when it works ( and indoors in a home/candid setting it never has failed me) but out of doors can be more problematic. If I had to depend on off camera ETTL out of doors for my living, I would strongly favor the PWs MiniTT1 and the FLex TT5. They will work reliably, but are more complex, demanding to set up, and more expensive. But they do work well.

Using straight PWIIs ( non ETTL ) and manual flash is another alternative to consider of course.

You can just use the 580exII as the master and your 430exII as your slave, of course.

Does the 60D incorporate the wireless control for EOS system flash? - I know the 7D certainly does.

Yes, according to dpreview, the 60D does include wireless speedlight control - http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canoneos60d/

 

[Tucson T4R]

It was raining here yesterday so I spent the morning learning and experimenting with the 7D off camera wireless flash (The same as your 60D). At least inside it worked perfectly. I was able to easily control my 580EXII and 430EXII as either one group or split into two groups firing at different power levels.

Still needs to be line of sight though since it is communicating with light pulses.

Pocketwizards would eliminate that problem and open up more options if you want to become a serious strobist.

 

[ywen]

I assume you'll be doing a lot of shooting outdoors.

For that reason you should invest in a pocketwizard system or radiopoppers. Get their models that work with Canon's ETTL for the most flexibility because you'll be able to take advantage of the high sync mode in the speedlights.

 

[Scott Brady]

Thanks for the feedback all. I am going to look at the pocket wizard.

 

[photoman]

For those that are a little more cost conscious the wireless triggers work as good as the Pocket Wizards.

I have a set pf Pocket Wizard II Transceivers and a four pack of the 4 channel wireless triggers. From experience and tests I now only use the Pocket Wizards with my studio equipment and use the wireless triggers for everything else. The accuracy of fires and distance is the same as the PW II's and the wireless triggers even fired from behind a wall and across the house. The PW II's did not.

[/IMG]

I used the wireless triggers in this shot with a flash in each tunnel more than 70ft from the camera.

Couple benefits of the wireless trigger over the PW are:
Size- wireless trigger transmitter and receiver are significantly smaller than PW. PW mini is similar in size.
Mounting- the wireless trigger system I purchased has a hot shoe mount on top, hot shoe with threaded nutsert on bottom, cable attachment on one side, and a umbrella mount on the other. PW is cable attachment only and you need to find a way to secure the Pocket Wizard. The PW mini is a little more versatile though.
Cost- PW II Transceivers= $169 each
Pocket Wizard Mini = $199 each
Wireless Triggers = 1 transmitter and 4 receivers $82

The Mini PW is brand specific and offers the ability to sync and adjust via the camera. While this is a nice feature, I always set all my flashes manually to dial in exactly the direction and level of light I want. Once I moved to shooting the camera on manual I moved to flash to manual as well.

To each their own but I have never had an issue with the wireless triggers and would recommend them to anyone.

 

[Scott Brady]

Thanks for the suggestions all. I just placed the order

1 of: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Hot Shoe Flash Trigger Receiver for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus & Pentax Flashes Other products by cowboystudio [Electronics]

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1 of: Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce for the Canon 580EX Flash [Accessory]

1 of: Opteka SB-1 Mini Universal Studio Soft Box Flash Diffuser for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony, Sigma, & Other External Flash Units [Electronics]

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[ywen]

Hmm My feeling regarding the triggers is that if you're going to use expensive Canon ETTL speedlights in a wireless setup, you might as well pay up and use the expensive PocketWizards or Radio-Poppers that supports ETTL communication.

The cheap simple radio triggers generally work fine for manual flash and staying within the camera's flash sync speed (1/125 - 1/200 normally).. However if you just use simple radio triggers, you loose the main benefits of these speedlights, which is the ETTL metering and high-speed sync.

 

[Pathfinder]

My approach to ETTL is that if I am shooting a fixed scene, or a portrait of an adult that will stay where I tell them to stand, I prefer to use manual flash - With a flash meter - 1 pop and I have my aperture and shutter speed, and as long as the flash to subject distance doesn't change, neither will the exposure.

For shooting candids, or kids, who are moving about and the flash to subject distance is constantly varying, ETTL is the way to go.

The Pocket Wizards MiniTT1 and the FlexTT5 do support ETTL, and more importantly , they also support High Speed Synch allowing you to overdrive sunlight or ambient light...

 

[Lost Canadian]

Hmm My feeling regarding the triggers is that if you're going to use expensive Canon ETTL speedlights in a wireless setup, you might as well pay up and use the expensive PocketWizards or Radio-Poppers that supports ETTL communication.

The cheap simple radio triggers generally work fine for manual flash and staying within the camera's flash sync speed (1/125 - 1/200 normally).. However if you just use simple radio triggers, you loose the main benefits of these speedlights, which is the ETTL metering and high-speed sync.

X2.

Shooting manually is fine if your shooting conditions are static, but if you're shooting in the field and/or in challenging conditions, say in changing ambient light, or changing locations, TTL is a quite literally a godsend. I wouldn't want to give up that flexibility, and unlike cheap triggers with PocketWizards you afford yourself the option to choose between TTL or manual.

 

[ywen]

X2.

Shooting manually is fine if your shooting conditions are static, but if you're shooting in the field and/or in challenging conditions, say in changing ambient light, or changing locations, TTL is a quite literally a godsend. I wouldn't want to give up that flexibility, and unlike cheap triggers with PocketWizards you afford yourself the option to choose between TTL or manual.

Yep plus with these relatively low powered speedlights.. you'd need the high-speed sync to overcome bright ambient lights


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