580EX II - Off camera

Jelster

Jelster

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Steve
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Has anybody got any experience of using the 580EX II off camera ?

What accessories do you use and how useful is it ?

I want to use it for portraits maybe via a shoot through brolly...

Steve
 
Works pretty damn well.

Use it with a 430ex and an SB-24. Use an ebay wireless trigger at the moment (upgrading to skyports soon) a couple of lumopro lightstands and a westcott shoot through umbrella.

Let me know if you need more details.
Alex
 
Are you saying if i use this setup i wont need my studio lights?
 
Are you selling your studio lights then Janice? Having new ones?
 
Janice said:
Are you saying if i use this setup i wont need my studio lights?
Click to expand...

Yep, I personally use it instead of studio lights. Obviously you loose some of the pluses of studio lights such as modeling lamps, some flash power and the ability to hitch to the mains but I love it simply for it's portability.

Alex
 
Gilly B said:
Are you selling your studio lights then Janice? Having new ones?
Click to expand...

No Gilly, just wondering about the feasability of having a less bulky setup really ;)

I'll probably still use a couple of lights on the backdrop to be honest.
 
ai3x said:
Works pretty damn well.

Use it with a 430ex and an SB-24. Use an ebay wireless trigger at the moment (upgrading to skyports soon) a couple of lumopro lightstands and a westcott shoot through umbrella.

Let me know if you need more details.
Alex
Click to expand...

But surely you don't get full TTL via this system ? I already have a pair of flashguns, so if I were to lose the TTL facilies I may as well not bother with a new flash unit..
 
hmmmm sorry but i'm a flash head and flash gun girl...ya need both! :D portability is great if you want to do a location shoot, and can just use the guns, but 'real' studio lighting IMHO comes from heads as they'll give ya wayyyyy more in the long run, and can be cheaper than the guns (580EX II at £350ish vs £300 Interfit 300w head) i use the ST-E2 transmitter to fire both my 580EXII & 430EX, works nicely, and very convenient especially if i'm at a wedding and there's a large room that needs illuminating, can just prop one on a tripod to one side of the room, and the other wherever!
 
you keep full E-TTL steve.. work pretty darn well imo... :thumbs:

the thing is, you need one to act as master.. you can turn the flsh off so that you model with the other one but it always seems a waist of a 580!! so, you could go get an ST-E2 which will run both your flashes.. but then at £140 you may as well get another flash!! as your over half way there price wise!! lol.. dilema.. :thinking:

Anyway, they work very well.. you've seen the results.. ;)
 
fraggle101 said:
you keep full E-TTL steve.. work pretty darn well imo... :thumbs:

the thing is, you need one to act as master.. you can turn the flsh off so that you model with the other one but it always seems a waist of a 580!! so, you could go get an ST-E2 which will run both your flashes.. but then at £140 you may as well get another flash!! as your over half way there price wise!! lol.. dilema.. :thinking:

Anyway, they work very well.. you've seen the results.. ;)
Click to expand...

Errrr.... how do eBay triggers maintain E-TTL2 function? Mine don't. They are just dumb triggers. I'm just waiting for delivery of new batteries but at the moment I'm also getting miserable sync speeds with my them - even 1/160 is a problem at the mo. I'm hoping new batteries will fix that. It won't give me E-TTL2 though. I thought Skyports and Pocket Wizards were equally dumb, but more reliable, more rangey and much more expensive.

If you want E-TTL2 maintained you'll need a proper E-TTL-2 off-camera flash cord, an ST-E2, a mounted master 580EX or Radio Poppers - or so I thought.

ST-E2 can be obtained froma reliable source for £100 - http://www.onestop-digital.com/cata...d=166&osCsid=743d37d4829e64c75c4134b5ac0c50d9. Don't forget to buy the battery separately.
 
Thanks all, I decided to spend my money on a lens instead, and make use of the longer days while we have them. Hopefully I can sort myself out some lighting later in the year.

Steve
 
I think he means you keep ettl when you have the 580ex mounted on camera and use it to fire slaves (other EX flash).

Otherwise, the only wireless trigger that keep ettl functionality is the Radio Pooper.
 
Could anybody tell me what I would need to run a 430ex from a 400d via a cable and where from? Just looking to have a play around.

Also where do you guys get your shoot through umbrellas/softboxes and stands from?

Cheers.
 
I got some very cheap stands from cameras2u recently. They are cheap in price, and construction, but they're all I need for a lightweight, portable set that I can use in the dining room with my 580EX guns on top....

http://www.cameras2u.com/Store/s597...sh/Lighting-Stand-2-S-(85-243cm)/details.aspx

I got my hotshoe flash adapaters here....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=150250222057&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=005

I got my 40" shootthrough umbrellas, with silver/black backing for reflective use here....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=200227009467&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=010

I can't help you on the cord - I use eBay wireless triggers (reliability a bit iffy, to be honest) or use my 580EX II as master (fill) on the camera and my 580EX as slave (main) on a stand. If you want to retain ETTL-2 function you'll need a fancy ETTL-2 cable. These are normally pretty short, off the shelf, for use with a camera flash bracket, and cost from around £20 on eBay (Hong Kong) up to £40 in the UK. If you want a long reach you'll need to buy a custom cable or chop up a short one and modify it with an extension bit in the middle. If you don't need ETTL-2 but are happy to go with manual flash then you'll need a basic PC sync cord. I'm assuming the 430EX has a suitable socket. At the camera end you'll probably need a hotshoe to sync cable socket converter. Hopefully someone else can step in with more precise advice.

Knowing budget and distance might help with the answers.
 
Howdy tdodd. Thanks for the quick repl and for the links!

Buget: I want to have a shot at this on the cheap end of the scale to be honest.....just messing about. If I like it then I'll probably jump straight up to the Pocket Wizards.

Don't mind going manual with the flashes so not too bothered about ETTL.

I don't think the 430ex has a pc socket (borrowing it off a friend to try out) Once again, if I like it I'll get a couple of 580exII.

As for distance I'm based in the North East.

I think I need:

Hot shoe to PC sync for the camera end
PC sync cable
Hot shoe to sync for the flash end

Just don't know which ones or wheres best to get them.:shrug:

Cheers again.

SimonA
 
Hah, I meant distance from your camera to your flash gun. :D

I think you've nailed it with the kit list for your cable though. At least, that's what I imagined you'd need.

Having bought a load of camera accessories from Hong Kong dealers on eBay recently, that would be the first place I'd look. Some stuff came in about 3 days. The longest wait was just under2 weeks. Everything has arrived safely and everything works as advertised. There can't be much to go wrong with a bit of cable and two adapters. I don't think there will be any electronics involved -just basic hard wiring and a bit of solder, so I should think the cheapest source you can find would be OK. I dare say you can pay more and get better quality - perhaps locking connections that won't drop out, or just sturdier cable with more robust plugs, but for domestic use, there isn't much to go wrong (I hope).

If you're a gambling man you could try (risk) eBay wireless flash triggers. It would be a neater and less accident prone alternative to a snaking cable. I've had mine for about a year and hardly used them. I just fitted brand new batteries to sender and receivers and I've just about got three receivers (out of four bought) working sort of reliably. There is the odd surprise flash just to keep me on my toes though. I think nowadays there is a new design, which takes AAA battries instead of 2CRs for the receivers. Maybe they are more reliable, maybe not. It's just a thought.

Any other wireless solution is going to get far more expensive than eBay triggers, basically starting at £100 for an ST-E2 from Onestop-Digital in Hong Kong (battery extra), to several times that for Pocket Wizards, and a couple of options in between.

EDIT : Actually, brain just woke up - you could also try cheap optical triggers from eBay. Your popup flash acts as the trigger - just set it to -2FEC for minimal actual flash effect - and then pop an optical hotshoe adapter on each flash gun you want to trigger. The only thing to watch out for is that you get one that can ignore the ETTL pre-flash. I assume that is possible. The other thing to watch for is, so I have read, that they are rubbish outdoors in bright sunlight. Indoors they should be fine.
 
tdodd....LOL, sorry about distance I thought it was so people in my local area might be able to show me what they have. hehe....

Anyhow, ahem, distance.....about 5m I think should be long enough :)

If people think that what I've outlined above is correct I'll start to source the bits for a test before jumping in with both feet.

I'll have a look at the ebay suppliers and I'll look into UK ones too......

Just seen that AlienBees are going to be doing a mid range set of wireless triggers now too!

Cheers again.

Simon
 
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