canon st e2 or 430 ex or YONGNUO

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rogertb

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Roger
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hi chaps - if i want to fire speedlites from the camera i can use one with flash turned off but does the st e2 hava advantages ie why buy an ste2 when i could buy another 430ex to do the job and have another flash ? best roger
 
The 430EX II won't act as a master for wireless TTL, only a slave. If you mean buying a 430EX II to use as a slave and using your 580EX II as the master then I agree with you.
Personally I've never read a good thing about the ST-E2 and the awkward batteries alone is enough to put me off.
 
Thanks Darren ... I didn't realise that -ok so I can use the 580 on-camera with flash turned off to fire my 430 but I probably wouldn't want my 580 wasted just using It as a trigger, so I could use it off-camera, with a cable, a short distance and at least be able to get some use out of it ... but for more flexibility as far as positioning the 580 is concerned I'd have to fire it with the another 580, an st e2 or the yongnuo thingy or the more expensive ttl wireless gizmos (i'm thinking I've answered my own question) !
 
Yongnuo RF-603 are great for triggering remote flashes. Give you great range and they are cheap too - ~£25 for 3.

No TTL so manual only but seems a waste to use a flash to trigger the others when this is so cheap.

If you needed TTL off camera then Pocket Wizards (much more expensive) would be more what you need. Would you use TTL off camera though?
 
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rogertb said:
Thanks Phil - so to keep TTL what 'receivers do you need for the Yongnuo ST-E2 please ? ... O also came a cross this on Amazon



Roger
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It designed to trigger the 430s, 580s using the built in protocols - so no additional triggers/receivers required. It should just work as a ST-E2 or a 580 master would.

Radio ETTL is considered more reliable, but obviously costs more and could be overkill for your needs?
 
rogertb said:
hi chaps - if i want to fire speedlites from the camera i can use one with flash turned off but does the st e2 hava advantages ie why buy an ste2 when i could buy another 430ex to do the job and have another flash ? best roger
Click to expand...

What do you want to do, how many remote flashes do you want to use, and do you need E-TTL?

The main advantage of E-TTL is speed. Switch it on and shoot, and you'll get a decent exposure. If you're working fast, such as moving from one group of people to another solo portrait quickly, this is vital. Also very hepful if your subject is moving, eg kids, and the distance is constantly changing (flash exposure is very sensitive to distance).

But if you have a little more time, and when using remote guns in a little set-up almost by definition you have more time, then there is much less benefit to E-TTL and many people prefer full manual as it locks the exposure even when there are slight changes in the subject that might cause E-TTL to fluctuate a little. This explains the popularity of basic manual radio triggers, because they do the job required very reliably and cheaply.

If you need E-TTL remote control, then you either an E-TTL cord (up to 10m, from Interfit) or some kind of wireless mastering - light-code like the native Canon system, or radio.

Yongnuo ST-E2 looks favourite for cheap light-code mastering. You can often overcome the problems of limited range in bright sun with light-coding, by putting the master unit on a cord. Or you could do that with a 580EXII gun and use it in both flash and master mode simultaneously.

Or you can go radio, with Pocket Wizard or Phottix Odin etc, at a price. Or consider the new Canon 600EX-RT radio enabled guns.

Various pros and cons, but the first things is the answer those three questions, particularly the one about E-TTL.
 
Ah - I see now Andy - and Richard, thanks - you've made me think twice about TTL.

So with the Yongnuo ST-E2 I don't need triggers on my 580 and 430 but I would if I have a PocketWizard Mini TT1 ... so much to learn !

Roger
 
Don't overlook the cheaper (than 580) 550EX as your "Master".
 
rogertb said:
Ah - I see now Andy - and Richard, thanks - you've made me think twice about TTL.

So with the Yongnuo ST-E2 I don't need triggers on my 580 and 430 but I would if I have a PocketWizard Mini TT1 ... so much to learn !

Roger
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You don't need receiver/triggers on the remote guns for light-code mastering, as that's built in to the flash.
 
Sorry to labour this Richard, are you saying I wouldn't need triggers with a PocketWizard Mini TT1 ... tha PocketWizard site says "Remotes can be one or more PocketWizard FlexTT5™ Transceivers connected to Canon E-TTL II flashes or any PocketWizard Receiver for triggering flash or remote cameras." I'm getting confused ...
 
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rogertb said:
Soory to labour this Richard, are you saying I wouldn't need triggers with a PocketWizard Mini TT1 ... tha PocketWizard site says "Remotes can be one or more PocketWizard FlexTT5™ Transceivers connected to Canon E-TTL II flashes or any PocketWizard Receiver for triggering flash or remote cameras." I'm getting confused ...
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No worries, this stuff is confusing if you're not into it.

The native Canon system, and all other camera brands, uses light-coded signals and the necessary bits are built in to the flash units, so you only need separate tranmitter/receivers with third party radio tiggers. Just to confuse things, Canon has just introduced it's own radio based system (integral to the 600EX-RT) but it won't work with older guns.

Highly recommend this book - Speedliter's Handbook by Syl Arena. It explains how all these things work and how to use them, modifiers and all that too. Excellent book, but only for Canon users really.
 
AndyB1976 said:
There is a Yongnuo ST-E2 clone available however I haven't used it personally. Might be worth a look. Cheaper than the Canon, more features and AA batts.
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not sure exactly what you're aiming for but I'd do this

cost vs reward I think it's a good idea

I have a 580exII and canon ST-E2
i've used them in sync with 430ex, 550ex and a 580exII
works a treat

however, I'd just bought a YN565ex and it works great
only as a slave (like the 430ex) but with the power functions and catch light card you'll find on a 580.
highly recommended for £105
also the YN version of the ST-E2. I've heard good things
and you don't need those daft batteries as mentioned/....they are a pain to find if you haven't got a stockpile!
 
DizMatt said:
not sure exactly what you're aiming for but I'd do this

however, I'd just bought a YN565ex and it works great
only as a slave (like the 430ex) but with the power functions and catch light card you'll find on a 580.
highly recommended for £105
Click to expand...

Thanks for that..I am personally triggering my 580's off the 7D, but was looking for a couple of background slaves - these could be worth a look!:thumbs:
 
DizMatt said:
is the 7D triggering IR or RF? never found out and am thinking of buying a 7D in the summer
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7D's mastering is light-code. Some people refer to it as IR, and technically the receiver is sensitive to semi-IR, but the signals are sent by visible light from the pop-up flash that fires morse-code like control signals as part of the pre-flash phase. It all happens so fast it just looks like one normal flash to the eye.

No cameras yet have radio built in. The closest to that is Canon's new 600EX-RT flash unit, but the radio is built in to the gun.
 
cheers, I thought some of the nikons has this RF trigger option built in..

so there is
Canon Speedlite 600EX-RTRadio triggering with 30m range
Use up to 15 units together
Integrated optical slave
Remote camera triggering
Bounce-and-swivel control with 20-200mm zoom head
Guide number 60 (m, ISO 100, at 200mm)
White-balance correction filters
Fast, quiet recycling

but 30 metres isn't much of a claim. I've seen pocket wizards go 150metres up a building

and then there is!!! (didn't know about this!)
Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RTRadio frequency remote flash trigger
Fire selected Speedlites from 30m away
Part of the E-TTL II flash system
Controls up to 15 flashguns
Remote camera triggering
Weather sealed against dust and moisture
Canon_Speedlite_Transmitter_ST_E3_RT_d.jpg
 
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but 30 metres isn't much of a claim. I've seen pocket wizards go 150metres up a building
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I think Canon are playing it safe with this range. Everything ive read so far hasn't experienced any problems with range.
 
When I first started using off camera flash I was using an ST-E2 to trigger a couple of Canon 420 EX and a Canon 430 EX II.

They worked fine when I was setting up an indoor studio, but the flashgun slaves need to see the light from the master.

Outside this isn't easy. Bright sunlight, heavy rain, and obstructions between the slave and master made a light enabled system very unreliable.

Radio triggers come in two flavours; those that talk to the flash and enable TTL metering control, and those that are basic manual triggers that just make the flash pop.

If you are happy to manually set the flash power on each speedlight yourself, then the easiest option is to get a set of manual receivers and a trigger, like the Yongnuo CTR-301P or Cactus 5.

However there are certain situations when TTL is helpful. For example you may want to have a couple of speedlights illuminating the back of a dance stage at a wedding and these could probably be set on manual, but taking photos of the dancers themselves could be difficult without TTL. This requires a much more complex radio system like the PW mini/flex transceivers, the Phottix Odin system, or Canon's latest (and very expensive) system.

There is another option. Triggers like the Phottix Strato Multi II have dumb receivers to trigger flashes set to manual, but the trigger has pass through TTL so you can still put on an on-camera flashgun, or run a TTL cable to an off-camera flashgun. If you later decide to upgrade to the Odin trigger system, the Strato can still work as dumb receivers.
 
DizMatt said:
cheers, I thought some of the nikons has this RF trigger option built in..

so there is
Canon Speedlite 600EX-RTRadio triggering with 30m range
Use up to 15 units together
Integrated optical slave
Remote camera triggering
Bounce-and-swivel control with 20-200mm zoom head
Guide number 60 (m, ISO 100, at 200mm)
White-balance correction filters
Fast, quiet recycling

but 30 metres isn't much of a claim. I've seen pocket wizards go 150metres up a building

and then there is!!! (didn't know about this!)
Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RTRadio frequency remote flash trigger
Fire selected Speedlites from 30m away
Part of the E-TTL II flash system
Controls up to 15 flashguns
Remote camera triggering
Weather sealed against dust and moisture
Canon_Speedlite_Transmitter_ST_E3_RT_d.jpg
Click to expand...

Canon's 30m claim is very modest. Unofficially they will tell you up to 100m no probs.

The ST-E3-RT transmitter is radio only, and will only fire Canon's RT guns.
 
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