cgardner
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 p.1 #9 · A heads up on Canon flash mods | |
FWIW, I've never found the lack of a PC socket on the 580ex a problem when using them with PW, because you need to mount the flash to a stand anyway, no?
I just use a re-gendered $10 generic PC - hotshoe extender (shown below with a Vivitar because I shot it with the Canons) which solves the connect to the PW and to the stand both with one piece, vs. needing two separate pieces: cord and shoe, to connect it to the PW. But that's just me: 1) cheap, and 2) logical. I also rarely find the need to even bother with the PW because I find that with a 580ex as Master I rarely have any problems triggering the slave.
But I also think its pretty silly to buy a $370 flash like a 580ex, then a $200 radio trigger, so the flash can be used exactly like the $80 Vivitar pictured above.
Getting radio triggers seems to have become a knee-jerk "Stobist" reaction based on assumptions Canon system uses IR and is therefore seriously flawed. The Canon IR thing is like one of those urban legends which gains credibility the more times it is told. I think its origin and good deal of the bad rap the Canon wireless system gets is also based on people who have used a ST-E2 as master. Because it has deep red filter so the pre-flash color can't be detected by eye to prevent reflex blinking people assume it is IR and the Canon system relies entirely on IR. Since an IR remote for a TV only works within 10ft of the TV then the IR based Canon flash system must suck too, right? That seems to be the logic some people are using.
Actually its just the ST-E2 that sucks. If one avoids buying a ST-E2 and instead uses a 580ex as Master the Canon system works much better and radio triggers are only needed in extreme situations where flashes are put at extreme distances from the camera or hidden completely from view. An other myth is that "line of sight" is needed to trigger a Canon slave. Actually the slave just needs to see sufficient light from the Master when it pre-flashes instructions the same as a conventional optical slave. But because it used coded pulsed to send instructions digitally it is immune from most interference from other flashes. But of course another more powerful flash going off at exactly the same time, or a slave sensor (the gray lens on the front) blinded by direct sun might cause occasional intermittent problems. But to me it makes little sense for a beginner to base their entire flash equipment buying strategy to avoid something which is the exception rather than the rule. Like any other tool using Canon wireless flash effectively simply requires using it and gaining experience with it. Once the limits of a tool are known then an informed decision can be made regarding when a different tool, like radio triggered manual flash, might be better or more convenient.
The more important consideration beyond communication with the slave when deciding to use the Canon system or radio triggers is the question of whether or not you want to be limited to manual flash only or be able to switch seamlessly between TTL and Manual.
I am a huge fan of Manual flash because it is predictable and consistent. I've used manual flashes for 35 years now and still use Manual mode whenever I shoot a portrait with my 580ex flashes. I learned to use manual flash back in the early 1970s and bought my first pair of Vivitar 263s with a Vivitar photo cell slave trigger in 1974. They were still working fine in 2000 when I bought my first digital, but their trigger voltage was too high so I upgraded to a pair of 285HVs and Wein Peanut and still used them with my Canon 20D until deciding to switch to the 580ex flashes. So its not like I don't know how to use manual flash or when manual is an advantage over TTL. I switched because I wanted to use my expensive fast L lenses at wide apertures outdoors with fill flash...
The camera I used before the 20D was a Minolta D7Hi, which I still have. Because it has an electronic viewfinder it has no focal plane shutter and reflex mirror and NO X-SYNC LIMIT even with the manual Vivitar flashes  . That little camera with its sharp 28-200mm lens spoiled me to to point where reverting to shooting everything outdoors at f/8 and above with the 20D and manual flash sucked enough to shell out $800 for a pair of 580ex flashes and the TTL extension cord. I rationalized it by doing the math: $1,300 for camera body, $4,000 for lenses. With that much invested in sophisticated camera gear, did it make sense to be hamstrung by a pair of $80 flashes using 1970s technology? Also, since using optical slave had become an increasing problem due to interference from other shooters my choice was either to spend $500 on a set of three pocket wizards, or $800 on a pair of 580ex. Ironically, I wound up buying pair of 580ex and a pair of PWs for my studio lights on the same order because I'd also grown tired of being tethered in the studio by a 15' sync cord.
If one put all bets on radio triggers the options shooting outdoors with flash become limited. Consider that the biggest justification for using radio triggers -- avoiding signaling problems in bright sun -- creates the dilemma of being forced by x-sync to blast the finite flash power of the pop gun hot shoe past very small apertures of f/8 - f/11. The more one tries to overpower the sun by further closing the aperture, the more power the flash will need to get past f/16 or f/22. At those apertures IQ also becomes compromised by diffraction and the flash range can be measured by sticking out your arm.
The opposite is true for a Canon flash using the built-in wireless system. Pulsing the flash allows the use of faster shutter speeds which is what allows any aperture to be used. Pulsing the flash results in less light being emitted, but instead of that light trying to blast past f/8 to f/22, it is typically being used at f/4 or wider. The ability to use wider apertures compensates for the drop in intensity.
So before throwing lots of money at a radio trigger solution stop ask how you'd like to shoot outdoors. With a 1970s ball and chain flash system, or one that allows you to use all that expensive fast glass and creamy Bokeh you love so much? I already had a good manual hot shoe flash solution in my Vivtars and a set of studio lights before I bought my 580ex flashes. I bought them primarily to do flash outdoors with the same freedom as my D7Hi.
Before buying into the Canon flash system I was initially very skeptical about ETTL ratios because found it difficult to understand how the camera could set them based on just the light reflected from the scene. But at the time I didn't fully understand how the 35-zone ETTL-II evaluative metering works. I ask an owner of two 580exs to perform a ratio test for me so I could see the results before I was convinced I should buy them. After getting them the first thing I did was this test, where I shot a white notebook arranged so the fill on camera hit both sides but the off camera slave only hit the right side...
So in the space of about an hour after taking them out of the box I learned about the need to use FEC to get the highlights exposed correctly and what each A:B ratio from 8:1 to 1:8 actually looked like. You'll note the ratios from 8:1 to 2:1 all look about the same. That's because A= Master = Fill and with those ratios fill on the camera was overpowering the off camera light. So I learned some other useful information: A:B ratios are the reverse of conventional highlight:shadow notation and a A:B = 1:3 doesn't look exactly the same as a manual 3:1 highlight / shadow ratio where key light is 2x (one-stop brighter than the fill it overlaps). I recommend in my tutorials that any Canon flash owner perform a similar test so they can understand: 1) how to control exposure with FEC, and 2) what the different A:B ratios look like.
My Canon flash tutorials evolved from posting tests like the one above. I found the Canon manuals to be confusing, incomplete and in some cases misleading. To the extent I advocate Canon flash it is mostly an attempt to help those new to flash make informed choices, preferably before any flash gear is purchased.
As I see it the two biggest mistakes a Canon owner interested in learning lighting can make are: 1) buying a 430ex as their first flash, and 2) then buying an ST-E2 to move it off camera. Initially buying a 430ex vs a 580ex saves about $130 up-front but affects all subsequent purchasing decisions for flash. I've seen many people start down a dead-end path of first buying a 430ex, then an ST-E2 to move it off camera, only to find they needed a second flash for fill. With a $200 ST-E2 and $240 430ex already in hand it seems to make sense economically to just buy a second 430ex. Why pay for a 580ex when you already have the ST-E2 master?
A dead-end is hit with an ST-E2 and two 430ex flashes because the ST-E2 is limited to REMOTELY controlling two groups A:B in ETTL only. It can fire any number of EX slave flashes used in Manual mode, but the power levels on each flash must be set via "sneaker-net" which makes it far less convenient. Some love the ST-E2 for its light weight and use as an AF assist light, but it is the Achilles Heel of the Canon EX flash system because the deep red filter over the flash tube which is used to make the light invisible to humans (our rod cells don't see red) also greatly limits its range. The dead-end in the growth path is avoided by the simple expedient of starting out with a 580ex. It is .8 stops more powerful than a 430ex which means in single flash mode it will have greater range if bounced or diffused. When deciding to add a second flash either a 430ex another 580ex can be purchased. Compare the costs of the growth paths to get to a basic two flash set-up:
430ex > ST-E2 > 2nd 430ex: $240 + $200 + $240 = $680 (Plus 2 stands w. umbrella brackets)
580ex > 430ex / OC-E3: $370 +$240 + $70 = $680 (Plus flash bracket and 1 stand w. umbrella bracket)
A set of 430ex flashes plus a set of three Buff radio triggers? $240 + $240 + $60 +2 ($70) = $680
So all three approaches wind up costing about the same, but the system based on the 580ex will be far more versatile. It can operated in either ETTL or Manual and can be expand to remotely control A:B and a C group for background lighting and be used in high-speed FP mode outdoors at wide apertures. Certainly there may situations where the optical triggering might not be reliable, but in those same situations will it be convenient to run from flash-to-flash to manually change power settings and meter to set ratio and exposure. Try that in a crowded working kitchen some time and let me know how it works out.
Me? I'm happy with ETTL. For example I adjusted the lighting for this complex 3 flash shot all from the Master above the camera on my flash bracket.
I used ETTL because its more convenient to just dial in a ratio than it is to mess with power levels. I was moving around the entire kitchen shooting and apart from minor FEC adjustments had total freedom of movement without worrying about setting power levels or taking meter readings. If you are interested in seeing other shots from that assignment they are here: LINK
Logistics is the other problem I see with the both the ST-E2 and radio trigger approaches. Both require two stands for the lights, which isn't very practical for candid location shooting, the task hot shoe flash is ideally suited for. One can't really move around and shoot candids with two light stands with 36" umbrellas in tow and even in a static shooting situation umbrellas or softboxes will block the command sensor on the slave. Hot shoe flash can dress up and pretend to be studio lights, but they are really a poor substitute. If remote studio quality lighting is desired a better approach would be to buy an AB800 or two and a Vagabond power supply: it really wouldn't cost much more.
Part of the reason the Master on a bracket, key light on a wheeled stand seems like such a no-brainer to me is because that is how I learned to use flash. It meets all the technical requirements for effective lighting and is simple and convenient. Mind you I've tried just about every other possible option over the years such as two stands and umbrella and also have a set of studio lights and experience shooting by window and natural light for perspective and comparison. I've yet to find a simpler approach or a more complicated one which produces results commensurate with the additional hassle and expense of using it.
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You'd understand if you used one after using a 580 series. The 580's are fine, it's just inconvenient to either need a hotshoe adapter or to crack it open and add it yourself. And yes, the manual slave/master switch is nice, but the hotshoe attachment is sooo much nicer on the 580II. While it may be worse for clumsy users (since it won't break off as easily in case of a drop), the whole thing just feels a lot better engineered, along with being quieter. And with the current prices of 580I's fetching $275-ish easy and brand new 580II's to be had with the 25% cashback for < $300, it's a no brainer IMO.
