p.1 #1 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
I just wanted to know if there was a way to trigger a strobe and my 580EXII with my ST E2 transmitter. When i do it currently, it triggers the strobe first and my 580EXII fires later.
I usually use a wireless trigger to trigger my bowens and i use the ST E2 to trigger the 580EXII. I cant seem to do both of them together. I dont knw if this question has been asked before and im relatively new to all the lighting techniques so apologies if this is a noob question
p.1 #2 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
Can't. The ST-E2 sends a pre-flash to the 580 before the shutter opens. You can use a 580 or 430 in M mode to trigger a strobe, but wireless E-TTL won't work.
p.1 #3 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
Welcome to FM, cagester78.
You can use a camera-mounted 580EX in Manual mode to trigger a strobe, but not an ST-E2, as the remote flash cannot use Manual mode when it's a Slave, which it has to be to respond to the ST-E2.
Note: edited to remove incorrect information, as discussed in some posts below.
p.1 #4 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
If you want to use the Canon gear and the third party manual together fire the manual flash via a radio link with the transmitter attached to the PC connector of camera.
The ST-E2 is simply a flash with a deep red filter just at the threshold of human vision (you can see it in a dark room according to Chuck Westfall, who I asked about the IR thing) will signal the 580exII with coded pre-flash but then the camera will send the "fire main flash" signal via the center pin of the hot shoe and the PC socket at the same time. Most optical slaves will react to the ST-E2 pre-flash and fire the strobe before the shutter opens, which is likely the problem you are encountering.
What would be simpler is what Baclionur suggests. Put the 580exII on the camera (better yet on a bracket to keep it above the lens) in OFF / M mode with a diffuser and it will both trigger your other strobe and give you some neutral fill to lift all the shadows the camera see up to the point the sensor can capture the full range of the scene with detail. You could also bounce it up off the ceiling or backwards into the corner behind you for fill.
The OFF / M combination (i.e. flash in hot shoe in M mode) is the only mode where there isn't a pre-flash. The ST-E2 is ETTL only for control, but will trigger a Canon flash in M mode if you put it in SLAVE mode and press the mode button for 2 sec. until the M blinks. That prevents the off camera flash from falling asleep.
p.1 #5 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
Jim, what strobe are you using? I don't own nor have I ever used an ST-E2, but from the way E-TTL works, I believe there is a brief period of communication before any remotes trigger when using an ST-E2 or 580EX, regardless of whether the remote flashes are in E-TTL or M. It may seem imperceptible, but there is most likely a delay beyond what a standard optical sensor would cause and thus, depending on your flash duration, the flash may or may not have discharged all of its power before the shutter opens for real.
p.1 #7 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
bacilonur wrote:
Jim, what strobe are you using? I don't own nor have I ever used an ST-E2, but from the way E-TTL works, I believe there is a brief period of communication before any remotes trigger when using an ST-E2 or 580EX, regardless of whether the remote flashes are in E-TTL or M. It may seem imperceptible, but there is most likely a delay beyond what a standard optical sensor would cause and thus, depending on your flash duration, the flash may or may not have discharged all of its power before the shutter opens for real.
bacilonur, I was just about to edit my posting to pretend that I'm not as stupid as I sometimes seem to be. I just realized (or remembered if you prefer) that there is no Manual mode for an EOS speedlite when you stick it in Slave mode. So the time lag for the strobe was due to, as you said, the E-TTl protocol. It works fine to fire the strobe from the camera-mounted 580EX in Manual mode, but your original response was quite right - not with a ST-E2.
p.1 #8 · Triggering a strobe and my 580exII with a ST-E2
No worries.
It would be nice if Canon would implement a simple optical sensor in their speedlites and then let the ST-E2 emit a variable-powered transmission to act as a generic trigger for speedlites and strobes. As it is, it's a pain to need a trigger for each 580 you're using, and thanks to Mr. Hobby, SB-26's aren't as cheap as they should be.
