Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter...experience?

Kevin CTMP

I'm considering purchasing canon's wireless transmitter for my flashes.....I have a 580EX II and a 430EX II....does anyone have any experience with this?.....is it worth it?.......I shoot mostly weddings but also do some portrait work.....I was hoping that i could use this to mount my flashes on light stands and use those instead of the lights I have now....and I was hoping to use it during weddings to get more creative lighting instead of trying to bounce all the time......as well as linking both flashes to it in order to get more even lighting for those family group shots at the altar after the cermony (which I hate..lol).......One concern I have is that i read in a review that it has to have an un-obstructed view to the other flashes in order to transmit....which i'm assuming means if I put the bride and groom in-between myself and a flash on the ground during their first dance, it won't fire....which I have noticed I've had problems with when slaving my 430 to my 580........anything good or bad that people have to say about this would be great before I pay to have one and hate it...lol

thanks

-Kevin


www.ctm-photography.net

kdog

Indoors you generally don't need line of sight. That's because the pre-flash (communications) will bounce off of walls, ceilings, objects, etc, and hopefully find its way to the slave. It does work that way for me in my small studio set ups. In larger spaces or outdoors where there's nothing to bounce off of, you might run into problems unless you have line of sight. Your 580 works as a master the same way. So if it's not working in your venues, then you probably won't have much better luck with the ST-2.

I really don't use my ST-2 that much any more. Not because it doesn't work, but mainly because I've shied away from ETTL and gone manual mode with my flashes for better control. For manual control, I usually just use some cheap RF602 wireless controls. For wedding usage as you described, ETTL makes more sense. But again, if a 580 as a master isn't working for you, then I doubt the ST-2 will either.

ziggy53

Kevin CTMP wrote: »

... I have noticed I've had problems with when slaving my 430 to my 580........anything good or bad that people have to say about this would be great before I pay to have one and hate it...lol

...

You will have similar problems using the ST-E2 to wireless trigger remote flashes.

I suggest that if you really need wireless "and" flash automation that you consider the PocketWizard Flex/Mini radio wireless systems and the RadioPopper system. Both use radio signals so line-of-sight is not necessary. Neither system is perfect but both attempt to preserve the flash automation of Canon E-TTL.

If you would consider manual flashes then there are much simpler and cheaper radio options available. I use cheap 16 channel radio transmitter/receiver sets with very good success.

The following was shot with 2 - studio strobes and 1 - speedlite, all triggered via the cheap radio system. I had a pair of battery powered handle-bracket flashes available in case the studio strobes hadn't worked out. The camera hosted the single transmitter.

Dan7312

Syl Arena certainly has an opinion about the ST-E2...

http://speedliting.com/how-to/resist-the-st-e2-temptation/

Kevin CTMP wrote: »

I'm considering purchasing canon's wireless transmitter for my flashes.....I

Kevin CTMP

hmmmmm........I may want to reconsider this based on these comments...lo......I read somewhere that you can use a 580ex strictly as a master so only the slave units will fire and NOT the on camera flash.....If i only have one other flash, and am just using it for creative lighting effects.....maybe I should just try that....has anyone used this technique before??.......if so, how well does this work when compared to using the st-e2?

Dan7312

Kevin CTMP wrote: »

...if so, how well does this work when compared to using the st-e2?

A 580EX as a control has a much greater reach because it has much greater light output than the st-e2. So if you are depending on bouncing off walls to reach the slave the 580ex is might be a better choice.

Also the only direction the st-e2 can fire is straight ahead. You can rotate the 580ex to point whatever way is best to reach the slaves. The limited output of the st-e2 along with only being able to fire straight ahead sometimes can make for it difficult to reach the slaves.

And if you have the 580EXII and one of the later Canon cameras you can control it, for example to set up ratios, from the camera screeen. It's not a trump card feature, but it's really a lot more convenient do those adjustments on the camera screen.

rwells

Read-up on Chuck Gardner's site all about using Canon flashes. Chuck prefers to use a 580 as Master on-camera, then another flash off-camera. His "method" works very well, and will allow you to try it with the gear you already have.

Basically, his method uses the off-camera flash as the "Key" light, and the on-camera flash as the fill, and of course the master controller. His contention is that on lens axis is the best place for "fill" light to come from.

Of course, this method is not the only method of lighting, and it may or may-not be the best out there for your given image goals, but I have used this method with much success in the past.

Hope that helps...

Ed911

rwells wrote: »

Read-up on Chuck Gardner's site all about using Canon flashes. Chuck prefers to use a 580 as Master on-camera, then another flash off-camera. His "method" works very well, and will allow you to try it with the gear you already have.

Basically, his method uses the off-camera flash as the "Key" light, and the on-camera flash as the fill, and of course the master controller. His contention is that on lens axis is the best place for "fill" light to come from.

Of course, this method is not the only method of lighting, and it may or may-not be the best out there for your given image goals, but I have used this method with much success in the past. Hope that helps...

Me too...works fine.

cmason

I have had tons of success with my ST-E2. I use it with a 430EX and a 420EX. It works far better for me than stories I have seen on the web, working perfectly outside and even with obstructions. It works via light pulses, so as long as they are visible, it will work.

Here is an example of an outside shot, using a 430EX w an umbrella, and a 420EX with an organic flexible mount:



Notice the umbrella completely blocking the 430EX from view, and the 420EX has quite a bit of meat in front of it.

and the result:

JimKarczewski

Only other viable option is the new PocketWizard thingies that allows you to do TTL to the flashes. It picks up the Canon signals and transmits wireless data (radio, not visual) to the remote receivers. Though this is a much more expensive option than the ST-E2, I'm guessing it would be more reliable in certain instances.

Personally, in the past, I used regular pocket wizards and other canon lights set to manual...

Ed911

JimKarczewski wrote: »

Only other viable option is the new Pocket Wizard thingies that allows you to do TTL to the flashes. It picks up the Canon signals and transmits wireless data (radio, not visual) to the remote receivers. Though this is a much more expensive option than the ST-E2, I'm guessing it would be more reliable in certain instances. Personally, in the past, I used regular pocket wizards and other canon lights set to manual...

Unless things have changed, the Pocket Wizard Control TL thingies above have not been received very well by Canon...it seems that the 580EX2 is very noisy, electronically, and interferes with the communication between the transmitter and receiver...limiting its effective range.

Radio Poppers on the other hand have been well received and have a very few complaints.

If you're looking for a manual radio trigger set...look at the Radio Popper JrX. You can get a combo set...one transmitter and one receiver for $138. And, if you get the Studio Receiver for $20 more, then you will be able to manually control your lights from the top of your camera. They don't have the 1600 foot range like the PW 2's, but who needs that...

If you are looking to retain the TTL function with your flashes, then the PX system warrants a look.

Radio Popper makes an adapter for $20 that will allow you to use the camera's on board flash with an RP PX transmitter so that you don't have to have an off camera flash mounted on your camera in order to use them. I didn't see this adapter available for Canon. You can call them about it if it interests you.