Pocket Wiz Plus II vs. Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
Nimai
Registered Users Posts: 564 Major grins
I have a Canon 30D and a 580EX flash. I don't have any other strobe lighting, but I'm looking into it. Having recently perused the STROBIST blogs and tuts, I'm considering buying another 580EX and a going with a two-strobe-off-cam solution.
Does anyone have any experiences to relate that might help me decide between Canon's ST-E2 or getting Pocket Wizards? Price isn't really a factor - not because I'm rich, but because I'd rather know what's technically a better solution, and not have to re-buy at some time in the future.
Thanks!
Does anyone have any experiences to relate that might help me decide between Canon's ST-E2 or getting Pocket Wizards? Price isn't really a factor - not because I'm rich, but because I'd rather know what's technically a better solution, and not have to re-buy at some time in the future.
Thanks!
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I have an ST-E2 and never use it. It works fine indoors where the IR can bounce off walls, etc., but it has to be line-of-site outdoors and the range is limited to 30 feet with good conditions and batteries. The only thing I sometimes like it for is its auto focus assist beam, which the 580 has too.
Thanks - sorry for the totally uninformed questions.
The PW PlusII are are trancievers (can send and recieve signals). So you'd need three of these for the setup you mentioned.
PW pretty much has the market cornered in the wireless gig. The only drawback is the sync speed maxes out at 1/250. While they will fire at even 1/750 and show up in the shot occasionally. You can't rely of it to fire in time. When you are using cables, you can get up in the nosebleed shutterspeeds and get some really cool dark day shots.
PW's are definately where it's at though.
-Jon
PWs will not trigger a 580ex unless you use a hot shoe converter rig for the 580ex as it does not have a PC connection. Nor will the Pocket Wizard support ETTL, or High Speed Synch.
The newly announced 580exII does have a PC connection which will allow it to be triggered by a Pocket Wizard, but it will not work in ETTL I suspect, nor High Speed Synch.
Like Baldy, I own both the ST-E2 and Pocket Wizards, but I tend to use the ST-E2 a lot. Indeed, I carry one in my back pack at all times as it is so convenient to remove the flash from my camera, regardless of where I am. With an assistant ( or SO) I can use them to hold the Speedlite while I trigger it via the ST-E2. Combined with bouncing off walls or foam diffusers + ETTL + High Speed Synch, I can have real control over ambient versus flash lighting.
The ST-E2 is really an indoors device - its range is less than 30 feet outdoors, but indoors it supports ETTL and High Speed Synch which are features that can be easily utilized as mentioned above. As Baldy said, the ST-E2 controller can also act as an IR focus assist device in dark rooms. Something a PW will not do.
Pocket Wizards are very reliable firing transmitters, but require complete manual use of the strobes. You will need to set the aperture and shutter speed manually, and must keep the shutter speed less than the camera body's flash synch speed which is less than 1/250th or so ( unless you are shooting with leaf shutters, rather than focal plane shutters)
In a studio, where the lighting and subject are photographer controlled, PWs are the cat's meow. In a studio, I use them, routinely.
Some links regarding PWs versus ST-E2
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=50293&highlight=ST-E2+Pathfinder
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=49999&highlight=ST-E2+flash
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=47250&highlight=ST-E2+flash
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
The Sekonic-358 accepts a small module inside it, made by Sekonic, that triggers a Pocket Wizard to fire when taking a flash measurement.
This is really convenient when setting up studio lighting, because you can set up your strobes, fire them with the Sekonic 358, and collect the lighting measurement at the same time, whithout having to stop and get your camera with the PW transmitter on it to fire the stobes.
It just saves a small amount of setup time, but it is time that you would have to walk a few steps to perform without it. Not necessary, but very nice to have available.
It makes you look like you know what you are doing also.:D
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Well if it can accomplish that (not a small task) it must be worth it's weight in gold!
The PWs are going to be more reliable than the ST-E2. There are times when I need to rig reflectors in the studio so the flashes can see the ST-E2 and for quick successive shots the ST-E2 can fail to fire because while it is recharging (keeping the battery fresh helps...).
However, the ST-E2 is much better for candid photography or quick setups because you can use the in camera flash meter which is not an option with the PWs. It also has the advantage of being considerably cheaper and easier to set up than the PWs.
Personally, I would start with the ST-E2. It costs the same as a single PW and even if you eventually decide you need PWs, the ST-E2 will still be your preferred tool in many situations.
If money is no object and you are looking for the ideal tool, look into the Quantum flash system. With Quantum flashes you can get a radio remote that works with the Canon ETTL-2 metering system, considerably more light, compatibilty with a number of brands of soft box and much better batteries.