Three Flashgun set up advice

[brianleecy]

Back in early 80s i was using a flash set up for aquatic pics,1 above /2 angled left and right for some fill in,got great results,all be it 2/3 from a roll of kodachrome if i was lucky,now ive got a canon G9 i want to recreate a similar set up,so any advice would be wellcome,im thinking of speedlight 430 main/and 2 maybe lower power units,is there a wireless option ? all the best Bri.

[Don Hoey]

Brian,
Sorry I cannot help as I am not familiar with the Canon system. Worth a bump though as I am surprised no one familiar with the Canon G series or Canon flash systems has replied.

If no replies are forthcomming I will have to have a net rummage to see what I can find out.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Well I downloaded the G9 manual and that shows compatability with Speedlite's 220EX, 430EX and 580EX II all part of Canons ETTL system so I have had a look at them.

In Normal operation the G9 will fire a pre flash and this becomes an important consideration as it precludes the use of cheap optical triggers for the two secondary smaller flashes.

Speedlite 220EX appears to have been relaced by the 270EX but neither unit can be adjusted for output when off the camera, and cannot be triggered wirelesssly except by going the PocketWizard route and then cost is going to be a major consideration as these units are not cheap.

Speedlite 430EX : This can be triggered by a wireless transmitter ST-E2 mounted on the camera. It appears to lack the ability to wirelessly trigger other wireless compatable flashguns.

Speedlite 580EX II : This one can be wirelessly triggered via ST-E2 transmitter and is capable of acting as a commander unit to trigger other 580 or 430 units. For this option you would require the OC-E3 off camera lead as a cheaper option than the ST-E2 transmitter.

Where does this leave us at the moment? Not too good I'm afraid. Gone are the days of cheap flash solutions unless you have the right camera. From the above and without looking at independant flashunits from the like of METZ then it appears it is do-able at cost and that is primarily down to doubting that the preflash can be dissabled.

Option 1 : You would require OC-E3 camera lead, one Speedlight 580EX II to act as commander and two Speedlight 430EX as slaves. Full ETTL exposure control.
Option 2 : ST-E2 transmitter and three Speedlite 430EX. Full ETTL exposure control.
I dare not even look at Warehouse Express for prices for that lot.

It is possible that we can discount the pre-flash but INPUT IS NEEDED from any Canon user to this question as it works for Nikons :

If a hotshoe flash is set to MANUAL will that kill the pre-flash ???

If the answer is yes then you could be cooking with gas, and only require an OC-E3 camera lead or the ST-E2 transmitter if you are feeling like spending money, Canon 430EX or other independant with a few options for power settings, 2 optical slaves and any make of small flashguns to make up the set. AS these units will be triggered by the optical slaves trigger voltage is not an issue and anything from the used market will do. Exposure would be fully manual but as you are digital that will only take you a few shots to get the set up right.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Hi Brian,

Cooking with gas now. Check this thread
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...9776#post39776

Don

[brianleecy]

The utmost thanks there Don,i have aquired a mint condition Canon 420 flashgun although designed for film cameras,i can use it with the G9 with a hotshoe/pc adapter and it fires with my other guns i can also manually reduce the 420s output which will be my main light and the 2 lower powered units will be fill ins diffused.As i used to use a similar set up with pentax slr 100mm macro in the early 80s,for fish photography where everything was manual,3 good shots out of a roll of kodachrome was pretty good going, the difference now in this digital revolution is that the results are immediate,and you dont have to wait for the little yellow bag through the post containing your beloved slides !!

Hi Brian,
These are a cheap and good wireless set up. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PT-04-CN-II-Re...item2ea9ba4b26
I use this set up with 2 vivitar 285's and one nikon SB28 with my Canon camera. The good thing with these triggers is that they don't get fried from the old 285's. (you can pick the 285's up for around £40) The triggers also have a good working distance and no miss fires. I did a test with them and fired 20 with no problem. The only time you have a problem is when the batteries get tired, (a good thing in away as you know its time to change) and then they don't sync all the time.
You don't have to stick with Canon flashes when working with wireless setup by the way.

HTH

[brianleecy]

Cheers for that Wanderer,ive ordered some,hoping they arrive shortly,itl be bliss not having wires everywhere !!

[brianleecy]

Following on this thread,i purchased 3 optical slave triggers,2 work really well on the 2 low powered Fotomatics,but they wont work with the speedlight 420,thought id mention this,dont think they work with the newer Canon speedlights either from what i can gather,so anyone thinking of using this cheap and manual method should bear that in mind,i will look out for an oldish Vivitar 283 or similar,as for now im using the Canon 420 attached by sync lead to camera with the 2 fotomatics wirelessly,the advantage is that i dont have to mask the cameras on board flash to prevent it flashing back off the aquarium glass,incidently the cameras built in flash can easily be diverted upwards by taping a piece of tinfoil/etc loosely over it leaving a gap at the top so the flash wont hit the glass directly but will still trigger the other flashes.all the best Bri.

[brianleecy]

Heres a pic of a small Koi 2 1/2 inches in size,this taken using 420 speedlight above bounced off white card set to 1/16th power connected to cameras hot shoe by flash sync lead,and 2 fotomatics heavily diffused with white kitchen roll,left and right of camera which were fitted with optical wireless triggers,they in turn were triggered by the main 420 speedlight.hope this makes sense.ps thanks to everyone for comments and advice.all the best Bri.

[Don Hoey]

Well you have it cracked with that set-up Brian. Super pic.

Don