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How do I do wireless flash with a 40D ?

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me2000

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I am coming to the Canon camp from the Nikon camp. I want to do wireless remote flash work with a 40D like one can do with a D80/D200. How do I accomplish this ?

Thanks

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
Is there a more streamline method ? Like using an ST-E2 and a 550EX ? I want the camera to do the metering and I want to use the camera flash and the remote flash.

I also want to do a preflash if that is necessary to avoid drooping eyes.

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
Yes, you can use the ST-E2 to control a 550 EX as slave. You can also use the 550 EX to control the 4xx EX flashes. Using a 5xx EX master allows a bit more control than the ST-E2 transmitter and I've heard they have better range.
 
Can I use the built in flash and the ST-E2 ?

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
I want to take pictures using a wireless remote flash so that I can position the flash lighting in various positions independently of the camera.

I want the camera internal flash to fire to fill in the foreground, etc. Maybe highlight faces a bit.

I want the remote flash to fire. It will probably be fill lighting, but sometimes not. Sometimes it will be main lighting.

I want the metering to be mostly automatic. Like maybe I have to adjust the relative levels of the flash units, but that is about all.

How do I do this with Canon equipment ?

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
Not the cheapest approach, but I use a 580EX II as master on the camera and a 580EX as a remote slave. You have full control over both master and slave via the 40D menus. The 580EX II has built in external flash metering (either auto or manual) that controls the slave as well. You can also set ratios. If you get additional cheaper slaves, you can control slave groups as well.
me2000 said:
I want to take pictures using a wireless remote flash so that I can
position the flash lighting in various positions independently of the
camera.

I want the camera internal flash to fire to fill in the foreground,
etc. Maybe highlight faces a bit.

I want the remote flash to fire. It will probably be fill lighting,
but sometimes not. Sometimes it will be main lighting.

I want the metering to be mostly automatic. Like maybe I have to
adjust the relative levels of the flash units, but that is about all.

How do I do this with Canon equipment ?

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
Click to expand...
 
You might want to check out online place such as:

http://hannemyr.com/photo/flash.html
http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

which have links that can lead you to other sites as well.
jrynash said:
me2000 said:
I want to take pictures using a wireless remote flash so that I can
position the flash lighting in various positions independently of the
camera.

I want the camera internal flash to fire to fill in the foreground,
etc. Maybe highlight faces a bit.

I want the remote flash to fire. It will probably be fill lighting,
but sometimes not. Sometimes it will be main lighting.

I want the metering to be mostly automatic. Like maybe I have to
adjust the relative levels of the flash units, but that is about all.

How do I do this with Canon equipment ?

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Is there a way to use the on camera flash and an optical trigger with a slave to accomplish this ? Can the preflash on the 40D be turned off ? Is there a way to automate the metering with an optically fired slave ?

Thanks

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
me2000 said:
Is there a way to use the on camera flash and an optical trigger with
a slave to accomplish this ?
Click to expand...
I'm not an expert (yet), but if you're talking about the 40D built-in flash: no. If you're talking about a master flash attached to the 40D, then the master flash transmits wireless signals to the slave unit(s) with the preflash (pg 39 580EXII manual).
me2000 said:
Can the preflash on the 40D be turned off?
Click to expand...
Not if you're using it as a master unit to control wireless slave.
me2000 said:
Is there a way to automate the metering with an optically fired slave ?
Click to expand...
Not exactly sure what you're asking here, but the master unit(s) external flash metering controls the slaves as well as the master.
 
As you have already found out, Canon off camera flash is not as easy as the Nikon way.

The Canon built-in flash has no facility to control a flash off the camera, unless you use a digital slave trigger. This means you have to use flash in manual mode, which means the automatic part you ask for is not possible.

The ST-E2 controller sits in the hot shoe, and that means the built-in flash will not work.

To get the camera to do most of the work, you have to use two flash guns. The camera mounted unit has to be a master, which means a 550EX/580EX/580EXII if you want to stay Canon. The slave can be one or more of those, or a 420EX/430EX. This allows full E-TTL II metering, so everything is basically automatic.

The Sigma 500 series is another option, and it may work off the built-in flash. Don't quote me on that... There are other, less expensive auto thyristor units that claim to sync off of the built in flash, by makers such as Sunpak and Phoenix. They are also less expensive than the Canon units.

I use a 580EXII on the camera and a 580EX as a slave. This arrangement works well, once you understand what the two flashes are doing.

--
Crime Scene Photography
A small gallery of personal work: http://picasaweb.google.com/PID885
 
I was thinking of using an optical trigger with the built in flash. I know the built in flash won't handle the metering of the slave, but can it be set up to trigger the slave ? Can the preflash be turned off ? My D50 could be made to premeter the scene and the preflash didn't fire when the picture was being taken.

If Canon had made the internal flash in a 40D a master, I would have bought one yesterday...

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
me2000 said:
I was thinking of using an optical trigger with the built in flash.
I know the built in flash won't handle the metering of the slave, but
can it be set up to trigger the slave ?
Click to expand...
Yes, there are third party flashes that are optically triggered. They should be able to be triggered by any master flash, including the onboard.
me2000 said:
Can the preflash be turned off ? My D50 could be made to premeter the scene and the preflash didn't fire when the picture was being taken.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. E-TTL requires the preflash and you cannot turn this off. However, you can premeter using FEL so that the pre-flash does not trigger the slave unit prematurely and interfere with the normal shot flash. It doesn't make for a scalable solution as you'ld have to take each shot in a two step process, but it would work.
--
-Larry
http://www.pbase.com/lardog
 
I had to premeter with my D50 all the time using FEL because the preflash on the D50 built in flash caused people's eyes to droop in the shots.

Thanks for your reply.

--
Presently without camera and lenses.

I took over 10K images with...
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash

User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop
 
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