550 EX Flash (help)

Mike Fynes · Jul 27, 2002

Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both the on board flash and 550 unit.

Pulling my hair out trying to do this!!

I ould have thought this possible, as the on board flash is a speedlite unit and should be able to talk to a slave unit.

Would love to har your suggstions or am I just asking for the impossible.

Thanks

Mike
--
If it aint Broke, upgrade to a new one!

Paul Prachun · Jul 27, 2002

Mike Fynes said:
Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Certainly Mike, get yourself the Canon ST-E2 unit, stick it on the D60, put the 550 in "slave"mode, and off you go. The 550 does not fire in slave mode via a flash pulse but uses infrared.
--
Paul Prachun

Peter Gregg · Jul 27, 2002

Paul is corect. In order to do what you asked, you need to buy the STE-2 unit which will fire the 550 remotely.

You may have been told or heard about the Sigma 500 Super. It is a clone of the 550, but will fire like a slave direclty from the on camera flash without any remote device. It also has the wireless features in it too.

~~Pete~~

Jason Hutchinson · Jul 27, 2002

Doesn't the ST-E2 block the internal flash from popping up?

Paul Prachun said:
Mike Fynes said:

Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Click to expand...

Certainly Mike, get yourself the Canon ST-E2 unit, stick it on the
D60, put the 550 in "slave"mode, and off you go. The 550 does not
fire in slave mode via a flash pulse but uses infrared.
--
Paul Prachun

WalterK · Jul 27, 2002

Mike Fynes said:
Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Page 88 of the D60 manual , paragraph 2, second sentence from the end:
"The built-in flash and external flash cannot be used at the same time."

If people have got it to work with the ST-E2, using internal and external flashes, I wish it would say that in the manual...

--
Walter K

Mike Fynes · Jul 27, 2002

Oh dear, looks like more money will be spent, does the sigma 500 work with the 550 speedlite, in other words could I in theory fire the camera flash, triggering the sigma and firing the 550 from the sigma unit in slave mode.

Sorry for all the questions, but your help is most helpful.

Regards

Mike

WalterK said:
Mike Fynes said:

Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Click to expand...

Page 88 of the D60 manual , paragraph 2, second sentence from the end:
"The built-in flash and external flash cannot be used at the same
time."

If people have got it to work with the ST-E2, using internal and
external flashes, I wish it would say that in the manual...

--
Walter K

--
If it aint Broke, upgrade to a new one!

Jim Dawson · Jul 27, 2002

How do you get the internal flash to pop up when the ST-E2 is mounted?

Jim

Paul Prachun said:
Mike Fynes said:

Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Click to expand...

Certainly Mike, get yourself the Canon ST-E2 unit, stick it on the
D60, put the 550 in "slave"mode, and off you go. The 550 does not
fire in slave mode via a flash pulse but uses infrared.
--
Paul Prachun

Critter1 #80734 · Jul 27, 2002

On mine, the ST-E2 physically blocks the flash from opening, and further, the flash is electrically inhibited from opening.

Jim Dawson said:
Jim

Paul Prachun said:

Mike Fynes said:

Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Click to expand...

Certainly Mike, get yourself the Canon ST-E2 unit, stick it on the
D60, put the 550 in "slave"mode, and off you go. The 550 does not
fire in slave mode via a flash pulse but uses infrared.
--
Paul Prachun

Click to expand...

Michael Sageryd · Jul 27, 2002

The 420EX is less than half the price of the 550 and it can be slaved via Infrared from the 550. This way you can have the 550 on camera and use the 420 as mainlight off camera.

The ETTL is working via infrared as well. That's something you can't accomlish with a normal master-slave.

Michael

Karl Guttag · Jul 27, 2002

The Speedlights support communication by radio signals, not infrared. Infrared requires line of sight which would get blocked by too many things (like flash umbrellas). The red light on the fron of the flash is not Infrared either (or you could not see it), it is just a deep red and is for focus illumination and to show that the flash is ready as a slave.

The Sigma 500 is suppose to be compatible with the Canon flash system. It has the flash power of the 420EX more or less, but give much of the fucntionality, including being a master, of the 550EX. I don't have one but many people seem to use it due to the added functionality over the 420EX.

Karl

Michael Sageryd said:
The 420EX is less than half the price of the 550 and it can be
slaved via Infrared from the 550. This way you can have the 550 on
camera and use the 420 as mainlight off camera.

The ETTL is working via infrared as well. That's something you
can't accomlish with a normal master-slave.

Michael

--
Karl

Brian Bode · Jul 27, 2002

According to the 550EX specifications the wireless transmission system is 'Optical Pulse Transmission'. It is transmitted from the flash head itself. That is why the master's zoom is automatically set to 24mm so it can get the widest coverage. The sensor is located under the small panel just below the flash head pivot point on the EX and it is recommended that you use the bounce feature to turn the sensor of the slave units towards the master to get the best signal. The signal is not infrared but it is apparently not radio either.

Karl Guttag said:
The Sigma 500 is suppose to be compatible with the Canon flash
system. It has the flash power of the 420EX more or less, but give
much of the fucntionality, including being a master, of the 550EX.
I don't have one but many people seem to use it due to the added
functionality over the 420EX.

Karl

Michael Sageryd said:

The 420EX is less than half the price of the 550 and it can be
slaved via Infrared from the 550. This way you can have the 550 on
camera and use the 420 as mainlight off camera.

The ETTL is working via infrared as well. That's something you
can't accomlish with a normal master-slave.

Michael

Click to expand...

--
Karl

Valliesto Bailey · Jul 27, 2002

Yes, the internal flash will not function with an ST-E2 in place.

Jason Hutchinson said:
Paul Prachun said:

Mike Fynes said:

Can you help me, I have a D60 and a 550 flash. Is it possible to
remotely trigger the flash (550) from the camera, utilizing both
the on board flash and 550 unit.

Click to expand...

Certainly Mike, get yourself the Canon ST-E2 unit, stick it on the
D60, put the 550 in "slave"mode, and off you go. The 550 does not
fire in slave mode via a flash pulse but uses infrared.
--
Paul Prachun

Click to expand...

--
Valliesto

Mike Fynes · Jul 27, 2002

Thanks to everyone, look like I will be looking for a couple of 420EX's to compliment my kit. Just need to be more mobile with my kit to save taking my main studio flash kits with me.

Thanks again for such excellent support and help.

Mike

Brian Bode said:
Karl Guttag said:

The Sigma 500 is suppose to be compatible with the Canon flash
system. It has the flash power of the 420EX more or less, but give
much of the fucntionality, including being a master, of the 550EX.
I don't have one but many people seem to use it due to the added
functionality over the 420EX.

Karl

Michael Sageryd said:

The 420EX is less than half the price of the 550 and it can be
slaved via Infrared from the 550. This way you can have the 550 on
camera and use the 420 as mainlight off camera.

The ETTL is working via infrared as well. That's something you
can't accomlish with a normal master-slave.

Michael

Click to expand...

--
Karl

Click to expand...

--
If it aint Broke, upgrade to a new one!

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550 EX Flash (help)

Mike Fynes

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Jason Hutchinson

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