Got myself the 580EX II !

[Manfr3d]

Yeehaaw!

I just bought the Canon 580EX II flash at
my local camera store. And boy, am I
impressed! The smooth feel, everything
is well damped and operation is very silent
and fast. The catchlight card looks like it could
wear off easly though (any experiences anyone?).

The results on my Canon 10D (which doesn't
really support E-TTL2) are very accurate when
I use a preflash for metering. I'm going to
make "a better bounce card" tomorrow and
try one of Andy's GaryFong lookalike solutions,
this is going to be fun!

:D:D:D

After the first hour of toying around I'm now
looking for some on-camera flash tips & tricks.
Whats your best link?

[LiquidAir]

Gratz! I have the mk 1 version, but I am considering getting a mk 2 to use with it.

Sites for on camera flash? Check out this site, he has some suggestions: http://planetneil.com/tangents/ That said, get yourself an ST-E2 and free your strobe!

[Manfr3d]

Gratz! I have the mk 1 version, but I am considering getting a mk 2 to use with it.

Sites for on camera flash? Check out this site, he has some suggestions: http://planetneil.com/tangents/ That said, get yourself an ST-E2 and free your strobe!

Thats right, for on camera flash. I have two SB-24 which I use
wireless off camera but always in manual mode. Now its time
to learn the auto-dummy mode :> Checking out your link now ...

[LiquidAir]

Thats right, for on camera flash. I have two SB-24 which I use
wireless off camera but always in manual mode. Now its time
to learn the auto-dummy mode :> Checking out your link now ...

With the ST-E2 you can use auto exposure with off camera flash. It works great and in many situations it is much easier than dealing with the hassles of on camera flash. Just plunk the 580 in a corner of the room pointed at the ceiling and shoot away. ETTL-2 will take care of getting the exposure right as you move around.

[Manfr3d]

With the ST-E2 you can use auto exposure with off camera flash. It works great and in many situations it is much easier than dealing with the hassles of on camera flash. Just plunk the 580 in a corner of the room pointed at the ceiling and shoot away. ETTL-2 will take care of getting the exposure right as you move around.

I'm defenetly looking forward to use ettl2 when I upgrade my camera
next year until then I have to work with the ettl 1 / ttl that my 10D
supports. Talking about the ST-E2: I've heard from various sources
that the problem with the wireless system from canon is that the
units need visual contact to work properly and that its sometimes
(very) frustrating. Can you comment on that? Also, what do you
think of the 2ft canon OC-E3 / 2 ttl cord as an alternative?

I mainly bought the flash to use it in situations where i cannot setup
two or three flash units to light a scene. The flash will stay on the
camera or be very close to it - with a ttl coord for example.

[LiquidAir]

The only times I have had trouble getting the optical trigger to fire is either outdoors or when I have the flash in a different room from the camera. The IR signal bounces pretty well and it triggers just fine with the strobe in a softbox or umbrella. I regularly work with the flash placed behind me (bounced off a wall or ceiling) and that works great.

[pathfinder]

LiquidAir and I have both commented on the online complaints that people make re the ST-E2.

Indoors it rarely ever fails me in a home type situation - even around corners. If you need to trigger from the back of a church, 75 feet to the front, get some PWs, they will work all the time, but you give up ETTL.

Out of doors, if they flash sensing area (on the flash body) is not facing the ST-E2, triggering can be a problem. But you know what?? - the IR signal from the ST-E2 can be bounced off the palm of your hand to deflect it better towards a strobe off to the side - I do this frequently when using an ST-E2 out of doors. A white surface, or a mirror might work even better, but frequently when I have failure to trigger out of doors, I place my left hand at an angle in front of the ST-E2 to direct the beam at my flash, and Bingo - I am in business.

I do not expect distances great than 20-30 feet out of doors, but indoors 20 feet is highly reliable because of reflections indoors.

Like LiquidAIr, an ST-E2 is a permanent part of my kit whenever I go out ant about. I like off camera flash that much.