Hi!!!
New here....and WOW!! What a great forum!!!!

I am not sure if my thread belongs here....is there a special section just for lighting and strobist type conversations?

Anyways, I am looking to learn off camera flash and I have read the 101 on Strobist and came up with this list of items I will need.

Would someone be willing to look it over and see what you think and if you have any advice it would be appreciated.

List of items needed (click on link to view product):

Light Stand
Hot Shoe
Shoe Mount
Umbrella silver
Umbrella White
Wireless Triggers

Now I know that the triggers I have listed are bottom line, I know Pocket Wizards and others would be a better choice. However, with limited funds at the moment, I would like to just get to where I can practice and learn as cheaply as possible, then down the road save up for more quality equipment.

And what about this gadget Speedlite Transmitter?
Exactly what is this for......and can you still have a flash on your camera and use this?



In my bag:

Canon 5D mkII
Canon 430 EX
Canon 580 EX
Sigma 530DG Super

Any advice greatly appreciated.....I am a hobbiest and OCF is totally new to me so please break it down in simple terms if you can.....:)

Thank you very much!

I am able to offer little by way of experience in this matter as I am just starting out as well. But I can offer this: The umbrellas you have listed there can be had for about $5.00 per umbrella less at Adorama.com since you are trying to save money for upgrades.

http://www.adorama.com/WEUMB43WSC.html

http://www.adorama.com/WEUC43W.html

http://www.adorama.com/WEUC43SB.html

Thank you Dreadnote!!!
That is great!!!! Into my shopping cart :)

I appreciate your post!

welcome,

I would also look into the rf602 units

happy hunting

Originally Posted by time2smile welcome, I would also look into the rf602 units happy hunting

Thank you timetosmile:)

Those look pretty good and read some great reviews on them.

Do you know would I also need to order this in order to use the rf602?

Sorry if that is a silly questions but honestly I am such a neewbie :)

Since you have a 580ex you can wirelessly trigger all your other flashes with that initially, nothing else required. The STE2 is a non-flash unit which does the same thing; I really like mine, but no, you can't use it with a flash on-camera - it's either/or.

In general the IR signal in Canon's own flashes/triggers isn't as reliable as radio triggers (eg pocket wizards, cactus, radio poppers etc), but it works fine for the what I need it to do.

Originally Posted by divamum Since you have a 580ex you can wirelessly trigger all your other flashes with that initially, nothing else required. The STE2 is a non-flash unit which does the same thing; I really like mine, but no, you can't use it with a flash on-camera - it's either/or. In general the IR signal in Canon's own flashes/triggers isn't as reliable as radio triggers (eg pocket wizards, cactus, radio poppers etc), but it works fine for the what I need it to do.

Oh that is good to know...I am happy to hear that....thank you Divamum!

Originally Posted by Jaeda List of items needed (click on link to view product): 1- Light Stand 2- Hot Shoe 3- Shoe Mount 4- Umbrella silver 5- Umbrella White 6- Wireless Triggers 7- And what about this gadget Speedlite Transmitter? Exactly what is this for......and can you still have a flash on your camera and use this? In my bag: Canon 5D mkII Canon 430 EX Canon 580 EX Sigma 530DG Super Any advice greatly appreciated.....I am a hobbiest and OCF is totally new to me so please break it down in simple terms if you can.....:) Thank you very much!

I numbered the items to make answering a bit easier for me...here goes>>>>>

6 & 7- STE2 or RF triggers........I am not a canon shooter so whether or not a STE 2 is good I do not know....I do not trust anythning that is IR controlled...I shoot with Inexpensive 16 Channel ebay triggers like these ..... http://tinyurl.com/5wozha2 they have worked great for me for over yrs.....that is how long the transmitter battery has been in there without failure.....so far I have had no misfires that was the problem of the units......a couple because I did not have transmitter on the hot-shoe all the way.....I also like these because they come with an assortment of plugs for various types of flashes............I shoot with a variety of hot-shoe and studio flash units and they require different plugs for the receiver to fire them...... towards the bottom of the page linked is a set of 4 recievers and 1 transmitter for ~~$45 ....if you peruse the listings you may find similar deal from a US supplier, but will have to pay shipping probably.....

The flashes in your bag...can, I think, work togerther wirelessly....but again that is IR which means line of sight and not over 25 or 30 feet (maybe 50' ) and will not function well in bright sun light...so again I recommend the ebay RF triggers linked above........If any of your flash units do not have a pc connection I can also recommend a different umbrella bracket than the one linked to below........

1- light stands - the one linked to: something about that I just do not like ....take a look at these: http://www.alienbees.com/stands.html .... I have one of the background stands and the 10 foot stand both good as the price goes up the quality and sturdiness goes up.....I use a lot of Paul Buff / Alien Bee equipment......

2 & 3 - I would recommend this instead - http://tinyurl.com/4avlr5a you need the umbrella holder as well as the shoes for the flash...this is all in one...not need for the pc-style shoe as you will either use camera as commander (IR control and not real reliable) or with RF triggers - best option

4 & 5 - Like I said earlier I like Paul buff equipment so here are my choices on umbrellas......... http://tinyurl.com/mrglz They are 48" the reverseable ones are for bounce lighting and the translucent one is for shoot thru or bounce ......My personal preference is white and the Paul Buff companies have stopped selling them so the link will take you to ones on ebay......

Think I covered everything with a bit of explanation if more is needed just ask...........

Originally Posted by Art Scott I numbered the items to make answering a bit easier for me...here goes>>>>> 6 & 7- STE2 or RF triggers........I am not a canon shooter so whether or not a STE 2 is good I do not know....I do not trust anythning that is IR controlled...I shoot with Inexpensive 16 Channel ebay triggers like these ..... http://tinyurl.com/5wozha2 they have worked great for me for over yrs.....that is how long the transmitter battery has been in there without failure.....so far I have had no misfires that was the problem of the units......a couple because I did not have transmitter on the hot-shoe all the way.....I also like these because they come with an assortment of plugs for various types of flashes............I shoot with a variety of hot-shoe and studio flash units and they require different plugs for the receiver to fire them...... towards the bottom of the page linked is a set of 4 recievers and 1 transmitter for ~~$45 ....if you peruse the listings you may find similar deal from a US supplier, but will have to pay shipping probably..... The flashes in your bag...can, I think, work togerther wirelessly....but again that is IR which means line of sight and not over 25 or 30 feet (maybe 50' ) and will not function well in bright sun light...so again I recommend the ebay RF triggers linked above........If any of your flash units do not have a pc connection I can also recommend a different umbrella bracket than the one linked to below........ 1- light stands - the one linked to: something about that I just do not like ....take a look at these: http://www.alienbees.com/stands.html .... I have one of the background stands and the 10 foot stand both good as the price goes up the quality and sturdiness goes up.....I use a lot of Paul Buff / Alien Bee equipment...... 2 & 3 - I would recommend this instead - http://tinyurl.com/4avlr5a you need the umbrella holder as well as the shoes for the flash...this is all in one...not need for the pc-style shoe as you will either use camera as commander (IR control and not real reliable) or with RF triggers - best option 4 & 5 - Like I said earlier I like Paul buff equipment so here are my choices on umbrellas......... http://tinyurl.com/mrglz They are 48" the reverseable ones are for bounce lighting and the translucent one is for shoot thru or bounce ......My personal preference is white and the Paul Buff companies have stopped selling them so the link will take you to ones on ebay...... Think I covered everything with a bit of explanation if more is needed just ask...........

Art, that is awesome you took the time to do that! And adding the links just puts you over the top! Thank you thank you thank you!

I am off to re-read everything you just wrote and spend some time looking at your links.

Thank you so much!

I'll be baaaaaaaack!

Originally Posted by Jaeda Art, that is awesome you took the time to do that! And adding the links just puts you over the top! Thank you thank you thank you! I am off to re-read everything you just wrote and spend some time looking at your links. Thank you so much! I'll be baaaaaaaack!

Thank YOU!!

NO PROB...I try to help when I can.....

Originally Posted by Jaeda Thank you timetosmile:) Those look pretty good and read some great reviews on them. Do you know would I also need to order this in order to use the RF602's? Sorry if that is a silly questions but honestly I am such a neewbie :)

If you order the rf602 for your camera, they should come with it. But you will need two transmitters to trigger both the shutter and the flash, if you want to do that.

Oh....that's good to know.....thank you!

The main advantage of the built in/st-e2 system is that it works with high speed sync and ETTL, the radio ones don't, unless you get the new very expensive ones.

Originally Posted by Art Scott I shoot with Inexpensive 16 Channel ebay triggers like these ..... http://tinyurl.com/5wozha2 I am thinking of these I assume what you buy has nothing to do with your camera brand, is that correct? If any of your flash units do not have a pc connection I can also recommend a different umbrella bracket than the one linked to below........ Neither of my flashes have a PC connection:( To use my 580ex to trigger my 430ex when you say line of sight.....does that mean the red sensor on the front of the flashes actually have to be facing each other? So if I were to set the 430 to camera left facing a subject and had the 580 on camera, would that work or no?

Thank you!:)