Wireless flash question

[SuperJ]

Hey,
I have a canon 20d and 430 ex. I have found myself limited by on camera flash at this point. I would like to be able trigger it wirelessly. I have looked at the canon offerings and from what i have read there are line of site issues. Pocket wizards are an option but i would like to keep the price down if possible. I found these speedotron ones http://www.adorama.com/SZ23492.html but dont know much about them or what else i need. . I have used the search tool and found some helpful information but nothing to help me make an educated decision. I will be using the setup i get for anything from cycling photography to portrait and landscape. Any input would be awesome.

-Jeff

[cyberlord]

There are much debated cheaper alternatives on ebay. Among the things debated are manufacturing quality and whether it meets FCC requirements. But for 20 bucks or so you can find out for yourself.

Tim

[OmahaAdam]

whether it meets FCC requirements.

Just to toss another hat in the ring, be aware of what frequency the triggers operate at. There are some areas of the spectrum which are in the public domain and depending on where you're shooting at you could have interference which could cause you some trouble. Examples are 27mhz, 54mhz (most remote control toys use these), 900mhz, etc, etc. AlienBees are redesigning their triggers because of that and moving their frequency to a non-public one in the 300mhz range.

[SuperJ]

There are much debated cheaper alternatives on ebay. Among the things debated are manufacturing quality and whether it meets FCC requirements. But for 20 bucks or so you can find out for yourself.

Tim

what would be the specific name of one of these alternatives?

[livin4lax09]

they are just called radio slaves. search for them on ebay, and you'll get about 200 auctions that are basically the same. mine are called r604 or something, and I personally don't like them. With sports they are hard to shoot with because the strobes are so far away from the transmitter. If I ever end up buying my pocketwizards, I will sell mine if you are interested. They're fine for studio shooting, because you really don't have to worry about the distance from the transmitter to the receiver, because most of the time you're not 30 feet away.

I bought mine from magic_trigger on the bay, and they sell a hotshoe extension for 5 dollars. It allows you to plug your 430ex into it, then the receiver into it as well, and your 430ex will fire when you press that shutter button.

[SuperJ]

they are just called radio slaves. search for them on ebay, and you'll get about 200 auctions that are basically the same. mine are called r604 or something, and I personally don't like them. With sports they are hard to shoot with because the strobes are so far away from the transmitter. If I ever end up buying my pocketwizards, I will sell mine if you are interested. They're fine for studio shooting, because you really don't have to worry about the distance from the transmitter to the receiver, because most of the time you're not 30 feet away.

I bought mine from magic_trigger on the bay, and they sell a hotshoe extension for 5 dollars. It allows you to plug your 430ex into it, then the receiver into it as well, and your 430ex will fire when you press that shutter button.

I ordered -http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5955&rd=1&rd=1

I figured it wouldnt hurt me too bad if its a complete pos. The add says you get 150 feet out of it but i have a hard time believing that for the price. What kind of distance do you get out of it?

-Jeff

[yogestee]

Hi Jeff,,,,lash out a buy yourself a Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2...This is one brilliant device for triggering Canon Speedlites using Canon DSLRs..You mount the ST-E2 on your Canon's hotshoe and it will trigger two Speedlites upto 15 meters away..You can even vary the output ratio of each Speedlite by upto 4 stops...
This is one device that is aways in my camera bag,,I wouldn't use anything else..

Jurgen
Australia

[livin4lax09]

I ordered -http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5955&rd=1&rd=1

I figured it wouldnt hurt me too bad if its a complete pos. The add says you get 150 feet out of it but i have a hard time believing that for the price. What kind of distance do you get out of it?

-Jeff

I get probably that out of it. It really all depends. sometimes it can be finicky. you just gotta mess with em a while and find the best way that works. it's one of those "if i tilt my camera 30 degrees this way, stand on one foot, and have it this high off the ground, it'll work all the time" deals. lol. but seriously, they're pretty good for the money.



Jurgen,

For the price of an st-e2 I would gladly put down the 100 more and just buy two PWs.