I own a single 550EX and have had my concerns about what to buy next,
an ST-E2 with another 550EX, or 2 550EX's, or some other slave
flashes with wireless control. I've heard a fair number of concerns
about IR range/coverage on ST-E2, and pre-flash conflicting with
slave flashes, and visible AF assist and on and on. Overall, I've
still found a fair number of "glowing" articles/posts about e-TTL
with wireless Canon Speedlite setups.
I'm including two items here:
1. an ST-E2 & 550EX response from the always helpful Chuck Westfall
at Canon USA (to my somewhat clueless inquiry, also included)
2. and an interesting "550EX wireless" article from Sports Shooter
http://www.manginphotography.com/sptshtr27.html
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From: cwestfall@cusa.canon.com
Subject: Re: Question about Transmitter ST-E2 IR difficulties
To: david huddleston <david@aztecbrands.com>
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 14:03:27 -0400
Hi, David:
Thanks for your questions and comments on the ST-E2. I wish I had the
time to answer everything your asked one by one, but I don't, so let
me try to summarize the main points:
* The 2 biggest advantages of the ST-E2 are its relatively low cost
and its near-IR filter, which masks the fact that the wireless
signals are in fact being emitted by a small electronic flash that's
built-in.
* The facts that the flash unit itself is relatively low-powered and
masked by the near-IR filter are its biggest weaknesses. These
factors combine to reduce the ST-E2's effective usable outdoor range
to a maximum of 5m/16.4 feet in the center of the receptor's coverage
angle, and 3.5m/11.5 feet at the edges.
* If you're interested in overcoming these weaknesses within the
current range of Canon accessories, you need look no further than the
Speedlite 550EX itself. When it is set as a "master unit" for an E-
TTL wireless flash configuration, its preflash is stronger than that
of the ST-E2, and it is not hampered by the presence of a near-IR
filter. This increases the effective usable outdoor range of the
550EX to 10m/32.8 ft at the center and 7m/23.2 feet at the edges,
albeit at the expense of being discreet
* Don't expect to see any sort of radio-control device to replace the
ST-E2. Wireless E-TTL depends on light signals, not radio. Changing
the system from light signals to radio signals is problematic in
several ways: first, it starts getting involved with FCC and other
various regulating organizations. This could potentially reduce the
effective range of the system even more than the ST-E2 does already.
Second, it would involve the complete redesign of the system, not
only from the standpoint of the transmitter but also from the
standpoint of the receivers on the "slave units." Thus, it would
obsolete all the 550EXs, ST-E2s, MR-14EXs, and 420EXs that have
already been sold. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be
the one who has to explain to hundreds of thousands of Canon
customers that all the flash equipment they've purchased in the last
3 years is no longer compatible with our latest technology. Third and
perhaps most important, radio-based wireless control is simply more
expensive to make and to sell than the current E-TTL wireless system.
* Last but not least, I wouldn't be surprised to see a replacement
for the ST-E2 at some point in the future. If I don't miss my guess,
it will be compatible with our existing system and it will be much
improved in terms of performance. This is just my hunch, not a
product announcement. Thanks again for your interest!
Best Regards,
Chuck Westfall
Assistant Director/Technical Information Dept.
Camera Division/Canon U.S.A., Inc.
[Chuck was responding to my "clueless" inquiry which follows]
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 13:09:25 -0400
To: Chuck Westfall <cwestfall@cusa.canon.com>
From: david huddleston <david@aztecbrands.com>
Subject: Question about Transmitter ST-E2 IR difficulties
Hi Chuck--
I have a question about ST-E2. Many, many people on the forums speak
quite well of the features of ST-E2 with the advanced Speedlites,
such as the 550EX.
I have one 550EX now. I am considering getting one or two more, and
using them for location work such as model shots, product shots,
archeology, etc. I don't mind going through a lot of batteries, or
perhaps using NiMH or NiCd. And I like the idea of having
lightweight, ultra-portable gear.
However, what worries me are the voluminous complaints about ST-E2 IR
communication with the Speedlites. It is almost universally described
as challenging, since everyone seems to consistently know its
distance/angle limits, by bumping into them so often, and
unexpectedly losing flash on shots. It sounds extremely frustrating.
One shouldn't have to be perpetually concerned about whether your ST-
E2 and the Speedlites can see one another "well enough".
What I don't understand, is why does Canon not make a successor to ST-
E2 which is radio, not IR?
It would seem sure to be one of those "killer products" which had all
the super features, all the drawbacks eliminated, thus leaving it a
work of "product greatness". The only consistent complaint one hears
about Speedlite networking, is the finicky IR communication with the
ST-E2. It seems like such a shame.
Unlike some "less fortunate", I do have either (1) the willingness,
or (2) the luxury, to throw money (within reason) at problems. I've
looked at radio possibilities such as Wein or Pocket Wizards etc. But
I'd hate to lose eTTL and other Canon features. Am I missing
something here? Is there something else or additional I could buy, no
matter if it's more expensive, to remedy the expected problem?
Since I'll be outside a lot, and moving around a lot, I don't want to
become the ST-E2's next IR sufferer. Is there something I can do to
avoid this while enjoying the benefits of the ST-E2 and Canon
Speedlite networking?
I've even looked for "IR boosters" (such as those used in homes for
multiroom remote control), but they seem to be big, bulky items which
wouldn't offer much of a solution. The ideal to me would be a 2"
square IR mega-amplified which would sit atop the ST-E2 with sensor
covering the , and boost whatever the ST-E2 transmits by a factor of
50X. Obviously latency (such as for HSS) would have to be near-zero
in the electronics. It seems like such a simple idea. Why hasn't
anyone done something like this?
Is Canon going to remedy the IR deficiencies in the ST-E2 and come
out with a radio model? It's not Canon's fault per se, IR is
difficult for everyone ... coded radio would be such a perfect
alternative.
Please let me know what you think.
Thanks and regards,
David Huddleston
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(Article from Sports Shooter, Issue 27 about Canon Speedlite 550EX)
See this article WITH PICTURES at
http://www.manginphotography.com/sptshtr27.html
SHOW ME THE LIGHT
By Vincent Laforet, The New York Times
I have found that very few people are making use of the Canon 550EX's
wireless strobe functions. Being a former Nikon shooter I have always
associated Canon strobes with disastrous results. I could always tell
the Nikon shooters from the Canon shooters when looking at film a few
years ago.
So I was skeptical when I switched over to the Canon speedlight
system - and even more so when I first tried out the ETTL wireless
function. The results are stunning and have turned me into an instant
convert.
Although you will always want to do a little fine tuning, Canon's
Wireless Flash Photography system is probably the best wireless TTL
system out there. And with the ability to preview the results
instantly with a digital camera - it offers every photographer
unlimited creative possibilities.
What I should stress is that the wireless ETTL doesn't necessarily
allow you to do anything you couldn't do before - you could get
similar results with an series of manual Vivitar strobes - but you
can leave that flash meter, off-camera shoe cords, slave units, etc.
behind. Just set one of the flash as the "master" flash (on the base
of the flash, just above the hot shoe) and then either hold the
second strobe (set to "slave") in your hand, or place it anywhere
from 30-50 feet away and you're ready to rock. There are also four
channels so you won't be setting someone else's strobe off or vice-
versa, and you can use up to three strobes at a time. Right out of
the box, you'll find the strobes offer amazing results.
The first example is shooting a portrait at sunset. This is a pretty
straightforward technique - to have someone else holding the strobe.
I asked my friend and fellow photographer Robin Shotola to hold the
strobe in her left hand. I dialed her strobe up 1 and 1/2 stops (the
slave unit) and dialed the strobe on my camera down 3 stops, exposing
for the sunset a 1/30th at around f11.
The strobes were right on - every time. This is how I most commonly
use the two-strobe setup. I have the main master slave on my camera
dialed down two to three stops so it basically just fill-flashes, and
the secondary strobe as the main light source often dialed up one to
two stops.
You can also chose to turn off the master flash altogether by the
way, and basically you can shoot holding the other flash in your hand
in a manner similar to using an off-camera flash cord, but without
any cords! To do so, press the <SEL/SET> button until you select the
little flash icon. Then press the <+> or <-> button to set the master
slave ON or OFF. The master flash will still send the wireless
signals, but will not fire when you take the pictures, only the one
or two slave flashes will fire!
Now you could probably get this picture with other systems, but this
was done in a very fluid fashion, without any cords, and flash
meters - and that's the amazing part. You can get stunning results
very quickly and on the move.
Add a little gel onto your strobe and suddenly that subject in the
background pops out more due to what looks like a natural red light
coming out of a bookcase for example.
This is especially useful when you're working in cramped quarters,
where you can't have cords all around, or when things are moving too
quickly. I have gone to press conferences for example and just placed
a strobe down on a shelf somewhere and left it there as I move around
the room to take portraits. You could also carry a magic arm with a
strobe at the end of it, clamping it down almost anywhere.
A common situation we all face is coming into dimly lit rooms without
our studio gear. Straight on flash looks horrible, and even off-
camera strobes don't always cut it. The next situation is your
basic "reporter interviews two subjects in a small room."
Recently I photographed two men talking to the reporter about their
colleague who had been killed in their bodega that morning. Ambient
light was about 1/4 of a second a 2.8 at 800 ASA - a disaster for
digital cameras.
Bringing up light boxes or stands was out of the question. Yet I had
two 550 EX strobes, and wireless flash technology to save the day!
I simply plopped down a strobe to the right of my frame, almost
flashing right at me, setting the slave to +2 stops. The on-camera
strobe was set to +1/3 - (my experience is that ETTL tends to
underexpose so I often dial them up.) What you get is a nicely lit
picture, with no diffusion on the strobes, no cords, and little
hassle. And remember the room was almost pitch dark.
A recent assignment I had was to shoot two artists who make plaster
molds of manhole covers in New York City. Naturally I thought the
best angle to shoot them was from within a sewer hole, looking up. So
after 2 hours of looking for a manhole cover that we could open, and
one that was deep enough, we threw a ladder down (in a very active
sewer!) and down I went.
I had the master strobe on camera to light the edges of the sewer
hole, and above I had a slave strobe on a tripod. I made sure the red
plastic sensor of the top strobe was facing the strobe below and the
results were very consistent once I had found the correct exposure
compensation to dial into each strobe.
You can also assign different IDs to the strobes, and change lighting
ratios as you shoot - but I'll let you read the manual if you want to
do that. I tend to simply dial up or down each strobe using the
exposure compensation function. Once you get it right, it tends to
give you very consistent results.
With the EOS3 you can hold down the depth of field preview button and
a series of bursts will go off from all the strobes to give you a
preview of the light and where the shadows fall.
Once again, with simply two strobes, no wires I was able to get a
fairly good result. Could I have used cords? Probably, but the
reality is that we were in the middle of an active street with little
time - any cop who saw us would most surely intervene.
So using two small strobes, I was able to climb down on the ladder,
make one or two quick exposure compensation adjustments on each
strobe and in less than 10 minutes we had our pictures. With strobes,
cords, flash meters, Polaroids you could easily quadruple to time it
would have take to get such a result. I also add an orange gel on the
top strobe to give the overcast day a little color.
Another advantage of this system is that you can finally find
something for that reporter to do: be a moving human stand!
The "Razor" scooters are all the rage and I had an assignment to
illustrate a feature on them and the kids who ride them. For most of
the shoot I had the reporter held the strobe off to the side and in I
also shot with the off-camera strobe just sitting on the grass.
Once again, the main strobe was dialed down two stops so that it was
only filling in the shadows, and the slave strobe was dialed up one
to two stops. In the portrait of the teenagers I made, I also
underexposed the ambient light by a full stop to give it a blue cast
and make the subjects stand out more.
A few technical notes:
You can buy a ST-E2 that is basically just a transmitter you put on
your camera then you can use three other strobes as slaves. You
should rotate your flash head so that the central (red plastic)
sensor on the slave strobe is always facing the master strobe (and
the flash tube facing the subject.)
This is particularly important outdoors - indoors the signal will
bounce off walls so you have more latitude. There is an entire
section in the 500EX's manual on using flash ratios, as mentioned
above, I have stayed away from this - but I'm sure some of you will
find uses for it.
You CAN use the stroboscopic effect (in manual not ETTL) with slave
units. The effective range indoors is 15m or 49.2 feet; outside it
can become limited to 10m or 32.8 feet. Press the pilot lamp (test
firing button) to see if your slave is responding before you start
shooting, or just fire off a few frames.
Don't be afraid to use slow shutter speeds and mix in ambient light,
a technique I used during the scooter shoot (the slave strobe tends
to mix right in, looking like a natural light source). In this case I
simply held the slave strobe off to the top right of the frame, the
main on-camera strobe was turned off, and I swirled the camera around
in the direction of a light bulb on the ceiling in a three-second
exposure to get the swirl effect. Have fun!
(Vincent Laforet is a staff photographer with The New York Times and
is a regular contributor to Sports Shooter.)
