ST-E2 vs Extension Cord

[iseeihear]

Hi,

May I know if the ST-E2 supports all the features of extension cord e.g. ETTL-II? What are the drawback(s)?

Suppose I want to shot a group of people that are say 30 feet away. If I put a 403EX in front of those people (say 10 feet) and I shot with ST-E2, would I get a proper exposed picture? I mean the flash is now closer to the subjects so I should have a "brighter" picture, but since my camera is still 30 feet away, would the metering / exposure works properly?

Many thanks.

[PacAce]

It doesn't matter where the camera is. What's important is where the flash is relative to the subject. And if you are shooting in ETTL mode, with the ST-E2, the camera will automatically adjust the output of the flash to get the proper exposure.

There really is no need to attach the ST-E2 via an extension cord because that's not really going to buy you much. As long as the slave flash can "see" the IR light emitted by the ST-E2, it'll work fine.

[iseeihear]

Thanks PacAce.

Sorry for confusing you. My previous post had two questions, I did not mean to use ST-E2 with the extension cord.

Could you please advise again if there are limitations on ST-E2, compare to extension cord?

Thanks again.

[Mark-B]

May I know if the ST-E2 supports all the features of extension cord e.g. ETTL-II? What are the drawback(s)?

The ST-E2 supports all features of ETTL flashes and the off-shoe cord. When compared only to the off-shoe cord, there are no drawbacks. It will work perfectly with your 430EX and you will be able to move the flash more than 2 feet away from the camera. The off-shoe cord is really meant to be used on a flash bracket when you are only putting the flash a few inches above the camera lens.

[jmb4370]

I extend the length of the Off Camera Cord for many people who don't want to do it themselves, either using a hardwired fixed length of cable, or using a mini-DIN connector set and then M/F extension cables (OCC Mods (http://michaelbass.blogspot.com/2007/01/off-camera-shoe-cords-mods-accessories.html)). This allows using an off camera flash unit in eTTL mode at basically ANY distance away from the camera.

The flash at the end of the extended OCC can be set to "Master" to then control any number of "Slaves" using wireless eTTL mode!

[iseeihear]

Thank you all.

I think I will buy the ST-E2 even it is 3 times the price of the extension cord.

[canonpink]

I recommend that if you are going to shoot a group outside, the ST-E2 should be tested quickly (in case you need to return it) in that environment because you may not be able to get your flash to fire. The ST-E2, I have heard, works best inside and of course when you can have your flash front facing the ST-E2; thus, a swivel head flash is a must in most cases.

Additionally, if you are going off camera with that much distance between the flash and the camera, etc..., sounds like you will be setting up everything before hand. Why not go manual on the camera and the flash? That way, after you get it all adjusted, you get the same exposures everytime and can tweak them as your groups change, or ambient lighting changes.

CP

[Dellboy]

The ST-E2 supports all the normal flash features except one ( to my knowledge )

Rear curtain flash - For most not a deal breaker for most but you may as well know.

Outside and in large halls the ST-E2s range can be somewhat limited in range. However this can be substantially improved by ensuring that the ST-E2 and the flash(s) are pointing at one another ( their sensors that it ). It is the one situation where having the ST-E2 unit attached to the cord would make good sense.