Anyone using an ST-E2 with three EX flashes?

[slejhamer]

If so, what's your setup and how are you using the 3rd light - background? hair light? other?

I'm considering a 3rd 420ex to use as a bg light mounted on a boom. Would like to know others' experience with this or alternative arrangements. Am also curious if anyone is using a snoot or grid type of product to better control the flash.

One other consideration is to get a 550ex (or the Sigma equivalent) to use as the key light because of the modeling lamp. While the 420s don't have it, at least my main light would. Seem like a good idea? Or overkill?

My current gear is ST-E2, twin 420s, stands with universal mounts, umbrellas (one shoot-through, one not), one 42" white/gold reflector. What else should I consider adding for a portable portrait setup?

Thanks!

[scottbergerphoto]

I jsut added a second 550EX to a 420EX and another 550. I like the ability to set FEC directly on the flash. In an article by Vincent Laforet, he ignores setting ratios on the Master and sets FEC directly on the flashes to create the lighting he wants.
Regards,
Scott

[DaveG]

If so, what's your setup and how are you using the 3rd light - background? hair light? other?

I'm considering a 3rd 420ex to use as a bg light mounted on a boom. Would like to know others' experience with this or alternative arrangements. Am also curious if anyone is using a snoot or grid type of product to better control the flash.

One other consideration is to get a 550ex (or the Sigma equivalent) to use as the key light because of the modeling lamp. While the 420s don't have it, at least my main light would. Seem like a good idea? Or overkill?

My current gear is ST-E2, twin 420s, stands with universal mounts, umbrellas (one shoot-through, one not), one 42" white/gold reflector. What else should I consider adding for a portable portrait setup?

Thanks!

I've stopped trying to use my 550 and two 420's to do portrait lighting. The E-TTL system is too unpredictible. One day everything works fine, and the next I can't get a decent exposure, and the real problem is that I can't figure out why.

My suggestion would be to buy some inexpensive monolights like Alien Bees and then plug them into the wall. Three of these things and a flash meter wouldn't cost a lot more than two 550's, a 420 and the ST-E2. They have modeling lights designed to be modeling lights. They will be completely controllable, not what Canon's E-TTL abortion of an automatic flash system thinks is right, and you will get excellent subject to subject exposure consistency.

You'll also be able to add all of the snoots, grids and everything else out there.

Now I still like the Canon Wireless TTL system when the exposure isn't being measured against another one in a series. For example a magazine feature portrait. This works because it's a stand alone shot. For this type of shoot I use small black cards (flags) that I mount with Velcro to the sides of the off camera flashes. This prevents flare and does make a directional snoot of sorts for the flash.

[slejhamer]

Thanks Scott and Dave.

Dave, I had considered selling my current gear and going with a Bees setup, but I really like the portability of flashguns. Also, my experience with wireless E-TTL hasn't been as frustrating as yours seems to have been, though I'm sure I don't use it nearly as often.

Question: what do you use when you shoot weddings and need a portable setup? Are you using a single flash on a stroboframe?

In hindsight I would have gone with radio slaves and a bunch of Vivitar 285s ... heck, maybe that's still a good solution? The end result would be more like what Scott is suggesting, with manual control over the wireless flashes.

[DaveG]

Thanks Scott and Dave.

Dave, I had considered selling my current gear and going with a Bees setup, but I really like the portability of flashguns. Also, my experience with wireless E-TTL hasn't been as frustrating as yours seems to have been, though I'm sure I don't use it nearly as often.

Question: what do you use when you shoot weddings and need a portable setup? Are you using a single flash on a stroboframe?

In hindsight I would have gone with radio slaves and a bunch of Vivitar 285s ... heck, maybe that's still a good solution? The end result would be more like what Scott is suggesting, with manual control over the wireless flashes.

I use a single flash (Metz 45-CL4) on a Stroborframe Pro-T and with a Mamiya Pro-TL and Fiji ISO 400 film. I try as much as possible to use the ambient light to bring up the background wherever possible. Of course for inside shots the camera is on a tripod and the subject isn't moving when I do this. But the effect is very nice.

In order to use a second light I think that I'd need an assistant and that's not going to happen. I do know another photographer who uses a radio slave system but the vast majority of this setup gets used at the reception.

Maybe I'm whining too much but here's all I want from E-TTL: I aim the camera and flash at the subject. If it's a normal type of subject with no backlighting or such, it gives me an exposure plus or minus, 1/3 of a stop. No preflashing, no trying to figure out where the grey is, just 2/3 of a stop latitude. My E-TTL can underexpose by 2 stops without effort, or alternately be a stop and a half over. In the same room, on the same day and for no explicable reason.

Canon (once again) didn't come up with E-TTL-2 for their health. Now they are never going to admit it but the older E-TTL doesn't work and they know it.

[scottbergerphoto]

I usually use monolights (Excalibur 3200) for work in my home studio with a Pocket Wizard Plus setup, umbrellas and a softbox. I wanted a portable setup for more then one light. When I got the 2nd 550EX I put one on a lightstand bouncing into an umbrella and one on the camera. I set ratios of 1:3 and 1:4 camera to umbrella. The shots were all properly exposed and consistent. You can dial in FEC as needed. Now I have a portable system of (2) 550's, (2) Quantum Turbo Z's, an umbrella and a lightstand. Pretty compact.
I think the problem with the Canon flash system arises when the background and ambient light keeps changing as you move around an event.
Regards,
Scott

[robertwgross]

One of the worst sequences of wedding shots I got had to do with exposure inconsistency. I use a 550EX on a bracket with my D60 in one of the normal flash modes, like Av.

I saw a line of heads where one shot was bright, one was dark, one was bright, etc. I couldn't figure out the inconsistency until I studied the position of the heads with respect to a semi-bright background. The heads were waving around enough to allow or block the background that the one factor made all the difference.

---Bob Gross---