580EX & Ailen Bee timing

[GBRandy]

I have a set of Alien Bee 800's. I also have a 580 EX....and an ST-E2 IR trigger.

I was hoping to use the 580EX on remote and via the ST-E2 fire it behind my subject at the background. The light from the 580 should fire the AB800's and firing at the same time for for the entire shot.

What is happening is the flash fires & the strobes fire, but only the flash is fired during the right time. The AB's, in this configuration, fire but seem to fire before or after the shutter is open..... I have searched here and struggled to find any good guidance.

Anyone have any input for me?

Thanks,

[pepperoni]

What's your shutter speed? You may need to get down to 1/160th or slower.

[tjmaroney]

the preflash on the 580 is likely tripping the ABs early. When i've used this setup with my 580 + AB800, i had to set the 580 on manual for it to work properly (i.e. not trip the AB800 too early).

PS you'll also get responses telling you about the difference in light temp when using 580 + AB (and therefore the difficulty in getting a good colour balance). in my limited experience, this is really a non issue if the 580 is being used as a back light or hair light.

good luck.

cheers,

T.J.

[sboerup]

Yes, Pre-flash is the culprit. ETTL is firing a pre-flash, examining the exposure, and relaying that info between flash & camera to calculate what the exact exposure the flash should be at when the shutter opens. So, the ABs are getting tripped by a pre-flash.

If you are using ABs, you need to be shooting in Manual anyway. Never allow a flash/camera to think for you! You'll either need to get a radio trigger and fire the 580EX manually, or get a long sync cord and adapter. The 580EX will fire the ABs at the proper time if firing in M mode.

Hope this helps!

[GBRandy]

What's your shutter speed? You may need to get down to 1/160th or slower.

Tried that all the way down to 1/60th

the preflash on the 580 is likely tripping the ABs early. When i've used this setup with my 580 + AB800, i had to set the 580 on manual for it to work properly (i.e. not trip the AB800 too early).

PS you'll also get responses telling you about the difference in light temp when using 580 + AB (and therefore the difficulty in getting a good colour balance). in my limited experience, this is really a non issue if the 580 is being used as a back light or hair light.

good luck.

cheers,

T.J.

OK Thanks....I am not worried about color balance on this one as you point out. I am just firing to light the background a bit and possibly drop a gel on top to add splash of color.....


Yes, Pre-flash is the culprit. ETTL is firing a pre-flash, examining the exposure, and relaying that info between flash & camera to calculate what the exact exposure the flash should be at when the shutter opens. So, the ABs are getting tripped by a pre-flash.

If you are using ABs, you need to be shooting in Manual anyway. Never allow a flash/camera to think for you! You'll either need to get a radio trigger and fire the 580EX manually, or get a long sync cord and adapter. The 580EX will fire the ABs at the proper time if firing in M mode.

Hope this helps!

Ahhhh. That makes sense. Let me put the flash back to manual and see what I get. I always shoot manual with these fancy AB lights....still newbie to all of this. Thank you for your help.

[salexande867]

I use my 580 as a hair light and use it on manual to trigger my B800. This should work for you.

[pepperoni]

Ahh.... preflash. :)

[GBRandy]

I use my 580 as a hair light and use it on manual to trigger my B800. This should work for you.

Do you use the ST-E2 to fire it?

[tjmaroney]

yes, i use my ST-E2 to fire the 580 (on manual), which in turn trips the AB