Making my 430ex off shoe???

[djglenn1337]

Hello,

I am looking into making my 430ex Speedlite external, so that I can try on new lighting effects for simple portrait work. This is purely amature work and will not be a studio setup.

What I want is something cheap...yet retains ETTL / auto features.

I assume a cable like an OC-E3 canon one would work, but to be honest I would like an extra length.

There are cheapo's on ebay (delivered from Hong Kong, etc) but am I comprising on accuracy or running the risk of damaging the camera / flash?

Would a Hot Shoe to PC adapter retain auto settings?

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/item/BR0028/

I have a spare tripod, so I was running on the principle that I could use it to hold the flash.

Any advise would be much appreciated.

[Titus213]

Unfortunately the hot shoe to PC adapter will not allow you to retain ETTL capability. You will need an EX flash capable of acting as a master or an ST-E2 for that. Paramount (http://www.paramountcords.com/ttl.asp)makes extended flash cables but prices jump way up real fast.

You could buy an off shoe cord and adapt it yourself. There is an excellent tutorial on doing that here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=123662

Or the cheapest way - buy a simple hot shoe to PC adapter and a PC cord from Flash Zebra (http://www.flashzebra.com/products.shtml)and learn to manually adjust your light.

[djglenn1337]

Unfortunately the hot shoe to PC adapter will not allow you to retain ETTL capability. You will need an EX flash capable of acting as a master or an ST-E2 for that. Paramount (http://www.paramountcords.com/ttl.asp)makes extended flash cables but prices jump way up real fast.

You could buy an off shoe cord and adapt it yourself. There is an excellent tutorial on doing that here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=123662

Or the cheapest way - buy a simple hot shoe to PC adapter and a PC cord from Flash Zebra (http://www.flashzebra.com/products.shtml)and learn to manually adjust your light.

Thanks for the heads up.

I assume if I am merely bouncing light or using a diffuser the light will generally be on full power anyway? Manually adjusting might be desirable..

The only problem I will have will be it not picking up on the shutter speed...quite a big problem at that I would guess.

[Titus213]

Not really a big problem, just stay below your max sync speed for the shutter.

And I don't think the flash will be at max, (1/1). The 430EX puts out a lot of light and manual settings in the 1/8 to 1/16th are not uncommon depending of course on the subject, distance, diffuser, etc.