Has anyone successfully used an optical trigger with Canon EX Flashes?

b1gdaddy wrote in post #5350356
I have an old sunpak optical trigger which works flawlessly with my 430 ex, they turn up now & then on ebay. It will not ignore the preflash though so only answers 50% of your question....sorry

Thanks, but pre-flash is not my concern. I am proposing to use the pc terminal on the hotshoe trigger with the pc terminal on the camera to trigger the flash in manual mode.

I would test it myself but don't have a pc cord - and would like to know before I go through the trouble and expense of ordering one...

These are the triggers that I got at a local store when I traded my 420EX for the Vivitar 383's. They work great with the Vivitars.

http://www.fotodiox.co​m …cPath=30&produc​ts_id=4007

However, even though they say "compatible with all flash mounts", they do not work properly with the 550EX. They do fit on the 550 mount once you manually push down the pins on the 550 foot. They did come off readily - but I was afraid that they wouldn't.

The problem is, that while they do fire the 550 on the first pop, they do not fire on the next pop. The 550 has to be turned off and back on before the trigger will work again. Not a very practical solution.

Now, since they fail to operate properly with the optical trigger, I am assuming that I would get the same result with a sync cord and this trigger. I guess I have answered my own question...

I am off to Flash Zebra to buy the right stuff for the 550 and will keep these for the Vivitars.