off camera flash settings

As far as I can tell unless I want to spend a fortune on radio triggers which are ETTL capable, multiple off camera flashes triggered by radio signals will have to be set manually. So is there a technique for settting the flash power, will I need a light meter, or do most people just use trial and error.
Other options for off camera with ETTL are a 7D an st-e2 or a 580EX on the camera body used as the master. So what are my best options for off camera flash with my kit. Will be getting a 7D soon. Using the 580 on the camera seems a waste. Is ettl the holy grail for of camera flash or are most people happy to set flash power manually.

Have been thinking about getting a set of these, any good ?

Thanks

In my home studio there are two off-camera flashes that are triggered via simple radio triggers; you get used to setting everything manually, after all, if you have to set the relative power of the two flashes it's not much harder to set the absolute power manually, too. With a bit of experience you guess pretty well which power settings to use, until then it's trial and error. ETTL might have been more comfortable, but then the selection of what to get would have been much smaller.

I much rather use manual flash settings off-camera. You will then get consistency.

Cheers, i forgot to post the link lol
http://www.amazon.co.u​k …TF8&qid=1298628​380&sr=1-1
Are these any good ?
Do you use a light meter ?

Hi
I had the ball heads and they both fell apart. I now use these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk …&ssPageName=STR​K:MEWNX:IT
I found them far better and think they will last.
I would also hang around until someone gets the new rf603 to see what they think of them.
Do you have flashes?
And what kind as the YN can be fired by another in slave mode.
Simon

I have a 580exII and a 430exII

If the ballheads fall apart I can replace them, I would be buying that kit mainly for the triggers

With them you can set the 580 as master and the other as slave. I havent got one but I am sure someone will help you until you get triggers.
I found these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk …nt_RL&hash=item​230e8d2e56
You could get them and use the 430 to be a slave mode and fire without a trigger.

Simon

Yes I know I can do that but i would ideally like to get them both off camera

If your pocket is not up to the 7D yet, a good option is the ST-E2. I know many say it won't work outdoors but that is hogwash. I have purposely set up difficult situations (flash behind the camera) and the flashes fire every time as long as the trigger has something to reflect off of (i.e. white or light shirt.) You can have ETTL and set ratio's right from the trigger. It doesn't get any easier and you won't empty your wallet.

So you set the power ratios on the st-e2. Is this also the case for the 7d

I think the 7D is also capable of doing ratio's but I don't own one yet.

I have a 7D, a Sigma 530 Super, and several older flash units. I find that using cheap radio-controlled triggers and full manual settings for everything gives me the best control and most consistent results. When I'm doing portraits, it takes just a half-dozen shots to get everything adjusted right. After that, I focus on the shooting and the lighting pretty much takes care of itself.

Sikor7 wrote in post #11923509
I think the 7D is also capable of doing ratio's but I don't own one yet.

7D & 60D will do ratios or ETTL:

Click on the bottom info regarding Speedlites here on the Canon learning center link for a video tutorial:

http://www.usa.canon.c​om …ArticleAct&arti​cleID=3548

Regards,

Sikor7 wrote in post #11923509
I think the 7D is also capable of doing ratio's but I don't own one yet.

7D & 60D will do ratios or ETTL:

Click on the bottom info regarding the integrated Speedlites transmitters here on the Canon learning center link for a video tutorial:

http://www.usa.canon.c​om …ArticleAct&arti​cleID=3548

Regards,