Lighting plan- do I need a 580ex2?

I have been planning on getting a 580ex2 for some time but now I am second guessing that.

With my current set up, I can have 3 lights in ETTL: 430 on umbrella, pop up for fill and 270 for a hair light. I want to work towards stepping this up. What I want is to fire 3 lights off camera in ETTL in 3 groups and have high speed synch available. I want to do this indoors in a small studio, but also out in the field like for shooting mountain biking so I need portability.

Now I could get 3 600ex RT's with a ST-E3, but that would cost around $2400. I would like to do this sIgnificantly cheaper. I was now thinking about addIng 2 more 430ex2's and a Phottix Odin system with 3 recievers.

With the 7D wireless system being able to act as a commander and the Odin system too, do I need the 580ex2? Mind you I have almost never needed more power from a single light source than my 430ex2. What can the 580ex2 do for me other than more power and be a commander and help me in my long term plan?

Not sure what conditions you generally shoot in, but I want to state that I've heard the following:

1) 580EX has a much better focus-assist (as compared to the ST-E2) which can be useful when shooting in low light conditions

2) Since the 580EXII is able to be rotated, it is easier to get reliable optical triggering (e.g. slave flash off-axis to a large degree where the ST-E2 and/or on-board trigger may not work because they cannot be rotated to face the slave)

... food for thought anyway

^ Good advice, although keep in mind that the 430II has less RF noise than the 580II, which may affect your triggering distance significantly.

I would do the Odins and the 430EX setup...I am only saying this because I use it and it works and from what you are saying it would fit your needs...

feeda wrote in post #14060676
^ Good advice, although keep in mind that the 430II has less RF noise than the 580II, which may affect your triggering distance significantly.

I have read reviews stating the 580ex2 is limited on the PW flex and mini. Does it do better with the Odins?

DHPHOTO66 wrote in post #14061079
I would do the Odins and the 430EX setup...I am only saying this because I use it and it works and from what you are saying it would fit your needs...

I am pretty sure I want to get the Odins down the road, but I also would like to pick up a Sigma 17-50 and some more lighting stuff like a stand and small softbox now in addition to another flash which is going to eat up as much as I have saved up now.

So some more questions that I am not clear on. If I get a 580ex2 and a 30' ETTL cord, can I fire the other slaves in high speed sych? And second, should I be looking into the PW mini and flex system too? How are ratios controlled with those? Do I still need a master on a TT-1 to ratio the slaves? I wish the Odins could have an AF assist beam on camera. That is the sole reason I am even considering the PW system.

According the the reviews the new 600 and the st-e3 will only do HSS in 5D3, 1DX and later bodies, in fact you lose a stop of native sync speed with current bodies.

feeda wrote in post #14060676
^ Good advice, although keep in mind that the 430II has less RF noise than the 580II, which may affect your triggering distance significantly.

Can you list more details on this subject?

This should point you in the correct direction:

newwindworkshops.com/.​../canon-speedlite-video-by-syl-arena

Syl Arena does a lot of HSS work with Canon Speedlites, IMHO he has mastered the system. As for the light modifier (softboxes etc...) I have been pretty lucky with the ebay stuff.
http://www.ebay.com …ain_0&hash=item​2a18d860da

DHPHOTO66 wrote in post #14061568
This should point you in the correct direction:

newwindworkshops.com/.​../canon-speedlite-video-by-syl-arena

Thanks for the link. After watching that, now I am back to leaning towards getting a 580ex2 and just getting a 30' TTL cord.

One question, If a 580ex2 on camera is set as the master and set not to contribute to exposure, can you still have 3 other speedlights in 3 groups or does the 580ex2 on camera have to be the only A group?

If your going to get all 430ex II's why not save some money and go with Pixel Kings. Love mine so far. Lots of fun at half the cost (ETTL, use in-camera menu to control your flashes).

Also, you can disable the 580EX II from firing and control 3 groups. I borrowed some extra 430EXs (4) today and used the 580 as my master (with master flash off) for in house shooting A:B C works great.

Lots of fun but I did want more power... Some alien bees would have been nice.

Why do you need ETTL and speedlites in the studio? Cheap studio lighting in manual will give you more consistent images that need less processing for less money, and strobes fire all day without overheating, unlike speedlites.

jerbear00 wrote in post #14065457
If your going to get all 430ex II's why not save some money and go with Pixel Kings. Love mine so far. Lots of fun at half the cost (ETTL, use in-camera menu to control your flashes).

I had never heard of them before your post. I will look into them. What features do they offer that the Odins and PW flex & mini lack?

tim wrote in post #14065577
Why do you need ETTL and speedlites in the studio? Cheap studio lighting in manual will give you more consistent images that need less processing for less money, and strobes fire all day without overheating, unlike speedlites.

Ideally, I would love to get a set of AB 800's too, but seeing this is still a hobby for me, I can't justify having both systems. And a want to be able to throw gear in my back pack and ride my mountain bike into the mountains and get some awesome shots of my friends. I can't do that with big strobes. Also, I still shoot at home in manual a lot though, but I don't want to be limited to it.