ST-E2, Speedlite 430 EX II and infrared communication and softboxes

Hello
I've a Speedlite 430 EX II
I'm interested to buy a second 430 EX II an a ST-E2
I will use ST-E2 on a 450D.

I read that master/slave communication of ST-E2 and 580EX II is based on infrared.

I think I'll use some softboxes, beautydish, umbrella and so on, on my off-camera 430 EX II.

My question is if the communication might be affected if the softbox hides the slave infrared sensor... or if the infrared communication is strong enough to pass through the softboxes.

Thanks

I had the ST-E2 before upgrading to radio setup. It will depend on the size and kind of softbox you'll get, but most likely the IR signal will be blocked by the softbox. I have a qbox so I was able to angle the flash 90 degrees so that the camera can still spot the IR signal from the flash. If you buy something like the wescott apollo where the flash is smack in the middle, inside of the box, you're best bet would be a OC3 cable or get some radio triggers like the YN-622C

Softboxes that completely enclose the flash pretty much wont work. By rotating the face of the flash toward the St-e2 you can use softboxes like the ez box or cheetah box reasonably well. But as mentioned above with the cost of ETTL radio triggers like the YN622 dropping I dont see any reason to rely on older technology unless you are getting a great deal..

I'M not so much a fan of yognuo products because a friend's flash stopped to work just after two weeks.

I have found a used st-e2 in my city at about 60% of it's new price.

That's way i'm considering it as first option.
I don't have a 580 ex ii and it's expensive both in the new and used markets.
It's cheaper for me to get the used st-e2 and a used 430 ex ii.


Is there any not too expensive option apart yognuo that works in ttl?

It really depends on what kind of softbox you want. If you want a qbox24 or a lumiquest ezpro box where the speedlite mounts outside the box, 2 430s and a ET-S2 would be fine. But if you want to use a Westcott Apollo or other softbox with the flash enclosed, a used 580EX 2 with a 10m ETTL cord would be a better bet. Of course with that set up the other 430 can't be enclosed either. You may want to use the Apollo as key and an umbrella for fill with the second option.