Cheap Manual Flash Queries

I am from India, I have a 430EXii which i trigger using Pixel King. I am planning to buy a localy made cheap manual flash (feature like Yongnuo YN-560 II).

In most situation i will be triggering both flashes off camera. Now if is setup flash in S2 mode, what i understand is that Yongnuo will be triggered along with 430ex and i won't need any wires/adapters/wireles​s triggers in this mode??? Or are there any cons to it.... as to the angle to which it needs to be placed at from 430ex or presence of diffuser.

If I understand what you are trying to do I think it should work. You would trigger the 430EXII in ETTL mode with the Pixel King triggers and have the Yongnuo 560II set in S2 optical trigger mode. As long as the Yongnuo optical sensor on the front of the flash can see the flash burst from the 430EXII it will fire when the 430 fires. The Yongnuo flash power will have to be set manually of course.

I don't have your exact setup but I just tested this scenario with a remote 600EX-RT in ETTL mode triggered by a Yongnuo YN622C trigger very similar to your Pixel Kings. I set up my Yongnuo YN560II flash in S2 optical triggering mode and took some test shots. Both flashes fired.

As to your questions about drawbacks to optical triggering, sure there are drawbacks. Your optically triggered flash will also fire when any other nearby flash goes off. In strong ambient light conditions with the flashes separated quite a bit you may not get 100% success. If you want to ensure that both flash units fire every time you press the shutter with no line of sight limitations you'll need to invest in another radio trigger unit so that you have one for each flash. You can always try the optical triggering method first and see if it meets your needs. Then if you find it too restrictive or unreliable you can pick up another compatible trigger for your new flash.

Thanks a lot Dave for that explanation.

So now to further that, I understand that, in case i use 430EX in manual mode to make Yongnuo 560II fire it should be in S1 mode, right ??

Also you said i would have to get another trigger for more reliable shots, but i have another setup in my mind. Pixel Kings came with cables that go in top end flashes/strobes to make them trigger which were never used as 430EX doesn't have inputs for them. The setup i thought i like this,,

Pixel Receiver(430EX Flash attached) --> Cable to attach strobes(extended using this setup) goes into --> this hot shoe(Yongnuo 560II attached)

what you think should it work??? i think it should unless there are voltage/power issues connecting two flashes to single receiver

redwaters wrote in post #16329317
Thanks a lot Dave for that explanation.

So now to further that, I understand that, in case i use 430EX in manual mode to make Yongnuo 560II fire it should be in S1 mode, right ??

Also you said i would have to get another trigger for more reliable shots, but i have another setup in my mind. Pixel Kings came with cables that go in top end flashes/strobes to make them trigger which were never used as 430EX doesn't have inputs for them. The setup i thought i like this,,

Pixel Receiver(430EX Flash attached) --> Cable to attach strobes(extended using this setup) goes into --> this hot shoe(Yongnuo 560II attached)

what you think should it work??? i think it should unless there are voltage/power issues connecting two flashes to single receiver

Yes to using S1 Optical mode if the 430EXII is in manual mode and not emitting ETTL preflash to confuse the optical sensor.

I can't really answer your other question about the extended ettl cord connected to your camera mounted trigger because I do not own your Pixel radio triggers. I know my Yongnuo 622C's will allow stacking a cheap manual trigger on the top of the camera mounted 622. I have done this to allow for ETTL (or manual) triggering of an ETTL capable flash on a remote YN622 unit and a cheap manual only trigger in the hotshoe on top of the camera mounted YN622 triggering a YN560II mounted on a remote manual trigger. Possibly your Pixel transmitter would behave the same way. I just don't know. This would probably be as cheap or cheaper than the extended cable setup you propose and would give you an inexpensive all radio solution. I hate having to deal with tripping over cables when you can pick up manual only flash trigger sets so cheaply. As an example. I paid $65 US for a high quality 10 meter ETTL extension cable. In contrast I paid roughly $30 US for a set of chinese radio triggers that work beautifully. Comtrig T320's were the triggers I bought. I've also used similar Yongnuo RF603's in the same manner. Since I picked up the radio triggers I never get the extended cable out of my lighting bag. I just can't bring myself to get rid of it yet.

Thanks Dave, your response much appreciated