need some flash help asap

please!

i use the 580 ex ii with my 430 ex i all the time. use the 430 as slave. settings are the same as always but the 580 wont give off the red flash from the front to trigger the 430. what's the deal?

i had a kid come up to help me do a preview picture and i cant get this to work

The red lens is the auto focus lamp and has nothing to do with triggering a slave flash. The control light for slave flashes comes from the flash tube and is fired a fraction of a second before the main flash. Install fresh batteries in your flash and make sure it is set as the master.

The red AF assist lamp won't work if the camera is set to AI servo or if it's disabled in the camera's custom functions.

Ok help me out: there is a red light that comes on on the back of the flash (where you program it) but usually when i set it to master a red light on the front beeps. Are you telling me that wasnt the master "signal"

The slave is triggered by a burst of light from the flash itself. whatever is happening with the front panel is something else

Teh front panel used to have a red light flash. When I turn the 430 ex on to slave it also emits a red flashing light. I thougth that is what communicated to the slave.

I ended up getting it to work but after moving some things around and it was still a little funny. So what is the flashing red light for then on the front?

abbypanda wrote in post #16810449
please!

i use the 580 ex ii with my 430 ex i all the time. use the 430 as slave. settings are the same as always but the 580 wont give off the red flash from the front to trigger the 430. what's the deal?

i had a kid come up to help me do a preview picture and i cant get this to work

::The Canon 580EXII in Master Mode::
•On the Front Panel, Red Light DOES NOT blink...
•On the Front Panel, MAY emit a RED LIGHT if you have the flash set to help with Auto Focus. This Red Light has NOTHING to do with sending a signal out to the 430EX (Slave Flash). A series of light pulses sent milli-seconds before the actual flash (also called a "Pre-Flash") is sent via the Master Flash (580EXII) unit to the Slave Unit (430EX) telling it what to do...
•On the Rear Panel, Pilot Light will turn RED when Flash is FULLY CHARGED and Ready to Fire. Pilot Light will then turn GREEN "briefly" denoting a GOOD EXPOSURE, then Pilot Light will turn RED again when Flash is FULLY CHARGED and Ready to Fire once again...

::The Canon 430EX in Slave Mode::
•On the Front Panel, Red Light DOES blink on and off constantly denoting that the flash is in SLAVE MODE...
•On the Front Panel, this is where the signal is received from the 580EXII Master Flash telling the 430EX what to do. Thus, the Front Panel of the 430EX should ALWAYS be facing the 580EXII (Master Flash)...
•On the Rear Panel, Pilot Light will turn RED when Flash is FULLY CHARGED and Ready to Fire. Pilot Light will then turn GREEN "briefly" denoting a GOOD EXPOSURE, then Pilot Light will turn RED again when Flash is FULLY CHARGED and Ready to Fire once again...

The slave 430 will fl;ash red on the front only to tell you that it is ready to fire. The master probably doesn't (I've never checked.) Make sure that the little red pilot light on the BACK of both flashes is lit and they should work.

Check the link in my signature for a detailed tutorial on how to use Canon's wireless flash system.