Will the 550ex trigger the 430ex ???

Hi all,

Forgive my ignorance concerning this topic. I am in need of a backup flash and will be purchasing the 430ex tonight or tomorrow. I currently have a 550ex and was wondering if my 550 can trigger the 430 in slave mode?
I was unable to find any information about this on Canons website.

Thanks
Paul J.

As far as I know there are 3 devices that can act as Master Units in a Canon Wireless E-TTL setup and thoes are: ST-E2, 550EX,580EX. So you should be fine with using a 550EX to wirelessly trigger a 430EX. I have tried using a 580EX to trigger my 430EX, I found that it works fine indoors but outdoors in sunlights it is incredibly unreliable and range is significantly reduced. You also need to ensure that the slave units IR reciever is within line of sight with your Master Unit.

Regards,
Zac

Thanks for the reply. I can't wait to try it out.
I'm going to have to think of some ways to hide the flash unit if it requires line of sight.

Thanks again Yellow_fuzz

Paul J.

Funny to see this...I borrowed a friends 550 this past weekend to try with my 430. It worked just fine.
Now to figure out how/where to place it so it helps.

The line of sight is really only important outside. The sun kills the ir signals. Inside the walls will bounce the signal around and normally you should not have any problems. I use an ST E2 and 3 speedlights without any problems.