Diminishing sync speeds using 580EX-II as master with 430EX slaves.

A few months ago, I learned that the 580EX-II, when connected via PC sync cable from my Canon 1D MkIII to the flash... was not capable of operating as a master in manual mode. To fix this, I purchased a hotshoe adapter from FlashZebra and it works great. Now, I didn't really play with a master/slave configuration then, so while I purchased it to be able to control a slave... I didn't really get around to it till this past week.

With the single 580EX-II connected via hotshoe adapter, I found I could reliably sync to 1/320 no problem. This was great.

Recently, I started playing with a poor man's home studio setup and really began learning to use one or two of my 430EXs as slaves. This is where I learned that I was no longer able to sync at 1/320. The best I could do was 1/160 when using the 580EX-II as a manual master (connected via hotshoe adapter) controlling two 430EX slaves. You can see the sample photos at http://eugelee.com/Fla​sh/Set3

Then I decided to learn about using my 580EX-II master to control the other two 430EXs via ratios... so I set one to B and the other to C. Very cool feature, love it... except, I am limited even further now when it comes to sync speeds. I can only shoot at 1/125 as shown at http://eugelee.com/Fla​sh/Set2

Of course, with the 580EX-II on camera, I can use HighSyncSpeed and shoot way up into the 1/2000 range, even with the slaves as seen at http://eugelee.com/Fla​sh/Set1
I also have the OC-E3 off camera cord, so I can kind of take the 580EX-II off camera and still get high shutter speeds when needed.

Can someone please verify that this is indeed the case in the scenarios that I'm using? When (not if) I buy some wireless triggers like a Pocket Wizard... what can I expect? I'm guessing I'll still be limited to the shutter speeds I'm currently experiencing. I suppose I can get a ST-E2 for the home studio stuff... but that just seems like an old/tired technology... something better has to be on the way soon.

The 1/160 is fine for the most part, but the 1/125 speed seems a bit low for shooting kids, even in a portrait setting. Am I relegated to not using the ratio feature?

Any input/feedback/suggest​ions are welcome... thanks all!

Here are some photos from the "studio" I created in my dining room.

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Is the short answer to simply purchase some PW or Skyports and put any and all flashes in manual mode (no master, no slave)?

Forget about being cheap and using the master/slave to trigger 2nd or 3rd flashes and the use of ratios to remotely control flash power?

Buy the wireless transmitters and simply enjoy 1/250th sync speeds?

Whe the master 580 is operated in manual mode (non ETTL), the sync speed is limited to 1/125. Add a radio trigger, there's possibly more delay. When I use my eBay trigger to the master 580/slave 430, the max sync speed is 1/100, don't know about PW or Skyports.

In your setup picture, seems like the flashes were the main light. In that case, sync speed is not a big deal, I bet you can try 1/30 with iso 100, and you will not have any motion blur, unless you are shooting f1.4.

ST-E2 is cool in many situations, but shooting with a pure white background would be PITA with ETTL.

I use a 580 in manual mode with an ebay trigger at 1/250 all the time.
Mike

Since all of your flash units likely have about the same sync Voltage, cords between the flash units and one set of radio slaves is also an option (with one radio receiver firing all of the flash units).

This gives you no cord between the flash units and the camera (the major upside of cordless operation), and the cost of only one radio receiver to fire all of the flash units.

This is a very viable approach that mitigates cost when the sync Voltage of the attached flash units are about the same.

Enjoy! Lon

euge.lee wrote in post #4365309
A few months ago, I learned that the 580EX-II, when connected via PC sync cable from my Canon 1D MkIII to the flash... was not capable of operating as a master in manual mode....etc...etc...

Other than the cost of an add'l 580EX or 430EX, I really do not understand why you would not put a 580EX on the camera and run in full Canon wireless mode. You will be able to run in ETTL or manual mode with A, B, and C groups. Syncing can be up to your camera capability (1/250 or 1/200) with high-speed flash available. You can set the ratios and/or FEC from the camera, not running around. In manual mode you can set power for each group from the camera.

In addition, you could use the on camera flash for fill, which, depending on your set up, would normally give you much softer lighting and better control of your shadows.