Canon ST-E2 Substitute

I have a 300D which I wish to use with Studio Lightning system but can't afford the ST-E2. Does anyone know of any substitute or hack device which I can use with effect? Would appreciate very very much if anyone can help or give me some suggestions. Thank you.

Why do you want the function of the ST-E2?

It is not normally used with Studio Lighting schemes.

It outputs only the Canon IR wireless signal to a Canon slave.

---Bob Gross---

I've seen some commercial photographer doing portrait shoot in shopping complex with two light boxes setup and the studio light was trigger by this ST-E2. I am planning to setup a similar studio lightning system. I know I can also trigger the studio flash with my 550ex but I hope not to do it this way as the flash from my 550ex will affect the picture.

Look, there are only a few ways to trigger studio lights. You can use the Canon IR wireless flash system with masters and slaves. Or, you can use straight cable. Or, you can use primary flashes and optical slaves. Regardless of what you saw, those are the ways.

Now, the commercial photographer may have had the ST-E2 on his camera and then it was two Canon slaves being coupled by Canon IR wireless. Or, maybe he had the ST-E2 on the camera and one Canon slave coupled by Canon IR wireless... and then the studio lights were optically slaved off the one Canon light. Then there are other contortions of that.

So, let me ask my question again. What function of the ST-E2 do you intend to use?

---Bob Gross---

Sorry, I basically wanted to trigger the studio flash...

Most studio flashes can be triggered by either:
(1) direct sync cable
or
(2) optical slave trigger circuit

Which one of those two is the ST-E2 function going to do for you? (neither)

---Bob Gross---

If we ignore the ST-E2 for a minute,

you could put a radio transmitter on the camera hot shoe, and then put a radio slave at one or more studio lights. That's not a Canon solution, but it would get the job done.

---Bob Gross---

Do you have a 550 or other flash head capable of being set manually. If so you can set the flash level so low that it will not impact on the main flash lighting settings but high enough to trigger all the other units. I use an STE2 to fire my 550 which in turn triggers everything else. I just hat flash cables.

The 550ex can be set to trigger slaves while producing no flash for the actual exposure.

Is that triggering other canon slaves or any optical slave?

My experience is only with Canon slaves. I can't comment on others.

I use the 550EX with one or two 420EX's as the slaves. I didn't like the inconsistency that the ETTL system gave me when I was trying to set up multiple subject shots as the ETTL system would "adjust" itself for each shot and the background colur and density would be radically different from shot to shot.

Since then I've gone back to using a pair of monolights. I use a synch cord from the flash to the camera and use a Wein Safe Synch on that. The other flash is light slaved to the first and this works well. I can use a flash meter to very accurately set up the lighting ratio I want and get very good consistency from shot to shot.

A couple of times I used the 550 on a very low manual setting to fire both monolights with light slaves.

I still like and use the Master/Slave functions of the 550/420 and use it for photojournalistic assignments. For that use I almost always use the flashes without any kind of light modifyers like an umbrella or softbox. As long as you are using multiple flashes in some kind of a lighting ratio the harshness you would expect is missing. I usually have the 550 on a bracket attached to the camera. This becomes the fill light and although having the flash attached to the camera usually produces a flat lighting this is perfectly OK for a fill light. The rule such as it is is that the fill must be within 20 degrees of the camer position. This way there will be light falling on both sides of the subject's face. So on top of the camera is fine.

The 420 is put on a light stand. I've stuck Vercro strips on the sides of the 420's so I can mount small black cards. These cards act as flags to prevent flare. It's remarkable how far behind the subject you can place the 420 without flare when you use these cards. In a "subject at a podium" shot I usually use two cards, on on both sides of the flash to create a snoot of sorts which prevents the light splashing onto the background, which in this day and age is almost always a Powerpoint projection screen. In a feature/personality portrait I like the back spill to help light the background, so I onlu use the flag card nearest to the camera.

I wouldn't suggest buying the ST-E2. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. For about the same money you could have a 420 and since you already have the 550 you have a Master. The 550 puts out a more powerful pulse than the ST-E2 so it should work at a greater distance. And at the end of the day you have the 420 which is obviously a flash that can be used as a regular flash in a pinch.

Thanks for all the reply, I think I will try what is suggested and see what happen. Really appreciate all the helps.

Kevinteh-

Why bother with Canon - JTL (via Adorama) sells two inexpensive infrared flash triggers (that look alot like the ST-E2 that work great. I use one all the time when I shoot with my indoor monolight setup (1 JTL Versalight 800D, 2 JTL Versalight 500D, 2 Cyberlites).

Hope this helps

Won't a regular flash trigger your flashes just like they were light slaves? The Canon Wireless TTL will NOT be triggered by Aunt Gertrude's point and shoot flash and I'm afraid yours would be. And if they do why not buy light slaves?