white balance with 580ex II

How do i adjust me white balance to compensate for the flash? i just got my flash and dont know much about it yet.

before this, ive been using my white balance cap.

Is there a way i can avoid using gels?

Set the WB on the camera to AWB or Flash. The flash will then relay the WB setting to the camera automatically.

so with the flash, i wont need to set manual white balance anymore...?

Depends. If flash is the main light stick the camera on flash WB, so it gets it right. If flash is fill use auto, though you may want to gel the flash to ambient if you're fussy.

tim wrote in post #5495513
Depends. If flash is the main light stick the camera on flash WB, so it gets it right. If flash is fill use auto, though you may want to gel the flash to ambient if you're fussy.

Tim makes a good point. My assumption was that the flash would be the main source of light. If that's not the case, then a gel on the flash as Tim said above would be best.

Thanks for the clarification, Tim.