PW Plus II and Canon 430ex's and 580ex's

Hi guys, I have a question because I am an idiot.

I currently have a Canon ST-E2 Transmitter that fires 3 x Canon 430ex Flashes. Obviously due to IR I have to be inline or else they dont fire.

Would it be better to go with a PW Plus II, 1x 530ex and 2x 430ex's? Would I only need 1 PW Plus II and hook it up to the 580ex and have the 580ex as a master to the 430ex's (slaves) to fire them without any additional adapters?

What I love is I dont need any extra cords, hotshoes, adapters, etc to fire my flashes wit the ST-E2, but I hate how I have to be inline with them to fire.

Can someone please help me with more info as Im kinda confused on if I could use the PW Plus II with 3x 430ex Flashes or if I need a 580ex to fire a 430ex... etc. etc.

If you want the reliability of an RF triggered setup then you will need a PW II unit for each flash you have plus one on the camera. Just firing the master with the PW and then firing the slaves via IR is not going to do anything to get around the IR limitation you're trying to address with the use of RF remotes.

PacAce wrote in post #5789129
If you want the reliability of an RF triggered setup then you will need a PW II unit for each flash you have plus one on the camera. Just firing the master with the PW and then firing the slaves via IR is not going to do anything to get around the IR limitation you're trying to address with the use of RF remotes.

Oh ok!!! So that would be hella more pricey lol.

PacAce wrote in post #5789129
If you want the reliability of an RF triggered setup then you will need a PW II unit for each flash you have plus one on the camera. Just firing the master with the PW and then firing the slaves via IR is not going to do anything to get around the IR limitation you're trying to address with the use of RF remotes.

Precisely.
Except the limitation of his distance to the flashes. Assuming the flashes are within reasonable distance of each other, he could move further away from them and still get reliable results with the PW(s) and IR.

I trigger my 580EXII with Pocket Wizard Plus IIs and have the 580 trigger my 430.
If you do go this direction, keep in mind that you will need to buy a hotshoe adapter for the pocket wizard because the 580 will not work as master with a PC input. ($15 adapter)

The only thing I don't like about this which makes me want to buy a third PW is the fact that my shutter speed is limited by the Infrared. Otherwise, Its a great setup for the time being.

I just got 3 PWIIs myself. I have a 580EX II and a 430. I guess I will give up the E-TTL and to be a stroblist on my own... I heard 430 can't hook up with PW by itself due to short of PC cord plug-in. Am I correct? I have not sure about the 580 EX II act as a master to trigger the 430 without a 3rd PW thing though... Can anybody elaborate on that?

The 430EX does not have a PC sync terminal like the 580EX II so you will need a hotshoe to miniphone plug cable to connet the 430EX to a PW unit.

The 580EX II can act as a master to any EX flash whether it (the 580EX II) is mounted in the camera hotshoe or triggered off camera via a sync cable or RF remote. If not connected directly to the hotshoe, though, the master flash will need to be set to manual mode in order for it to work. There are many thread regarding this setup. Search this forum using the keyword "hybrid" and "master" and you'll get several hits.

You could check these out. From what I understand it is a radio unit that reads the IR signals from the master, converts them to radio signals, sends them to the remote, and the remote decodes it back to IR and feeds it to the flash.

Basically it's an IR extender. Lets you keep E-TTL but gives you range of radio


http://radiopopper.com​/

PacAce wrote in post #5790963
The 430EX does not have a PC sync terminal like the 580EX II so you will need a hotshoe to miniphone plug cable to connet the 430EX to a PW unit.

The 580EX II can act as a master to any EX flash whether it (the 580EX II) is mounted in the camera hotshoe or triggered off camera via a sync cable or RF remote. If not connected directly to the hotshoe, though, the master flash will need to be set to manual mode in order for it to work. There are many thread regarding this setup. Search this forum using the keyword "hybrid" and "master" and you'll get several hits.

Thanks, PacAce!

PacAce wrote in post #5790963
The 430EX does not have a PC sync terminal like the 580EX II so you will need a hotshoe to miniphone plug cable to connet the 430EX to a PW unit.

The 580EX II can act as a master to any EX flash whether it (the 580EX II) is mounted in the camera hotshoe or triggered off camera via a sync cable or RF remote. If not connected directly to the hotshoe, though, the master flash will need to be set to manual mode in order for it to work. There are many thread regarding this setup. Search this forum using the keyword "hybrid" and "master" and you'll get several hits.

Hmm. My 580EXII does the opposite.
If it is being triggered via the PC Sync, it will not work properly in master mode and Manual. It will trigger the 430EX but there is a very bad delay (like half a second kind of bad)

If you set the 580 to ETTL and the 430EX to Manual then it will sync properly but then you are left with the 580EX in ETTL which won't work properly.

The easiest solution is buying the mini to hotshoe adapter.
Heres the place I bought it, which I recommend. The guy who owns the store is very friendly and fast.
http://flashzebra.com/​wizardcables/hotshoe.s​html

I had the hardest time getting my setup to work at first but now its great so hopefully that saves you some time.

Cristnotchrist wrote in post #5792073
Hmm. My 580EXII does the opposite.
If it is being triggered via the PC Sync, it will not work properly in master mode and Manual. It will trigger the 430EX but there is a very bad delay (like half a second kind of bad)

If you set the 580 to ETTL and the 430EX to Manual then it will sync properly but then you are left with the 580EX in ETTL which won't work properly.

The easiest solution is buying the mini to hotshoe adapter.
Heres the place I bought it, which I recommend. The guy who owns the store is very friendly and fast.
http://flashzebra.com/​wizardcables/hotshoe.s​html

I had the hardest time getting my setup to work at first but now its great so hopefully that saves you some time.

If you want to set the 430EX to ETTL mode, you have to set the power level for the 430EX via the master. Otherwise, there will be a delay as you experienced. If the 430EX is set to Group A, then there's nothing more that needs to be done as long as the master is in manual mode. If the 430EX is in Group B or C, then you have to set the Group B or C power level on the master in addition to the Group A power level (if the master flash is enabled).

You cannot operate the master in ETTL mode if it is being triggered via the PC port or an RF remote unit. If you do, it'll just fire at full power (or at 1/32 if your flash custom function is set that way).