580EXII w/ 540EZ as a remote slave?

I would like to know if there is an inexpensive way to utilize an old 540EZ as a slave using the 580EX II IR capability. Without spending as much money as it would be to simply buy another 580EX, how can I use the 540 I already own? I would like direction on what hardware it would take….. or should I just go get another 580EX????

Nope, only EX units do wireless slaving, 420EX and up, not sure about the older smaller units like the 220 or 3x0. Get radio or optical slaves and run them in manual.

The 540EZ cannot be used as an ETTL wireless remote slave to the 580EX. The best you'd be able to do with the least amount of expense is to connect the 540EZ to an optical slave and have it triggered by the 580EX in manual mode.

If you want full ETTL wireless remote control of your slaves, it'll have to be a compatible EX flash.

Attach an optical slave sensor to the 540EZ, put the 580EX II in manual mode, and you're in business.

Optical slave sensors that attach to the flash foot are available at the usual online retailers from $10 to $40.

There's an echo in here!

Thanks for the advice, but still have a quick question. IF an optical slave sensor simply fires from the flash of the master, then why does the master need to be on manual mode?

In E-TTL mode, the pre-flash will trigger the slaves prematurely.

But you could use the 580EX II in external metering mode (traditional auto flash). Problem is, the 540EZ has no such mode so your slave will need to be in manual mode anyway.

tim wrote in post #6121959
There's an echo in here!

Yeah, that's what happens when several people reply at the same time but take their time actually clicking the submit button.

for those who ordered

may i ask what was the total price and what you ordered?

What is the range on the IR slaves, in distance from the master?