7D Off Camera Flash Question

So as the tile suggests, I have a 7D and I have been using it to trigger my 580 off camera. I’d like to start playing around with two flashes but my other flash is a cheap Sunpak (PZ42X) that has no IR capabilities. So my question is, does the 7D have the ability to trigger the 580 using the IR and also trigger the Sunpak using a cord set up at the same time?
Buying the 7D and the 580 got me a bit of trouble with the wife, so purchasing a new flash or remote system is pretty much out of the question. Any info is appreciated.

Travis

I can't speak directly to your question but if all else fails, you could go with an optical trigger for the Sunpak. They're generally pretty cheap.

alduin wrote in post #9116275
I can't speak directly to your question but if all else fails, you could go with an optical trigger for the Sunpak. They're generally pretty cheap.

Oh, thats a pretty good idea. Never would have looked at those, but it looks like they arent too expensive.
And this is why I love this site!
Thanks

alduin wrote in post #9116275
I can't speak directly to your question but if all else fails, you could go with an optical trigger for the Sunpak. They're generally pretty cheap.

Won't the optical trigger have to be one that can handle the pre-flashes that the 7d talks to the slaves via?

Let the smoke settle from your purchases and pick up a 430ex. It is so handy to be able to dial the power for up to three groups of flashes from the 7d.

Excellent point.

And don't forget you can actually even use the internal flash on the 7d for some fill if you want it to contribute to the photo. I haven't tried that yet, I usually use one of my 430's near the camera as fill with my 580ex II as my main light.

Heap64 wrote in post #9116648
Won't the optical trigger have to be one that can handle the pre-flashes that the 7d talks to the slaves via?

Let the smoke settle from your purchases and pick up a 430ex. It is so handy to be able to dial the power for up to three groups of flashes from the 7d.

Thats a good point. I was under the belief that the preflash was just for the ETTL mode and if you shot with the flash in manual the pre flash didnt fire. Your saying that the preflash fires no matter what and will in turn trigger the optical flash? Humm..maybe the only way will be to start saving my pennines again for a new flash or a radio trigger setup. Not the super cheap direction I was looking to get started with.
Thanks

In ETTL mode process there will be several pre-flashes from my (limited) understanding. I shoot a lot in manual mode myself, but I still think since the 7d has no IR it has to use pre-flash to talk to the slaves to tell them what power settings you have dialed in and when to fire. How that would effect optical triggers I can't honestly say. Hopefully someone else can confirm. I just know I have a couple triggers I bought hoping to use a long time ago and didn't have much luck with them.

Good luck and have fun with your 7d, I just love freeing up the 580 to get it off camera and using my 430's for fill and hairlight. Works great indoors, still haven't got to really use it outdoors.

twstdcain wrote in post #9116819
Thats a good point. I was under the belief that the preflash was just for the ETTL mode and if you shot with the flash in manual the pre flash didnt fire. Your saying that the preflash fires no matter what and will in turn trigger the optical flash?

I thought the built in controller was ETTL only and could not fire the 580 in manual mode.

Regardless, the communication is not IR. It is using pulses of visible light (aka pre-flash) from the pop-up flash to send commands to the remote 580.

twstdcain wrote in post #9116253
So my question is, does the 7D have the ability to trigger the 580 using the IR and also trigger the Sunpak using a cord set up at the same time?

Yes.

Also, if you're going to use multiple off camera flashes in manual mode, just spend the money on some ebay radio triggers. I paid about $50 for a CTR-301p radio transmitter and 3 receivers.

Totally appreciate it guys. Im really thinking I'll just go the route of saving up for a 430 then and make life easier on myself.
Again Thanks.

I use my 580 and 430 in manual mode with the 7D. If you've got all canon flashes, no reason to get the eBay triggers, really, unless you're having line of sight issues.

krb wrote in post #9117045
...It is using pulses of visible light (aka pre-flash) from the pop-up flash to send commands to the remote 580.

Oh, I didnt realize that. I kinda just figured that since the 580 communicates with IR transmitters that the 7D must be using a built in IR setup.

twstdcain wrote in post #9117266
Totally appreciate it guys. Im really thinking I'll just go the route of saving up for a 430 then and make life easier on myself.
Again Thanks.

Your original idea was fine, no need to buy anything, but additional equipment might make things a bit easier.