Aluminum foil reflector for ST-E2

Just a tip for ST-E2 users. You could extend the range outdoors by using regular aluminum foil as a reflector. Here are some pics of how I attach a small piece to my softbox stand by simply wrapping one end to the softbox bracket. Just orientate the reflector foil according to the position of the ST-E2 such that the foil acts like a parabolic reflector. You could even turn the IR sensor of the speedlight away from the ST-E2 and it will still work reasonably well. Give it a try.

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Why don't you just turn the body of the flash around to face you?

Yes I could do that but it makes it difficult to make any adjustment to the flash settings with the LCD facing the other way around, and the mounting bracket does not allow the flash head (in the 180deg position) to be inserted into the softbox due to mechanical interference. In the 90deg position, the flash head is in an awkward position and angle and pointing diagonally into the softbox. Putting on the foil is so much easier and it works for me so far.

lol, well, whatever works I guess!

Don't you adjust the power of the OCF with the ST-E2? I don't own a ST-E2, but I can control my OCF with my 7D when the flash body is turned towards me using the same softbox pictured above.

Very interesting and might have more uses wirh the STE-2. It's given me a couple of ideas to try.

DisrupTer911 wrote in post #10440284
Why don't you just turn the body of the flash around to face you?

I believe DisrupTer911 means turning the body of the flash 90 degrees either to the left or right so that the IR sensor faces more towards your direction. Looks like the support bracket will allow this. With the flash body turned in either direction, and the flash head still pointed into the softbox, the lcd panel should still be accessible.

its a good idea

Sometimes those down and dirty ideas can save the day or at least get you through some tough shooting conditions.

Before I had wireless triggers I would bring some of that white 'fun foam' with me to create a half sphere around the optical slave of my strobes. This blocked the Sun and increased sensitivity outdoors.

It was far from ideal but it allowed me to shoot and get worn done until I was able to afford triggers for each strobe.

Cool idea
I have placed the STE2 on a stand connected to the camera via a long ETTL cable, that way the STE2 is closer to the units

thanks for the tip.

i'll try this out.

inspection mirrors mounted on handles via ball swivels are also useful for this purpose.

Excellent!
I did try it
and it did work!

bravo and thanks for the great tip!

I probably need this, before I could possibly have the money to get more FlexTT5 for all my speedlites. Last time I shot in an abandoned building. I thought it's indoor and I could use ETTL with my new 7D. However, the softboxes blocked the Speedlites and they thus couldn't be triggered. I ended up using manual RF-602.