Customer Reviews

Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter for Canon 580EX II, 430EX, 430EX II Speedlites

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Straight on lighting from a camera mounted flash is unnatural and unflattering. The Canon STE2 Speedlite Transmitter is a must have item if you own a compatible Canon Speedlite (580EX/550EX/420EX/430EX). Your subject will really appreciate not having the flash pointing directly into their eyes. Plus, with the right angle, you can cast natural looking shadows that will greatly improve the look of your portrait shots. With this transmitter you can place your Speedlite anywhere you like to get the perfect lighting for the shot. It's a really great system when used with two or more Canon Speedlites. I own two Canon 430EX Speedlites that I use with this transmitter. One flash I use as the main light source is fitted with a unidirectional diffuser to soften the light. The other flash used as a fill flash is fitted with an omni-directional bounce diffuser. This transmitter allows you to easily set the balance of light between two Speedlite groups (group A and group B). You simply press a button on the back to adjust the balance. A lighted meter on the back of the transmitter shows you the balance setting. This allows you to easily balance the light between both flash groups without having to touch or move any of the flash units. Very handy! With this setup, you can create professional portrait shots with ease, and not have to worry about lugging around a bunch of heavy lighting equipment. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!

I used the STE2 with two Canon 430EX Speedlites to do some portraits with excellent results. I mounted the Speedlites on stands with 30 inch shoot-through umbrellas using hot shoe multiclamps. I shot with a Canon 50mm f1/4 lens on a Canon 30D set to manual with a 1/60 shutter and f4 aperture. With E-TTL enabled, the flash power is automatically adjusted to obtain the correct exposure. I found the flash power to generally be right on but on the occasion I felt it wasn't, I simply adjusted the flash compensation on my camera. I did not need to meter or use a gray card so I was able to focus more on composition.

I really like the convenience of this wireless setup because there are no cables to trip over and that makes it really easy to move my lights around and try different angles. With a two flash setup, you can easily change the ratio between the two flash units on the back of the transmitter without touching anything else. This often helped me get better shots because I could quickly modify the light setup to capture a moment without stepping out from behind the camera.

I would prefer radio control but this setup is very compact and I did not have any problems with the Speedlites not firing even if they were not quite in direct line of sight. I even turned my shoot-through umbrellas around to act as reflectors, effectively blocking the line of site between the camera and the Speedlites, and they still fired so apparently there is a bit of flexibility in that line of site.

Update 5/25/2007: Although the STE2 worked well for portraits in relatively small rooms, I recently tried to use it for some wedding formals in large churches, reception halls, and outdoors and found it didn't work so well. Even after putting in brand new batteries, I was quite limited on where I could position my flashes so they would still fire. I had to have the flashes in front of me and just off to the sides for it to work. I have since decided to purchase some radio slaves for my wedding work. The other thing I noticed is that if you are shooting a bride in a white dress, E-TTL will tend to underexpose the shot so its value is diminished which makes non-TTL flashes and old-school metering for off camera formal work much more desirable.

First off while the name given by Amazon only lists the 580EX, 550EX and 420EX speedlites, the STE2 transmitter will also work with the 430EX.

I got this transmitter after being inspired by the potential an off camera flash can have after reading Strobist. I got two 430EX flashes to get a very portable and easy to set up lighting system.

The STE2 Transmitter allows you to control an unlimited number of flashes in a few different ways. As long as the visual signal can reach the flashes, they will fire (indoors this is easy because the signal bounces off walls).
The STE2 lets you control the relative flash output between two flashes (or groups of flashes) through a simple control on the back. For example you if you set it to 1:8 between A and B, B will get 8 times the 'power' as A.

Even without two flashes, the STE2 lets you move the flash away from where the lens is and creates more pleasant lighting. Additionally, if you take photos of people with glasses or of objects within glass, you can angle the flash so that glare is eliminated.

All in all a great investment, I doubt I will mount a flash directly to the camera ever again.

This is an unchanged 10 year old antique. The ST-E2 ONLY controls groups A and B slaves. So, another wireless method for the group C slave(s) to fire would be to have them attached to slave hot shoe(s) and hope that no one else uses flash near the slave(s). A better solution is to set another group A or B Speedlite on manual and dial in the required output.

Flash exposure compensation (FEC) can be set on a hot shoe mounted 580 series Speedlite used as a slave trigger to control FEC to compatible Speedlite slave groups. The ST-E2 CANNOT perform this task. Instead, you can walk over to each slave and set the FEC to achieve the same effect.

Direct line of sight indoors is USUALLY not required. The building's interior hard surfaces help in bouncing the wireless signal to the slave(s).

The ST-ET comes with a black coloured pouch having the same rugged material as the 580 series pouches.

To conclude, one star was removed for the:

[1] odd size battery which is not carried in all stores
[2] inability to control group C slave(s)
[3] lack of control over FEC (not a problem because the unit has rear buttons to adust the flash ratio in 1/2 stop increments for groups A and B slaves), manual flash (each slave must be individually set) and stroboscopic flash (each slave must be individually set)

The Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter is not as sophisticated as the Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander. The ST-E2 which doesn't come cheap is half the price and size of the more versatile 580 series Speedlite used as slave triggers.

Not much more to add to S.F. Roney's excellent review, except to say that the specialist 2CR2 battery shown as an accessory is in fact an essential extra purchase - clicking on "see more technical details" will tell you that the battery is not included with this item.

This I find rather surprising from a $200 accessory that doesn't run on regular AA cells like the speedlite flash range does.

A small criticism however of an excellent item: the ST-E2 will give you so much more flexibility than the off-camera shoe cord which has a limiting 2' range - not ideal for using with an umbrella!

I really like this Transmitter don't get me wrong. But frankly I mostly do Automotive shoots and it can get quite limiting, namely because the IR sensors have to be facing each other, which means that you have to move the flash positions to face the camera and transmitter each time you change your lighting set up....it also means you can be creative and put a flash behind a car or wall as the signal won't reach behind obstacles of any kind. I would invest in a Pocket Wizard system which is much better which is what I'm saving up for now. But this is nevertheless a decent item to have if you have some Canon flashes and want to experiment with wireless flash set ups.

Sure it's a little expensive, needs a special battery, looks like it was made in the 80's, and has short range, but it's the only way to trigger your speedlite flashes wirelessly using ETTL without having a flash on your camera. It hasn't missed a flash firing yet for me, even when the flashes don't have direct line of sight. It has really allowed me to get more creative with my photography.

A while ago I wrote a simple review of this stating how well it works. I've since changed that statement... I am absolutely disappointed in the performance of this unit!

This unit will work fine if you are indoors - I have had a 95% failure rate outdoors in a variety of lighting conditions, and as close as 1' from the unit. Everything I've read during my extensive pre-purchase research led me to believe (blindly) that it could at least get moderate success at a relatively close range (5-10'). All the DIY hacks in the world in regards to foil or other reflective attachments aren't enough to increase the communications between the flash and this unit.

You are probably better off in the long run to save a fairly respectable chunk of your hard-earned money and put buy a set of Cactus V2 triggers (A.K.AL "Ebay" triggers/"Poverty Wizards"). They will set you back about $30-40 for a decent set. True, they are NOT a Pocket Wizard in any sense of the word, and will not perform even near the same. However, they certainly beat the annoyances that are sure to come when using this product (line-of-sight is not always possible with OTC flash).

In fact, the best option for those not willing to shell out $200-300, may want to check out PC sync cables. Yes, I know, it's an older technology (some say more cumbersome), but with the right quality brands on equipment - as many things in life - you get a very stable and consistent set up. No more explaining to your client why you didn't get that last shot.

Okay...back on topic...

PROS
- Compatible with all Canon Speedlites
- Offers wireless triggering capabilities for off-the-camera flash
- Has decent battery life
- Can trigger multiple flashes simultaneously
- Fairly simple to use
- Convenient buttons for high-speed sync and flash power settings
- Works well in small to medium-sized rooms

CONS
- Only works with Canon Speedlite series of flashes
- Non-standard battery
- No battery-life indicator
- No 2nd curtain (slow-sync) flash capabilities
- Unreliable in outdoor settings (and some indoor)
- A little pricey, based on features

I can't complain about this unit. It costs far less than an RF solution like the PocketWizard, preserves E-TTL flash metering, and adds as little gear to my camera bag as possible, at least compared to lugging, charging, and connecting RF transceivers.

Of course it doesn't have the range of RF, requires line of sight, and doesn't perform as reliably outdoors, so ultimately it comes down to what your needs are.

I shoot mostly indoors and find the ST-E2 exceedingly reliable and convenient. If I needed an RF solution I wouldn't be writing this review. So for what it does, this is an ideal little unit.

I have been using this unit to fire my 430ex and 550ex flashes. It works flawlessly indoors. It can auto focus in complete darkness and the flashes do not need to be in line of site. Outdoors is another matter. It's difficult to line up the sensors even at close distances. Not that it's impossible, but it will require some patience.