Hello everyone,
for a while now I got ML 2.3 and I'm very happy with it.
But I wondered why there isn't a feature to make a 550d (t2i) capable of firing a flash wirelessly.
Is this a feature which is impossible? (Didn't saw it on the list)
Or am I only the first one who would like to have this?
Greetz
Wolfgang
I would love this feature, I'm not sure, if it is not in Canon firmware for hardware purposes, but wireless flash function would be awesome to have.
Not sure but programming in the wireless system used in other Canon cameras would be very difficult. It would not only require gaining full manual control of the onboard flash but also reverse engineering the wireless protocol. The reverse engineering is difficult enough that actual hardware manufacturers have a hard time doing it "right."
My advice, buy manual flashes with slave settings (which can be triggered by any onboard flash) and figure out how to light without TTL or any of that BS. The beauty of adding lighting to a scene is complete control of the exposure, not relying on the camera deciding how much output is necessary from a flash whose position and distance to the subject is not known to the camera.
If you use "standard" slave flashes keep in mind that you can lower the flash AE comp using ML menu to something like -10 to avoid "seeing" the in-camera flash ;)
But so far as I know, there is no way to trigger the external flash with a camera without a built-in master, even without any metering?
Or is there a setting on the flash (got the 430 ex II), which makes this possible?
Quote from: 1mannlan on August 27, 2012, 10:19:50 AM
But so far as I know, there is no way to trigger the external flash with a camera without a built-in master, even without any metering?
Yep, that's why it's called master, so you need big a 580ex-type if you want Canon tech. There are of course excellent 3rd party solution like Pocket Wizard that can do things Canon cannot like remotely triggering dumb studio flashes.
Concerning optical remote: Since Canon moves to radio control with the 600rt, even using the built-in flash as a master isn't possible and you need a dedicated radio controller.
So to the question itself, implementing the wireless flash protocol to trigger flashes by turning the camera into a master and is unrealistic?
Quote from: 1mannlan on August 27, 2012, 11:45:03 AM
So to the question itself, implementing the wireless flash protocol to trigger flashes by turning the camera into a master and is unrealistic?
I'm not a dev, but Francis just answered that: It would be very difficult to reverse engineer = wouldn't make much sense given the effort (if possible at all) vs. the target audience vs. other things that can be done with the dev time- 5d2/5d3 don't have a flash, newer crop bodies like 60d/7d/... can be wireless master. And older Canon master flashes are really cheap used, esp. since Canon switches to the new radio protocol and heaps of photogs sell their 580ex2.
To be honest, I'm a bit curious. Do you have any docs about canon protocol? I always assumed it used RF and without the proper chip you can't do much :/
Hm, not good there is no such function planned :(.
However, I found this blog providing some Information about the ETTL-protocol, its might helpful:
http://billgrundmann.wordpress.com/
Thanks, I'll have a look
Interesting read, seeing his progress. It definitely can be done. More than a few manufacturers have done so already.
I use the 600D integrated wireless function sometimes but more oftenI use the wireless cheap ebay trigger I've bought for my 400D time ago since they can trigger not only my 580mkII but also some older manual flash i have.
Using the wireless mode canon provided on 600D is not the same as using a radio transmitter or a 580 because you will have some light from the on camera flash that sometimes get into the scene (usually it's more visible on reflections).
with cheap radio remote (or also PocketWiz if you have the money) I can have more correct results in the end.
Quote from: 1mannlan on August 27, 2012, 09:48:11 PM
However, I found this blog providing some Information about the ETTL-protocol, its might helpful:
Ah yes, and please make ettl support 2nd curtain sync on remote flashes while you're at it, will you :-p ?
Quote from: scrax on August 27, 2012, 10:54:53 PMUsing the wireless mode canon provided on 600D is not the same as using a radio transmitter or a 580 because you will have some light from the on camera flash that sometimes get into the scene (usually it's more visible on reflections).
... what's more, the built-in flash cannot trigger hss on remote flashes, so you need a 580ex-type master flash to use hss on any Canon flash like the 430ex-type slaves. High speed sync is a major advantage of the Speedlites in comparison to cheaper 3rd party flashes or systems, and only using the built-in flash as master deprives the Speedlites of it.
"In the Canon optical wireless system, flash settings and triggering pulses are sent by pulsed optical light from master units to slave units. This allows a control range of up to around 12m, but it is dependent on a line-of-sight connection between the master and slave unit."
As I understand, every Rebel with a pop-up flash can be firmware upgraded to have commander mode.