Master/Slave lag

[Artaud]

Hello, all.

I'm a newbie to the forum, though I've been receiving the newsletter for some time now (love it!).

My question concerns the master/slave setup I've got with my Canon speedlites.

I have a 550EX set as master. It sits atop a wireless release which works well.

The slave is a 430EXII.

When I fire the Master (either with the pilot button or via the camera), the Slave fires maybe 1/4 second later, rendering it useless for the purposes of portrait photography.

This is the first time I've tried a Maser/Slave setup and I don't know if I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Samanax]

Both flash units are off camera?

Which wireless release are you using?

Do you have the body of the 430EX II pointed at the 550EX? Canon's master/slave is a line-of-sight system so be sure to keep that in mind.

[sybren]

The master should sit on top of the camera for wireless TTL to work. What you're seeing is the effect of the test button - it fires groups A, B and C in succession.

[Artaud]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm using a generic wireless remote that attaches to my camera's hotshoe and fires the flash remotely. The slave's body is facing the master.

Even with the slave set to group A it still lags the master. However, when the master's on top of the camera, the slave fires simultaneously. My assumption now is that it's something to do with the wireless remote.

SYBREN, you say it's the effect of the test button. Can you elaborate on this?

Cheers!

[sybren]

When you press the test button, first the master will flash, then slave groups A, B and C in quick succession. This helps you check which slave is set to which group.

The Canon wireless flash system is designed for use with the master flash on top of the camera. You've seen that it works in such a case. Either use it like that, or use your wireless triggers for all flashes, but you cannot mix the two systems.

I wish Canon would incorporate simple optical slaves in their strobes like Nikon does...

[Artaud]

Okay, I get it.

Thanks!