external flash off camera

[waterboy]

Its about time i tried using off camera flash, and have been so impressed with some of the examples given on d.p.s. I have to try it ! Can anyone give me some advice ? I have a canon 5d mk ii . And a speedlight 580 x . I want to buy another one but cant afford it. Can i use the £99 jessops one they do (ttl capabilities) ??? Maybe use one on camera to fire the other ? Please help , have a shoot on sun and want to get the gear...

Or should a "pocket- wizard " be used ? Also i will need a stand and flash holder , can anyone suggest a link to a good source for this please, many thanks, new member ...

[sybren]

First of all, head to Strobist and read everything, especially the lighting 101 and 102 articles. They are packed with off-camera strobing goodness!

Then grab your camera manual and flash manual, and read up on the different ways to connect the lot. You have wired via a TTL/hotshoe cord, wired via the PC connection (nothing to do with personal computers, mind you), and wireless via Canon's own light-based system.

Then there are systems that convert some signal into radio so the signals can pass through walls etc. Pocket Wizards do that with the PC connection, the cheaper "eBay" triggers do that with the sync on the hotshoe, and Radio Poppers do that with Canon's light-based system.

If it all seems a little overwhelming, don't worry about it. Grab your manuals, make sure you know them inside out, then head over to strobist.com. If you have questions, we'll be here for you!

Strobist is a great place to start, but can be a bit overwhelming.

Wireless e-bay triggers work great, and only cost about $20 for a set. I've used them a lot (and yes, even at weddings) and get consitant results. You can't use ETTL mode with them, but you can get really good results with manual mode (which is how I shoot most of my portraits).

A good rule of thumb to remember is the bigger the light source, the softer the light. Larger light sources are created with softboxes, umbrellas, and reflectors. For most portraits, I use one or two 580exII's on a couple light stands with umbrellas.

Lately, I've found out that a good reflector can be just as good as using an off-camera flash. More portable and faster than a lightstand/umbrella combo, and can produce a nice, soft light if you're close enough to the subject. I used this method on my last two freelance jobs, and liked the results so much I used it at the wedding I shot this weekend.

[josaldan]

I found this flashes in ebay....
NEW "Anywhere Flash" Improves ALL your Flash Pictures! - eBay (item 360161401257 end time Feb-03-10 20:16:53 PST)

Does any one tried them?... they are cheap but not sure if they will work....