Thanks for taking the time out to reply to that. I thought it was a secret military communication network first of all. Yes I am just looking for a reliable trigger for flash, I did find the Will Chung article and was pleased at the result he gave them and I was looking for a “second” vote of confidence in them (although to be fair he also points out their limitations compared to the PWs). Am popping in the WEX shop tomorrow so will have a better look.

Thanks again and all the best.

Martin

I hope this helps,

Damien.

Thank agin for all your useful info on here.

Regards, Martin

The 580 is somewhat easier to use because it has a switch to go between remote and local operation. Why they got rid of it when they made the mk11 version I do not know.

Yes both units can be used together, they have similar power and performance and the practical differences are relatively few.

Here is an interesting comparison article for you:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-580EX-II-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx

Regards, Damien

How do you view the difference between 580 and 580II performance wise? Can they be mixed in use?

I have held off getting a set of PWs until the new ones are released and I’m very keen to see your reports on them.

The guys in the US have it good with their Radio Poppers and I hope the new PWs will provide us with a new creative tool.

Thanks for the reply.
Heinz

I have to disagree with you regarding the Nikon v Canon thing. The beam pattern of the 580 EX11 is far nicer than the SB900. The SB900 also has a thermal switch off function that makes it unusable for me on workshops. The bomb proof SB800 is my Nikon flash gun of choice.

But I think Nikon have a winner with the CLS (creative lighting system) it is wonderful when combined with the pop up flash. I wish Canon had an equivalent.

So I say both systems have their ups and downs but I wouldn’t choose one over the other without considering the rest of the system.

I do agree with you re 2x 430EX11 over 1x 580EX11.

I have been beta testing the PW units recently and I have to say there were still a few tweaks needed to the firmware but I really do hope the system works well when it is released in the next few weeks or so.

Damien.

I agree with you regarding the fiddly process for switching the 580 EX11 between normal operation and master or slave mode.

If you have a new Canon camera like a 5D mk2 or a 1Ds mk 3 etc you can switch an attached 580EX11 into master mode and access all the main functions from the somewhat easier camera menu.

This doesn’t help you if you want to switch a remote flash to slave mode.

Bring back the switch that the original 580 had I say.

The 580 is ahead of the 430 by a small margin, but the difference in price is a bit of a joke. I’d rather buy two 430’s for a bit more, than one 580 if I were starting out.

Hope PW does a good job with the new triggers, then the 430s will come into their own.

Cheers
Heinz

like this one
http://www.flashzebra.com/hotshoes-shoes/0065.shtml

Very easy solution and still cheaper than a 580II

Ps:be ware of the hama adapters they’re not bad but they don’t seem to get along with a 430II very well

I came across this post a while ago in my search for options for adding a sync socket to a 580…

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=256447

It’s not for the feint hearted.

Damien.