Off Camera flashes

[Aszental]

Hey well i want to start venturing into the off camera flash world.

Atm i have access to two 580 Ex II's, so i want to start messing around with them. I know that i can use one of them as a master and one as a slave and use the canon system to fire them, however one of them still has to be attatched to the camera.

What could i getto be able to use the canon system however have both the flash's off camera? I have a cannon oc-3 coming soon, is there any way to extend this cord more then the 60cm?

Also what are some good Stands/Umbrellas that are worth starting off with (not that i'd have to replace any time soon)?

Thanks for the help

[PiroStitch]

I've managed to stretch my oc-3 to longer than 60cm over time. Since you have a 580EX II, you could look into getting a pc-sync cord and using that, however not sure if the master/slave system will still work.

You might want to consider looking at getting some wireless flash triggers to get the primary flash off the camera.

In terms of stands and umbrellas, if you don't plan on getting rid of them, save up and buy equipment that will last a lot longer than the ebay craptastic that's out there. Wish I met the wise man who told me to buy once, buy right earlier

[Reschsmooth]

I know nothing about the Canon lighting system, but in terms of stands, I am considering getting the Manfrotto 001 stand as (from what I understand) it folds up tight to make it really portable and weighs in at less than 1kg. With a suitable umbrella adaptor, you will have a lightweight, off-camera soft light source.

[adam]

Hey well i want to start venturing into the off camera flash world.

Atm i have access to two 580 Ex II's, so i want to start messing around with them. I know that i can use one of them as a master and one as a slave and use the canon system to fire them, however one of them still has to be attatched to the camera.

What could i getto be able to use the canon system however have both the flash's off camera? I have a cannon oc-3 coming soon, is there any way to extend this cord more then the 60cm?

Also what are some good Stands/Umbrellas that are worth starting off with (not that i'd have to replace any time soon)?

Thanks for the help

I've read of modifications to the cord (the off shoe cord 2), hoping that it may be similar to the OC-3. (example here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho ... p?t=117659 ). Or you could just get the ST-E2

My friend bought the wescott umbrellas from BHphotovideo, and I got my umbrellas a lot cheaper from ebay. However, her umbrellas look and feel a lot more solid than mine.

[Yi-P]

Something I made out of boredom:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=30549

It works for every flash with a PC sync socket. To trigger the 2nd 580EX, you simply need a $3 eBay optical sync. I got copule of these, and I could work a 5 flash setup like a breeze. No wire, no hassle. Only downside is, you will be working in the manual flash output domain (no TTL flash metering).