Canon EOS 200D [Rebel SL2] + Speedlite 430EX III-RT: Wireless?

[caslex]

I have an EOS 200D (Rebel SL2) and would like to get an off-camera flash. I find conflicting information about whether my camera supports wireless flash or not. There seem to be different modes (optical vs. radio) and everything is a little bit confusing for a newbie. So here is what I found:

• The spec sheet on the US canon website for the SL2 mentions "Wireless functions" under the "External Flash Settings" and that the "The radio wireless flash functions can be set from the camera". What does that refer to?
• The spec sheet on the UK canon website for the EOS 200D states "wireless optical multi-flash support"
• The spec sheet on German canon website for the EOS 200D also mentions "kabelloses Multi-Flash-System" ("wireless multi-flash-system")

So all of that sounds like I would be able to use the 430EX III-RT over wireless, but some further googling revealed:

• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4271415
  If I understood this correctly, they say that you cannot use the SL2 as a master for the 430EX III RT
• https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/EOS-Rebel/Canon-SL2-and-430EX-III-RT/td-p/215447
  Same thing

Can anyone clarify on this? Maybe someone has that camera+flash combination? Thanks!

[Sandi3009]

Thank you for answering. I'll most likely take my time and just run some trials until the histogram looks good for now. I find light meters to be quite expensive for someone who takes pictures as a hobby... but I'd gladly be proved wrong if there are some fairly good "on budget " ones.

[Wolfie0827]

If you have an android smart phone you might try an app called "Photographer's Companion". It has a simple light meter as one of the selections, while it is not going to be as good as a dedicated light meter it should get you close to the settings needed.

[John_]

Sekonic light meters are worth looking into, they've been around for a long time. The L-358 model can be had for around $100, used, working on auction sites with a wireless flash trigger like eBay. It can measure both incidental and reflected light and provide you with exposure settings in Tv, Av,Ev, Cine video and more, way too much to explain or list here. Don't get overwhelmed with its capabilities as it basically is just a point and shoot meter once you set the mode. Here is a link for that listing as well as the manual:

**Link removed per forum guidelines**

https://www.sekonic.com/downloads/l-358_english.pdf