600ex and 7D for weddings

[allets]

Hi!
I know a couple of posts have already been made on here about the 600ex with the 7D. I usually shoot with a 7D and one 430 on camera. I'd like to upgrade to two 600s, keeping one on a stand with or without an umbrella, using it on the dancefloor along with my master flash, or using it to light large portraits. So, one 600 as master, one as slave. (What a weird thing to call it, when you say it like that ... master and slave.)

I just wanted to get a second opinion before I make that purchase though. I'm kind of getting the vibe that you just won't get your money's worth out of the 600s if you don't have a Mark iii. Right now, my main concern is simply that they'll work the way I'd need them to work for a wedding, for those situations I mentioned above.

Do you think the restrictions I'd experience between the 600s and the 7D are such that I should just wait until I can upgrade my camera body? Or do you think I'd do fine getting those 600s right now, considering the way I want to use them?

Thanks!

[TCampbell]

The _only_ difference I'm aware of is not in the functionality you get from the flash, but rather in the on-camera menu system that controls the flash.

The 7D's "Flash Control" menu can basically control everything on a 600EX-RT that it could have controlled if you were using a 430EX II or a 580EX II, etc.  But if you have a camera released in 2012 or later (5D III, T4i, T5i, EOS-M, etc.) then there are some extra features in the flash control menu that make it easier to visualize and control the flash.

I don't own a 7D, but I do own a 5D II (the first camera to introduce external speedlight control in the on-camera menu -- which is where the 7D got it's version of it).  I can use my 600's with the 5D II and they work fine.  But if I put them on my 5D III then there are more things I can control without having to touch the back of the speedlight itself.

If you're feeling uncertain, rent a pair of them and give them a try.

One of the things I LOVE about the 600's is how EASY it is to setup a master/slave (commander/remote) pairing.   On the back of the 600 and above the LCD there's a "link" light.  That light changes colors  to indicate if you're radio-linked and if everything is ok (it does nothing if you're optically linking).  Basically you want this light to be "green" and that means you've done everything right.  If it's any other color then something is wrong.

There's a button on the extreme left (below the LCD) that looks like a zig-zag arrow.  It controls whether you're going to link and what mode you use.  You have a choice of 

- not linked (standalone use)

- radio master

- radio slave

- optical master

- optical slave

and pressing one more time goes back to the beginning of the list.

Press the button on one unit until it says radio master.  Press the button on the other unit until it says radio slave.  The link lights on both units should go green.  You're done.  (you can set a security id so that your lights wont be triggered by someone else who also happens to own a Canon radio triggered speedlight system.  I moved my units off the Canon default and picked a different ID number.  All of YOUR units need to have the same ID number.)  The LCD backlight on a "master" will have a green backlight.  If it's a slave the LCD gets a yellow backlight.  This is another way to easily tell that the unit is in the right mode at a quick glance.  

Something else you can do with a 600 that you can't do with a 430EX II or 580EX II is turn off the pulsing red light (the focus-assist beam) that blinks to let you know your remote slave is powered up and it's battery is ok.)  The pulsing light makes it VERY obvious that your remote slave is ready... but it also makes it obvious to everyone else at the event that your remote slave is on as it's a bit of a distraction.