Can someone please help me figure out high speed sync on my Canon 7D and 580EX II Speedlite?

[jklim]

Hi all! Very beginner question. I’m needing an off camera speedlite on high speed sync for a small indoor pet event I’m shooting soon. My camera is a Canon 7D and since it’s old(er) I got confused on when HSS is and isn’t available. I got a 580EX II Speedlite and it seems that the 7D can’t do HSS when the flash is off camera. Dumb mistake by me.

I’m an amateur/hobbyist so there isn’t crazy pressure fro this event but I want to do a good job and proper lighting will be a huge help. I’m on a low (read: as inexpensive as possible) budget and in a bit of a time crunch now.

So my question is: what can I do to adapt quickly and make this work? A long off-camera flash cord? Is there a transmitter I can put in the camera hot shoe that allows it to trigger the speedlite with HSS? Googling around is only confusing me more and I’m afraid to order the wrong thing and waste more time.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I think Brian, Demetrius or Mike could help with this.  I'll ping them for you.  

[jklim]

Thank you!

[p4pictures]

Hello and welcome to the community.

The EOS 7D and also the EOS 7D Mark II, can use their built-in flash to control other Speedlites off camera using visible light. However when doing this there are some limitations and one is that you can't use high speed sync.

If you want to make use of high speed sync then you will need another suitable on-camera trigger to make that work. 

These older units do support high speed sync, but are mostly only available as used items

• Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
• Speedlite 550EX
• Speedlite 580EX / 580EX II
• Speedlite 600EX-RT / 600EX II-RT

Of the current models that will work with your camera then you could use…

• Speedlite EL-1
• Speedlite EL-100

Beyond that then you could consider a radio trigger and receiver set that works with Canon products. I have some from Godox XPro II C transmitter with X1R-C receiver, but other makes exist. You put the trigger on the camera, and the Speedlite is mounted on the receiver. In effect the radio link replaces the visible light communication method, and can work over longer distances and brighter light levels. 

Long dedicated flash cords exist - I have a 10-metre / 33-feet one from years ago, but it is much more limiting than radio wireless so these are not so popular anymore. You can look for "Canon ttl flash cord" at B&H. 

[jklim]

Hi Brian, thank you so much for your expertise! That explanation was a huge help. I ended up ordering a 33' TTL cord, seemed like most simple choice for me right now. It works perfectly, though I do wonder if the 580EX II is going to give me enough light. I'll be testing it soon. 

Hypothetically if I were to get a second speedlite, could the unit I have corded to the camera function as a master unit and trigger that second speedlite as a slave unit, or would that functionality require the addition of a trigger and receiver set up? 

Thank you so much again for your help!

[deebatman316]

Hi jklim, welcome to the forums. If you’re trying to use the built in flash to trigger the 580EX II off camera. Then it won’t work because the built in flash isn’t capable of HSS or Rear curtain sync when wirelessly triggering flashes. You’ll have to use a transmitter such as the ST-E2 to get off camera HSS. Rear curtain sync isn’t possible over Optical wireless. That wasn’t added until the ST-E3-RT version 2. This transmitter uses radio signals to trigger off camera flashes. The 580EX II can only use the older optical wireless system. The ST-E2 is a very old transmitter and IS NOT Compatible with the in camera flash menu. All setting changes will have to be done on the transmitter itself. The 580EX II when mounted to the hot shoe will be able to provide HSS. Another choice is an off shoe cord. But make sure it supports E-TTL or HSS & Rear curtain sync won’t be available. Only manual flash output will be available if the cord doesn’t support E-TTL. 

[jklim]

Hi Demetrius! Thank you very much for the assistance, I really appreciate it! I did end up ordering a 33' cord and it functions perfectly. I expect I'll trip over it a few times, but due to my inexperience I was afraid to add a transmitter to the mix at this point.

I asked Brian as well but you may be able to answer too- if I find the speedlite isn't enough light for what I'm hoping to accomplish and were to add a second one, could the unit I have corded to the camera function as a master unit and trigger that second speedlite as a slave unit, or would that functionality require the addition of a trigger and receiver set up? 

Many thanks again!

[deebatman316]

You could mount the speedlite to the camera and avoid the cord. Then have the off camera flash setup as an off camera receiver. The speedlite on the camera will have to be set to sender operation. With optical wireless. The on camera flash sends out a modulated pre-flash that the off camera receiver can see. This is what makes the flash fire. I use my old 550EX in bright daylight and still have enough power. So the 580EX series shouldn’t have a problem either.

[shadowsports]

Thanks for responding guys!