The ST-E2 as an (Expensive) Focus Assist Lamp
by TroyB
If there is one thing that everybody complains about on the D30 and the D60, it would have to be auto focus. It ranges from downright horrible on the D30 to surprisingly good under certain conditions* on the D60. One option (albeit an expensive one) to aid the miserably under-performing focus capabilities of these cameras is to always keep the ST-E2 attached to the camera to aid in low light situations.
Before choosing this road, one needs to evaluate whether the ST-E2 will be of use in your particular situation or not. Basically, it boils down to distance. If you are photographing objects within the working distance of the ST-E2 then it might just be the solution for you. Canon states that the ST-E2's AF assist lamp has an effective range of 2-33ft (0.6-10m) in the center, and 2-16.5ft (0.6-5m) at the edges. This might perhaps be a little optimistic, but from my experience I would say it is close to these values.
However, if you are dealing with objects more distant, it will be of little or no use to you as a focus assist device. In which case, you might want to try using it for it's intended purpose, which I cover in detail in these articles:
Av mode, The ST-E2, and a Slave
Two other things worthy of note:
You need to have the camera in ONE SHOT mode, otherwise the focus assist lamp is disabled. This holds true for ALL types of focus assist, be it the ST-E2, a Canon dedicated flash (such as the 550EX or 420EX), or the puny built in focus assist lamps on the D30 and D60.
You may wish to disable custom function 5 - red eye reduction on the Dxx cameras so that it does not fire, and interfere with the focus assist lamp.
* One aspect of AF that many people overlook is the LENS. The more light you can get into ANY AF system, the better. And this has never been more true than with the D60. The D60's focusing capabilities improve DRAMATICALLY when you use it with FAST glass with FAST focusing motors, such as the 28-70 f2.8L, or the 70-200 f2.8L.