DSLRUsers.com

Greetings all,

I found this very interesting website thanks to camera hobby.

It's got quite a few good tips on how to use your speedlights

I've been working my way through this at the moment as Pat and I are about to get a new flash. Would definately recommend it, there are suggestions for beginners as well as the more advanced flash users.

Very interesting read, I've added it to my favourites for future reference.
Some nice ideas, I'm glad they explained what a ball bungee was though..


Um with this bit here, http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04/li ... -pt-1.html

Has anyone here tried to make there own Sync cord ? I want to, or atleast understand them better as I want to hook my homemade triggers up to the flash.

Craig,

These sorts of cords are not quite for using with triggers. Rather, they're for directly connecting your camera to a remote flash unit.

Typically, your flash will have a pc connector on it. This is a very small coaxial connector. All cameras used to have them too, but these days they've been largely removed, excepting from the higher en pro models: the D2x, D2h D200 all have one, but neither the D50 nor D70 have them.

The deal is the you use a simple two conductor cable to join your camera and flash head, and when you make an image, the camera basically just shorts the connection. That is enough to trigger your flash head if it's connected.

gstark wrote:Craig,

These sorts of cords are not quite for using with triggers. Rather, they're for directly connecting your camera to a remote flash unit.

Typically, your flash will have a pc connector on it. This is a very small coaxial connector. All cameras used to have them too, but these days they've been largely removed, excepting from the higher en pro models: the D2x, D2h D200 all have one, but neither the D50 nor D70 have them.

The deal is the you use a simple two conductor cable to join your camera and flash head, and when you make an image, the camera basically just shorts the connection. That is enough to trigger your flash head if it's connected.

So to use it with a D70 I'd plug the camera side into a hotshoe adapter right, to get around the absence of the PC connector ?

The trigger I have in mind would be shorting the connection just has the camera would using a 400v SCR, my main interest is having the flash hooked up to a semi decent cable designed to fit, rather then something more dodgey and prone to issues.

I was hoping to source a PC sync cable plug the end into the flash and then wire the other end to my trigger circuit.

Alpha_7 wrote:So to use it with a D70 I'd plug the camera side into a hotshoe adapter right, to get around the absence of the PC connector ?

The trigger I have in mind would be shorting the connection just has the camera would using a 400v SCR, my main interest is having the flash hooked up to a semi decent cable designed to fit, rather then something more dodgey and prone to issues.

I was hoping to source a PC sync cable plug the end into the flash and then wire the other end to my trigger circuit.

Yep, you would need a hotshoe adapter.

If you're triggering the flash from a circuit just get a PC cord and chop the end off. Use the bare ends to connect to the SCR.

Craig,

Alpha_7 wrote:

gstark wrote:Craig,

These sorts of cords are not quite for using with triggers. Rather, they're for directly connecting your camera to a remote flash unit.

Typically, your flash will have a pc connector on it. This is a very small coaxial connector. All cameras used to have them too, but these days they've been largely removed, excepting from the higher en pro models: the D2x, D2h D200 all have one, but neither the D50 nor D70 have them.

The deal is the you use a simple two conductor cable to join your camera and flash head, and when you make an image, the camera basically just shorts the connection. That is enough to trigger your flash head if it's connected.

So to use it with a D70 I'd plug the camera side into a hotshoe adapter right, to get around the absence of the PC connector ?

Yes.

And perhaps no.



You need to pay attention to the voltage across the flash terminals that's going to be seen by the camera. If that voltage is too high it can do rather unpleasant things to the camera's electronics.


Can you say "brown smell" ?

For this type of thing, I'd probably be more inclined to be looking towards a light trigger: use the on-camera flash as a light source to trigger remote flash units; the remote units have a simple sensor attached (most studio strobes are already so-equipped) and then whenever your on-camera flash goes off, so too do all of your strobes.

Simple. Cheap. Effective.

Remember to disable the D70's pre-flashes though.

The trigger I have in mind would be shorting the connection just has the camera would using a 400v SCR, my main interest is having the flash hooked up to a semi decent cable designed to fit, rather then something more dodgey and prone to issues.

I've not found any issues with using cables in terms of reliability. They're simple, effective, and cheap. No more complex - and quite comparable - to connecting a guitar to it's amp using a simple co-ax cable and 6.5mm phone jacks.

The only isssues ever seen in both of these sorts of setups relates to the quality of the cable, the quality of the connections (solder is good), and of course the housekeeping and "cable's in the way" stuff.

If you look on the various electronics magazine sites, I'm sure you'll find a few trigger circuits which may (or may not) be of some use.

It's a really nice site for an intro into flash photography, I'm really looking to invest a light stand now and use the SB-800 in wireless mode and keep TTL (though learning manual flash exposure would also be ideal!)

Does anyone know of a suitable place in australia to buy their suggested items?

I was looking at photocontinental.com.au which have the brollies but not the clamps or lightstand. Can anyone else make a suggestion and keep the rig to under $150 Aus? Kinda new to the whole light stand shebang so I don't know what are standard mounts and which clamp fits which mounts.

Thanks

Hash77

greencardigan wrote:If you're triggering the flash from a circuit just get a PC cord and chop the end off. Use the bare ends to connect to the SCR.

Yeah that was my general plan, do you know where the best place to get a PC cord would be, camera store, electronics store or ebay? ?

gstark wrote:You need to pay attention to the voltage across the flash terminals that's going to be seen by the camera. If that voltage is too high it can do rather unpleasant things to the camera's electronics.

I use an old Metz on my D70. It's terminal voltage is 60 something volts. No problems yet.

Alpha_7 wrote:

greencardigan wrote:If you're triggering the flash from a circuit just get a PC cord and chop the end off. Use the bare ends to connect to the SCR.

Yeah that was my general plan, do you know where the best place to get a PC cord would be, camera store, electronics store or ebay? ?

Probably your local camera store would have some.

I had an old one lying around that I was using a few days ago for the exact same reason.

hash77 wrote:I was looking at photocontinental.com.au which have the brollies but not the clamps or lightstand. Can anyone else make a suggestion and keep the rig to under $150 Aus? Kinda new to the whole light stand shebang so I don't know what are standard mounts and which clamp fits which mounts.

Please review Phillipb's posts and links in this thread.

He includes a link to a setup that includes a broilly, stand and slave flash for around Au$150.

I've not yet had a chance to review this gear personally, but from Phillip's descriptions and images, it seems to be good value; buying just a stand and brolly from Vanbar will cost about the same.