Off Camera Flash

[rflower]

I have a D80 + SB800.

I can use the flash on the hotshoe, or off the camera in remote mode, which seems to trigger from a preflash by the onboard flash (is this correct?). I have played with this a little, and can dial in different settings from the camera, as to how much light both the Onboard flash and SB800 have in the final exposure.

We just found a Metz 30BCT4 in the wardrobe (that may have come from my Father-in-laws). I have put batteries in, and pressed a red button on the back, and it flashes. I have read that I probably should not put this on the D80 because of the high voltage.

Can I use the Metz flash somehow on/with the D80?
If so, can the D80 control the Metz flash with different settings, or is that done solely from the slide switch on the back?
I have seen reference to Flash Sync Cables. Would one of these plug into the D80 and the Metz flash?
Can I have multiple flashes (sb800 AND Metz) connected like this?
Or how would I utilise more than one flash off camera? Would I need wireless triggers then?

Thanks for any assistance offered.

[Oz_Beachside]

Can I use the Metz flash somehow on/with the D80?
If so, can the D80 control the Metz flash with different settings, or is that done solely from the slide switch on the back?
I have seen reference to Flash Sync Cables. Would one of these plug into the D80 and the Metz flash?
Can I have multiple flashes (sb800 AND Metz) connected like this?
Or how would I utilise more than one flash off camera? Would I need wireless triggers then?

Hi Russell,
If the voltage is not suitable for the hot shoe, then I doubt it would suit connectig via a PC synch lead, directly.

perhaps the safest and most versatile, might be to get teh ebay wireless triggers... if you were going to work in manual mode, you could put the trigger on the D80, to fire the metz, which could fire the SB800 (if in SU-4 mode), or perhaps use the SB800 in remote mode, with the D80 built in as the commander, and set the metz manually triggered by the wireless trigger.

alternatively, you might be able to get a cheap slave cell that could trigger the metz while using the SB800 off camera (in manual or remote modes)

[PiroStitch]

Russell,

If you can connect a pc-sync cord from the D80 to the Metz flash, it will work fine. Incidentally, I think you can connect the SB800 to your hotshoe, then connect the pc-sync cord to the Metz flash so it works off camera and trigger both at the same time.

I tried something similar last night with my Quantum X2 and 580EX on my 5D and worked a charm! As long as the Metz isn't connected to the hot shoe of the D80, should be fine.

If there is'nt a pc-sync port on the Metz, you'll need to pick up a hot-shoe pc-sync adapter from your local camera shop. Shouldn't be that expensive, just around $20 and the cable.

[Mr Darcy]

From http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

30BCT4 No 68V reported by Peter Cooke &165V from Paul Nelson,172V from Vic

Do not connect the Metz to your camera by any kind of wire. (Nikons tend to be more robust here than Canon, but don't take the risk.)

You can use either a Radio trigger (Pocket Wizard or similar. There is one in the bargains section that is MUCH cheaper.) or an optical trigger. In either case you will need to go to manual mode on the flash subsystem otherwise the pre-flash will fire the Metz too soon & it will have no effect on the photo. It might be one hell of a Red eye reducer though

[Yi-P]

You can either get one of those eBay optical slave triggers or radio triggers. I got a pair of optical slaves for $3 each, delivered. And you might consider getting a radio slave which will work without using D80's onboard flash.

I've written up some instructions on how to modify a plug to fit a studio radio trigger into PC-syc flash in the equipment review section.

[Mark DSLR]

I am new to this site, but I have a question about wireless falsh trigger systems. Has anyone ever had any experience with these cheap wireless flash trigger and receiver systems available on Ebay etc? Do they work as well as Pocket Wizard or Micro Sync and are they reliable? As an example, I have just looked at a wireless transmitter kit with 3 receivers for AUD $72.00! Do I need to spend $800?

[Alpha_7]

strobist http://strobist.blogspot.com/is also a great resource for flash related stuff but generally speaking you get what you pay for and the cheap ebay gear doesn't work *as* reliably at the Pocket Wizards, and have less range. That said a lot of people are happy with them for the type of photography they are doing. If I was doing regular paid work I'd get Pocket Wizards (or the new Radio Poppers when they are released), for amateur stuff where your not going to look like too much of a mug if your flashes pop, or don't on cue, then some of the cheaper options are worth pursuing.

[gstark]

I am new to this site, but I have a question about wireless falsh trigger systems.

Hi, Mark, and welcome.

Please take a few moments to acquaint yourself with the message for new members that you will see at the top of our front page (Portal) and the FAQ. You will see mention of the need to include a meaningful location in your profile. This is a requirement of membership here, and your cooperation is appreciated. There are other useful items of information mentioned in the FAQ, and I commend it to you.

Has anyone ever had any experience with these cheap wireless flash trigger and receiver systems available on Ebay etc? Do they work as well as Pocket Wizard or Micro Sync and are they reliable? As an example, I have just looked at a wireless transmitter kit with 3 receivers for AUD $72.00! Do I need to spend $800?

Without wishing to sound cynical or be a smartarse (I am, but I merely don;t want to sound like one right now ) you need to ask yourself what you think the answer to this question might be.

There are basically three levels of wireless transmitters available, and you need to really decide what level of features you need.

The Pocket Wizards are very good, resistant to RF interference and highly reliable in terms of operation, and they offer a very high level of features. As you've observed, they're also rather pricey.

At the other end of the scale you'll see the very basic sets on eBay (and also available through this forum's resources for $25 - see the FAQ for details of how you might qualify for forum pricing). These provide a basic remote flash trigger functionality at a remarkably economical price. I have, and use, one of these.

In the middle of the price range you'll find the Elinchrom Skyports.

As I mentioned, you need to decide what are the features that you want to avail yourself of with these units. Within that context, and to help give you a better answer, we need to know a bit more about you, your camera and accessories, and the shooting you expect to use these triggers for?

First of all, what sort of flash heads are you using? Many have the ability to be triggered from your camera's on-board flash, provided you know how to set your camera up for this. So, we also now need to know what sort of camera you have, so that we can tell you if your camera can drive your flash heads in this manner.

We had a half dozen people shooting in exactly this manner at a workshop session just last Saturday, while others were driving the flash heads from wireless transmitters.

Finally, you mention a wireless set that has one transmitter and three receivers. IME, this is a total waste, and you usually only need one tranny, and one receiver, but again, this depends upon the specifics of the flash heads that you're using.

So, back to you. Fill in the blanks, and we can go further.

Oh yes, one other point. The search function here might help you turn up other useful bits of information.