Help using speedlight to trigger studio flash!!

[kay123]

I would like to thank each one of you for your suggestions and comments. I have made the adjustments and so far things are working out. My family and I are so grateful to each of you!! Thanks a million!

[Bobby Deal]

Zemlin is correct your speed light is emitting a pre flash which is firing your mono light before your shutter actually opens. If you can not set your speed light to Manual power or disable the pre flash you will have to find a different solution. Paul C Buff Cyber Sync a $130 well spent and for less then the cost of 1 Pocket Wizard you get a system that is hugely reliable and has a full 16 channels to work with as well. The transmitter is $60 the Receiver $70 and they are as reliable as it gets

Another option that will cost you less then $20 is the good old fashioned sync cord.
You could also order a Neweer 520 speed light off Amazon for about $40 and have a solid speed light with manual settings that you could not only use for a trigger but as a primary or slave light as well.

[Sailor Blue]

Zemlin, the 430 EX does have a manual flash mode.

From the following review, "Unlike the 420EX, the Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash has a Manual Flash Mode with flash output adjustable from full to 1/64 power (7 levels).".

Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash Review

Bobby, a short coiled sync. cord isn't a very good solution. As I'm sure you know, coiled cords are a pain in the lower backside except when used with a L-bracket.

With an off-camera hot-shoe flash a long non-coiled sync cord is a much better solution. Syl Arena, author of "Speedliter's Handbook", has a small side line selling sync cords he has made up for him. The 10m (33') one is the most useful for off-camera flash. This sync. cord costs $65 but is worth the additional cost.

Off-Camera Flash Gear | Canon ETTL Cord OC-E3 | Nikon ITTL Cord SC-29 | Syl Arena

Personally I would go with Bobby's second suggestion, buying a cheap non-TTL flash with an optical slave like the Neweer flash or a set of budget RF triggers like the Yongnuo RF-603's. This set includes the remote camera trigger cord so it can be used to trigger the camera remotely or trigger an off-camera hot-shoe flash, all for less than $30.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RF-603-Trans...item3f1865deb1

[zemlin]

FWIW, I started off with eBay triggers. Had reliability issues with them. Many folks had nothing but praise for them - they issue I had was false triggers. I was trying to do a group team shot once and one light was so spastic I almost had to take it down because I could not get a shot off.

I thought about getting better ebay triggers, but decided to the Cybersyncs as I didn't have to second guess about their reliability and I knew they would grow into a set of Buff strobes in the future (which did happen). Buying cheaper alternatives doesn't make sense if you need to make the investment 3 or 4 times. I have not regretted it for a second. The Cybersyncs have been 100% for me.

[shuttereye]

I started with "cheap" ebay triggers, I spent about $80-100 on 2 triggers and 3 receivers (in anticipation of needing backups at some time) that was about 3 years ago and I did not have a single problem (I did have a light trigger sever times in a row right before the batteries in it died)

I decided to step up to PW and bought 4 of the older models that were separate transmitter and receivers. After using them for about a month I decided to go back to my cheap triggers because they worked just fine for me and I could really use the $300 to put towards new glass.

[Bobby Deal]

Originally Posted by Sailor Blue

Zemlin, the 430 EX does have a manual flash mode.


Bobby, a short coiled sync. cord isn't a very good solution. As I'm sure you know, coiled cords are a pain in the lower backside except when used with a L-bracket.

With an off-camera hot-shoe flash a long non-coiled sync cord is a much better solution. Syl Arena, author of "Speedliter's Handbook", has a small side line selling sync cords he has made up for him. The 10m (33') one is the most useful for off-camera flash. This sync. cord costs $65 but is worth the additional cost.

Off-Camera Flash Gear | Canon ETTL Cord OC-E3 | Nikon ITTL Cord SC-29 | Syl Arena

I don't recall saying to use a short coiled syn cord or that any sync cord was a good option only that it was an option. The average sync cord which can be purchased for $15-$20 is 15' long and while not optimal is a solution. 30' or 3' it is still a cord and still suffers the core problems any cord does.

I know Syl, he is a good guy and knows his stuff when it comes to the Canon Speedlit system. We spent a couple hours in my studio one day discussing high speed sync with the Canon System VS the Nikon system. This was before the book was finished. He left the studio with some new ideas to investigate. His expertise aside I have a hard time believing any sync cord is worth $60 the ends are simply to fragile to anticipate they will have in real durability under even moderate use. You can pinch them back down but once the socket tip stretches they are the worlds biggest PITA from that point on

After looking at the cord Syl is selling it is useless for what the OP is trying To do as he needs to be able to trigger studio monolights not a speed light. Slys cord has ettl hot shoes on both ends but studio strobes do not use ettl and have no shoe in them

[jerryph]

After being in the Strobist group for many years, the pattern is obvious and ALWAYS the same...

- get into photography
- get into lighting
- find out off camera lighting is better, use slave mode
- quickly find out that slaves suck on many levels
- try the long sync cord, pull down a few lights and see that this sucks too
- try the cheap triggers, some have luck, some do not
- eventually, all go to wireless

Here is where it differs a bit... those that learned from other people's mistakes went from slave to mid or high end triggers and lived happily ever after. The others floundered, bought 2-4 other trigger systems, wasted time and money and eventually bought the better triggers anyway.

Me, I am in the camp that only went from the very cheapest wireless triggers on the market, had a ton of fun playing with them, modified them for incredible distance, then just went straight to the best and most expensive triggers on the market (PocketWizard).

My El-Cheapo triggers were the Cactus V2S. Out of the box one was lucky to get 30 feet. After I played with them, they were good for over 350 feet! Here is my proof:

The Jerry Blog!: Cactus V2s Modifications

Over the last 2 years,, there has been an explosion of cheap wireless triggers. Most are just crap, some are ok... But if you stay in photography long enough and get serious about lighting, you will end up with the best triggers out there in your kit... It is not a question of if, it is just a question of when and how much money you will blow getting to them.

For amateurs and beginners to practice and play with, stick to the lower end, however, if you are doing paid gigs, there is absolutely NO excuse to be using low end triggers... Unless you are indeed cheap and enjoy jeopardizing your shots and credibility and your business with your paying clients.

[Bobby Deal]

Jerry I have used Pocket Wizards from the start but have been replacing them with Cyber syncs as they wear out. While the physical build of them is less sturdy then the pocket wizard I am finding that they are more versatile for our rental and workshop needs. The extra channels at a fraction of the newer multi channel PW systems is a serious upside when we have 4-6 sets running in the studio during a workshop. The other side of the equation for us is as a rental studio we have had several times where rental clients have packed our PW in there bag at the end of the day out of sheer force of habit. They have always been recovered but if I am going to have one walk away I would rather have $60 walk out then a minimum of $170 for a PW2

[jerryph]

It is simply a question of answering your needs, Bobby. The CS are nice and have a good reputation, and if they do all that you need, that is the unit for you.

I am now at the point where I have 5 Plus II's, 5 Flexes, 2 Mini's and 2 AC3's. The feature set of the PW's and their interoperability exceed those of the CS units. I use features like:
- An unspoken guarantee that all new versions work with all previous versions
- A raising of base X-sync speed to 1/320th on any light source
- Adjustable HyperSync
- SpeedCycler
- PowerTracker for specific studio heads (Alien Bee and Elinchrom)
- Ability to remotely control power of (specific) studio heads and speedlights from both on or off camera while using these units at the same time
- Mixing and matching TTL and manual at the same time
- being able to trigger my flashes from a Sekonic meter all at once or in any order of groups A, B or C for precise measurement and calibration of my lights
- Range. The ControlTL have a reliable range of 180 feet and the Plus II's have a reliable range of 1500 feet under all my tests.

... and several other features that I use on a regular basis. The CS, as good as they are would feel very limiting to me. Yes the PW are expensive, but they are feature rich and well built. There is nothing higher up the ladder out there and they are the ones that first started and created the wireless triggering industry.

There are stories out there where a Plus II was dropped in a stream, but kept on going after drying out for an hour. I've personally seen a FlexTT5 on a lightstand with an umbrella hit a cement floor from 5 feet high, fall apart into 3 pieces, snap together and continue working. I have yet to see a unit fail on me and I work my equipment pretty hard at weddings and other events where I use them.

They do have an issue being sensitive to the noise generated by some flashes like the Canon 580EXII, but I am a Nikon user, so this is not an issue for me.

I love my PW's, they are an important aspect of my photography.

[Bobby Deal]

Originally Posted by jerryph

It is simply a question of answering your needs, Bobby. The CS are nice and have a good reputation, and if they do all that you need, that is the unit for you.

I am now at the point where I have 5 Plus II's, 5 Flexes, 2 Mini's and 2 AC3's. The feature set of the PW's and their interoperability exceed those of the CS units. I use features like:
- An unspoken guarantee that all new versions work with all previous versions
- A raising of base X-sync speed to 1/320th on any light source
- Adjustable HyperSync
- SpeedCycler
- PowerTracker for specific studio heads (Alien Bee and Elinchrom)
- Ability to remotely control power of (specific) studio heads and speedlights from both on or off camera while using these units at the same time
- Mixing and matching TTL and manual at the same time
- being able to trigger my flashes from a Sekonic meter all at once or in any order of groups A, B or C for precise measurement and calibration of my lights
- Range. The ControlTL have a reliable range of 180 feet and the Plus II's have a reliable range of 1500 feet under all my tests.

... and several other features that I use on a regular basis. The CS, as good as they are would feel very limiting to me. Yes the PW are expensive, but they are feature rich and well built. There is nothing higher up the ladder out there and they are the ones that first started and created the wireless triggering industry.

There are stories out there where a Plus II was dropped in a stream, but kept on going after drying out for an hour. I've personally seen a FlexTT5 on a lightstand with an umbrella hit a cement floor from 5 feet high, fall apart into 3 pieces, snap together and continue working. I have yet to see a unit fail on me and I work my equipment pretty hard at weddings and other events where I use them.

They do have an issue being sensitive to the noise generated by some flashes like the Canon 580EXII, but I am a Nikon user, so this is not an issue for me.

I love my PW's, they are an important aspect of my photography.

No argument from me that PW is the best Ann that they lead the industry. For what you do and where you do it they are the right tool. In the studio running no more then 4 lights most the time the PCB units meet the needs. I do have 8 PW's in the studio and they do see lots of use but they are older, have only 4 channels and lack the feature sets of the new units. For rental gear the new units are simply not in the budget. I will admit that when I am shooting I reach for the PW first unless working with speed lights but then it is simply a size issue. I also use the Cyber Sync when tricking my speed lights to High Speed sync outdoors up to 1/8000 but that is a whole other discussion