 Kris Franklin |
I need a Slave! I am setting up a studio in my basement. I bought a set of lights, umbrellas, etc and a backdrop. I've done tons of outdoor photography, but want the control. Anyway, I need a slave controller. The two strobe lights are equipped with infrared sensors and also came with cords. I have a Nikon N-80. I have already spent a wad. Can anyone help me out - is there an easy way to do this? What about the Wein hot shoe slaves? I am ignorant but I LEARN FAST. Thanks for your help.
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John A. Lind |
Kris, You can use the PC cord(s). You only need to use one cord to one of the lights. The other (if it has a built-in slave) can be slaved from it. Nikon makes a hot shoe adapter that has a PC socket on the front. Put it into the camera hot shoe and plug the PC cord from one of the lights into it. This should be much less expensive than buying an IR emitting slave trigger (the Wein is over $100). You may have to unplug the PC cord from the other (slaved) light for its slave to work. Most lights disconnect the slave if a trigger cord is plugged into it. Wein does make an IR slave triggering system. It's not inexpensive. The encoded one sells for about $220. It has an IR transmitter for the camera and one slave sensor that plugs into the strobe. Additional slave sensors are about $100 each. I don't recommend an unencoded "open" IR trigger system. Electronic flash units (including your strobes) emit quite a bit of IR. If you ever do any work on location, anyone else with a flash will set off your lights. The encoded ones prevent this from happening. -- John
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Kris Franklin |
Thanks very much. that helps me know where to start my research re: WHAT to buy. RE what you said about the electronic flash units setting off the slave/strobe - does this mean that even without a wired hookup of any kind, it might be possible that a flash from another camera would set off the strobe? Does that mean I could use the studio lights with my digital (no hot shoe) camera? I'll have to try it :-) I want to learn all I can about how these things operate - the instruction manual came with nothing but "this button does this" info. My book on "Beginning" studio lighting assumes an awful lot of knowledge too.
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John A. Lind |
Kris, Two issues: 1. Setting off strobes using camera mounted flash will add light from your camera flash . . . from its direction. When I've done this, I've used an external flash that can be cranked down to 1/256th of full power (very, very low) and point it straight up, or even away from the subject. The extremely low power and aimed away from the subject means whatever it puts out is so overwhelmed by the monolights that it effectively has zero effect. 2. Digital cameras pose a particular problem. Many have a very low power pre-flash for focusing [??] and auto-exposure that is triggered a small fraction of a second before the main flash. If yours does this, it will set off the monolights and they will not sync correctly with your digital. The only way to find out is to try it. If there is a problem with this, and you cannot turn off the pre-flash, there really isn't much of a solution other than looking for a slave module you can plug unit the monolight PC cord socket that will ignore the pre-flash. These supposedly exist, but I don't know makes/models. Issue #1 also applies to your digital: added light from camera position. If there's a red-eye problem with its built-in flash, the risk of it is still there. There is one trick you can use. Optical slaves are very sensitive to IR (infrared). Electronic flash units emit a fair amount of IR also. A "black" piece of completely unexposed but developed transparency (slide) film large enough to cover the flash can be attached over it. Although it blocks nearly 100% of visible light, it passes nearly 100% of IR (infrared), which will set off optical slaves. Why? Transparencies are commonly mounted into slides and are projected. If the film blocked (absorbed) IR the film would get very hot and melt rather quickly! Because you're only passing the IR from the camera mounted flash, it doesn't add any visible light to your photograph from the camera position. This won't solve a pre-flash issue though (if your digital does this). Covering a camera mounted strobe with a piece of unexposed tranny film is a very old trick . . . and is part of the nearly "lost art" of tricks photographers used decades ago. -- John
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John A. Lind |
P.S. I should emphasize with the slide film trick that the unexposed piece needs to be *developed* film, not an undeveloped piece cut off the beginning of a roll. 35mm still camera film has an opaque anti-halation coating that is washed off when it's developed. The only exceptions are a few special IR films. When tranny film is developed, the lab typically returns all the film from the roll, even the pieces of leader and trailer that weren't mounted into the slides. With 35mm film, it's the unexposed pieces of trailer that work very well for this. With medium format (120/220 film), both leader and trailer are unexposed. -- John
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Kris Franklin |
Excellent info. You're a wealth. Re what you said above - my Nikon is an N-80 and in low light it emits a small focusing light. Will this trigger the strobes? I had intended to use manual focus anyway, but am curious about it. I had thought of the added light from the direction of the camera - thanks for the solution of how to eliminate it. I love tricks, especially the kind that don't cost $$. I'll try everything you've suggested. Kris
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John A. Lind |
Kris, Since you've already bought the lights, there's one way to find out. Set up a light on a stand, turn on its slave, and fire a few frames with on-camera flash turned off. It shouldn't trigger the slave unless it is similar to the very short pulse of visible light from a flash. Depending on how accurately you can manually focus the N80 with your lens(es), I'd be very tempted to manually focus when doing studio work which is typically slower paced and very methodical. Compared to manual focus bodies, I know the focus screen in some AF bodies can make manually focusing them more difficult. It's as if they weren't made for it. When doing anything resembling formal portraiture I work to put critical focus exactly where I want it (typically/traditionally the eyes). -- John
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Kris Franklin |
Thanks. I had planned to use the manual focus - the focusing screen is pretty good for an AF camera. I figure if my model stands on her mark and I have enough light to be at f11 or better, I shouldn't have too much trouble with getting in and out of focus. Your advice and comments have been very helpful. Kris
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