Need alien bees advice urgently

[yinkamd]

Just got the Digibee (consists of two B400s). I can connect one to my camera

with the sync cord. How do I connect the other? The manual has no info on what

to do?

Also, I don't have a dedicated meter. What can I do until I get one?

I guess my questions are totally stupid, but I am a total newbie to this!

Thanks and best wishes

 

Yinka

[doug_axford1]

Once one is fired, the other will fire automatically at the same time - built in sensor. It's actually easiest to put a small flash on your camera hot shoe pointed to the ceiling and fire both without any sync cord.

 

If you look at the specs in the manual or on the site, it should give you starting points for flash power. The problem is that it will vary with distance, reflectors, umbrellas, etc. Check out your LCD screen or hook up a TV to the video out if your camera has one and you'll be close.

 

Doug

[yinkamd]

Thanks Doug! Truly appreciated. So, can I use my Canon 430ex to trigger the B400s? And, if I understand yo, I don't need a sync cord?

I truly appreciate your help

Yinka

[phoneguy]

I have had zero luck using the canon flashes as a trigger (master). The Bee's mess with the ettl...I don't think the canon flashes can be used as a master for the AB's...If they can, it's news to me, and I'd like to know how to do this also.

 

You can shoot one AB tethered to the camera, and the other set to slave, or buy a couple of Pocket Wizards, or cheaper tx/rx system.

[daniel_turner1]

I use a manual flash, no preflash, to trigger those types of strobes. Have you tried some deep custom setting that will not fire any preflash, no redeye, no preexposure?

 

Cheers

Dan

[doug_axford1]

Sorry, I never use ETTL in studio or with studio flashes. It won't work and I wasn't thinking that someone would try. My error. Actually, I almost never use ETTL at all.

 

You've got to be on manual settings. I also would not use the in-camera flash because of the above reasons. I prefer a real cheap flash that can bounce off the ceiling and not part of the exposure.

 

Doug

[twmeyer]

or a sync cord... t

[glenn_s]

Unfortunately, the 430EX won't work to trigger the AB's. The Canon E-TTL flash fires a pre-flash a fraction of a second before the main flash fires. The camera evaluates the pre-flash to determine how much light to put out when the main flash fires. The pre-flash will trigger the AB's, and the AB's will be off before your shutter opens.

I have a Rebel XT and a 420EX. I got the hot-shoe adapter from Alien Bees. I plug the sync cable from the adapter to one of the AB's, and the other AB fires when the first one goes off. I don't use the 420EX at all when I'm using the AB's.

 

Like you, I am sans meter for the foreseeable future. I look at the LCD screen and press the info button until the histogram comes up. When shooting a mostly white background, I adjust the lights until there is a big peak on the right side of the histogram. The peak is almost at the right edge, but falls off before the right edge.

 

I'm too new at this to know for sure that this is the best way for the histogram to look, but the images with this histogram seem to be properly exposed when I look at them on the computer.

 

Hope this helps,

Glenn

[steve_b3]

Not to sound too dumb, but have you tried their customer support? They were very polite and helpful with me when I ahd problems.

[femworksphotography]

I agree, the reps at AB's are the best I've seen thus far. They really know their equipment. I called because my B400 wasn't flashing when the 800 went off. I found out that because I kept a sync cord in the 400, it turned off the slave so it wouldn't flash. I was about to send it in for repair!