Wireless Optical Slaves

[victor_grandison]

Hello,

The name's victor and I'm writing from the Caribbean (Trinidad to be exact) and

cannot stress how impossible it is to acquire photography-related equipment

locally.

I must also stress that I am a serious amateur, trying to do what serious

amateurs do - become pro photographers.

I say the above to make it clear that the acronyms and jargon that

photographers use will be mostly greek to me (yes I am taking a course but

there are no detailed [diploma or degree] courses available). Therefore I'll

have to learn most of the stuff online.

 

My questions are simple.

 

I want to purchase 1 or 2 optical slave flash units for indoor portrait and

fashion photography.

All i have at present is a 6.0mp point&shoot digicam.

 

How can I set up two additional optical slaves (say for hair highlights or

background fill)?

What exactly is a hotshoe - does it refer simply to the grove that allows u to

slide in the flash unit?

Can i soften the shadows that will be created by the slaves by bouncing the

light off an umbrella?

 

Thanks

Regards,

 

Victor

[gdw]

Victor, your P&S may or may not have a hot shoe. It is simply a metal track or sleeve that will hold an external flash unit on the top of a camera. The flat metal piece on the bottom of an external flash is refered to as a foot, thus the term shoe that the foot fits into. On older cameras the shoe served only to secure the flash to the camera and you had to make a link between the camera and the flash by using a short sync cord. On a hot shoe the shoe itself has a connector that makes the connection through a corresponding connector built into the bottom of the external flash foot, thus hot shoe.

 

If your camera has a built in flash you will be able to trip, or trigger as it is usually called, the off camera flash by using an optical slave. However, be warned. You will need to do a lot of research because all optical slaves do not work with all cameras as I recently experienced. I personally would advise you to contact not only the supplier, but I would contact the manufacturer of the slave that you are interested in. Give the the exact make and model of your camera and get their recomendation. Don't rely on the supplier to know what will work with your camera. Of course, if you buy locally you may be able to try it out in the store prior to purchase. But it is buyer beware when matching optical slaves or optical slave attachments to digital cameras.

 

Yes, when you find a slaved external flash that will work with your camera you will be able to bounce it off ceilings, walls, or umbrellas.

[victor_grandison]

Tanx a mil Gary

 

I did notice that most optical flash slaves claim to be able to distinguish preflash and real flash. They also listed the cameras which do not work with the slave.

 

for experimental purposes, could I acquire a simple slave from say ebay for $20 or could you (or aanyone) recommend an online source for a relatively cheap slave.

 

Tanx again

[pjkolt]

I have the $20 Ebay wireless slaves. I love them for what they are. Which is a cheap and effective way to fire my three flashes. Inside they work very well even through walls. My house isn't that big, but I've been able to get at least 25-30 feet away and in a separate room. Outside I've been able to go at least 100 feet away without out a problem.

 

I purchased the Cactus model. At least that's what I think they are. Any ways for one transmitter and two receivers I paid around $40 USD

 

Hope this helps.

[victor_grandison]

Tanx Paul. A few ques though.

My P&S camera (like most) has a preflash that of course fires every time the flash is in use. Furthermore, the red eye removal option has 3 flashes (ie 2 preflashes).

Do the optical flashes u purchased from ebay recognise preflash as opposed to real flash?

Can it be adjusted to recognise the 2 preflashes that are used for red eye reduction?

 

If anyone can recommend wireless optical flahses with these features I will be grateful.

[victor_grandison]

Tanx Paul. A few ques though. My P&S camera (like most) has a preflash that of course fires every time the flash is in use. Furthermore, the red eye removal option has 3 flashes (ie 2 preflashes). Do the optical slaves u purchased from ebay recognise preflash as opposed to real flash? Can it be adjusted to recognise the 2 preflashes that are used for red eye reduction?

 

If anyone can recommend wireless optical slaves with these features I will be grateful.

[unohuu]

Victor, even most P/S cameras give a manual flash option. If you turn off the bells and whistles the camera flash will not be able to send a pre-flash and thus not fool your triggered flashes. Look through the manual.

[craig_shearman1]

Victor -- www.bhphotovideo.com ships internationally and is the biggest mail-order/Internet photo supplier in the U.S. They have absolutely everything and at the best prices. Not sure what happens with shipping costs and customs duties, but they might be your solution to finding the equipment you need.