Newbie Strobe/Camera problems

[f3nikon]

if i take a pic of strobe,stobe fires but i get a pic of strobe without light.

This means that your camera does use a preflash so you would need a slave strobe with adjustable preflash control, what it really does is delay the slave strobe's firing until the camera's main flash fires. Other options are to find a camera without a preflash, again most Sony's do not use preflash, yours maybe the one that does.

Lets back up on this, when you take the picture of your strobe, does the strobe AND the camera's flash fire yet you cannot see the strobe's light in the picture?

Dive Safe

 

[scuba-dave]

Thanks for the replys,

I have learnt more about my camera and strobes and think i need a inon d2000 as these will work with my camera ,just cant afford it yet.

 

[f3nikon]

You're welcome, do some research on these strobes, you may save some money. I have not tried these strobe, I am just telling you what is out there.

As for me personally, I would only use a camera that has a hot shoe so I can hardwire almost any sync cord fired strobe that is in the market, or one that does not have a preflash.

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http://store.yahoo.com/leisure-pro/fntes150.html

Dive Safe

 

[aquatica672]

no i get this

OK let me see if I have all this straight in my head.

1) your stobe DOES work on your friends FILM CAMERA????
2) It does NOT work on your DIGITAL CAMERA


If this is the case then the problem is your stobe is not made for digital cameras...most all "old style" strobes for film cameras will NOT work on digital cameras.

To comfirm this all you have to do is
first shoot a photo with the camera set on "automatic" or "program" mode and then see if it fires off. If the strobe is a "film camera" stobe it should not!

Then set the camera to "manuel" and try it again... this time it should fire. If this is the case then your strobe is NOT made for a digital camera, however you can still use the strobe but only in manuel mode

aquatica

 

[f3nikon]

OK let me see if I have all this straight in my head.

If this is the case then the problem is your stobe is not made for digital cameras...most all "old style" strobes for film cameras will NOT work on digital cameras.

Then please explain this, these strobes were made for film yet a digital camera was used to fire off the strobes?

Dive Safe

 

[aquatica672]

the best I can tell from the photo,,,,,it looks like a slave sensor was used. Is this the case?

Most film strobes will not work with a Digital camera on TTL flash photograpy using a sinc cord. That is why one must use a manuel setting on the camera instead of automatic or porgram mode

Aquatica

 

[f3nikon]

Yes you're correct its a slave strobe. Its the preflash that's the problem, the digital that I used was a non preflash unit. I am not sure if even placing the camera in manual flash mode will help, I have 3 other cameras with pre flash, and they still could not fire the slave strobe in manual flash mode. Some good info on preflash.

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/Potpourri/Slave-Firing-Test/slave.html

Dive Safe

 

[scuba-dave]

OK let me see if I have all this straight in my head.

1) your stobe DOES work on your friends FILM CAMERA????
2) It does NOT work on your DIGITAL CAMERA



aquatica

Strobe works on friends digital (Sony),so this must not have pre flash .

stobe fires on mine (sony) but pic is dark,so it must fire on the pre flash and then wipe out the light

 

[bobf]

In order to synchronize an older style strobe with a newer style digital camera:

The camera must have a slave trigger option in it's flash menu (a single blip of light is sent by the camera's master strobe (onboard flash) to signal the slave strobe to fire in sync with the shutter event. I believe this is how F3Nikon is triggering his older style strobes (aka legacy strobes, film strobes, etc....). Not all digicams have this option. Check your camera's manual for details.

Or:

The strobe itself must have a circuitry option to ignore one or more pre flashes (many newer strobe models have this feature, older strobes do not since preflash technology is a newer phenomenon).

Or:

The strobe must be able to recycle quickly enough to fire on the subsequent trigger event. Some new strobes are capable of this feat. Older strobe models are not due to the fact it wasn't necessary at the time of manufacture.

Or:

The strobe has a sync cord that can be used in conjunction with Matthias Heinrich's Digital Adapter. Check directly with Matthias for compatibility or visit the Strobe Finder Database.

Successfully firing one of these older model strobes in sync with the shutter event is the first hurdle. Controlling the strobe's influence (output), especially if they lack manually controlled power level adjustments or TTL options (Heinrich's adapter, etc), on the exposure is another hurdle faced by the photographer.

Discussions in the past have centered around the option of multiple home made diffusers and varying strobe to subject distances. Check the power specs of the strobe to determine the viability and application of such a strategy.

hth,
b

 

[Wolverine]

Strobe works on friends digital (Sony),so this must not have pre flash .

stobe fires on mine (sony) but pic is dark,so it must fire on the pre flash and then wipe out the light

I checked the specs of your Sony, and confirmed that it is a preflash camera. And there is no way to disable the pre-flash. So the adjustments have to come from the strobe.