Triggering strobe flash wirelessly

[WhyBe]

I don't think I am searching for the right info on Google. Maybe I can get some pointers here.

Is there a way I can trigger external flash (umbrellas/softboxes) with the a350 built-in wireless transmitter? IOW, are there stobe lights that have receivers built-in that are compatible with the a350 wireless signal? I'm new to studio lighting so I don't want to buy a bunch of uneccessary accessories if it doesn't require that.


Thanks in Advance

[Chris Malcolm]

I don't think I am searching for the right info on Google. Maybe I can get some pointers here.

Is there a way I can trigger external flash (umbrellas/softboxes) with the a350 built-in wireless transmitter? IOW, are there stobe lights that have receivers built-in that are compatible with the a350 wireless signal? I'm new to studio lighting so I don't want to buy a bunch of uneccessary accessories if it doesn't require that.

The A350 wireless flash control is coded optical pulses from the pop-up. I doubt that there are studio strobes which are compatible, but there are some non-Sony flash guns which are. The cheapest wireless triggering would be optical triggering using the pop-up in non-wireless mode, if the studio strobes already have optical triggering with pre-flash ignoring built in, as some do. That doesn't give you the on-camera control of the Sony wireless, simply the triggering of what has been manually set up on the strobes.

Other cheap options are PC cable from a shoe converter with a PC socket, or one of the several cheap radio trigger systems available, some of which have recently come out in new improved more reliable versions.

[WhyBe]

Thanks Chris. I'll go the optical trigger route first then move on to the RF method if optical doesn't work too well. Do you know of any specific lights that respond to the Sony IR signals?