Newbie Help - Studio Flash and hotshoes

[GIWiner]

Hi everyone

I have been looking through a lot of your topics but I haven't managed to find what I am looking for, but apologies if you have already covered it at length.

I am new to digital after a number of years using medium format (very much in 'manual' mode) with a set of old early 90's studio flash heads. But was really pulling my hair out over the weekend as I couldn't get the flash to fire in time with the A350 I bought.

Then I found out about pre-flash when using the pop up flash and discovered that my old hama hotshoe to pc socket adaptor wouldn't fit the Sony hotshoe.

I would like a simple (cheap) way to fire the flash and I don't mind using the old fashioned sync cables rather than wireless. But I have read a lot of comments about flash heads frying cameras because of their voltage. Could you recommend any hotshoe, a bit like the old FS1100 that has some form of protection, I have seen the cheap Hong Kong adverts that claim they offer protection but I have my doubts.

Does anyone have any experience of using a comparable hotshoe with pc socket ?

ANy help you can give me would be much appreciated, now I have gone digital I am keen to see the results I can get back in my home studio.

Thanks Guy.

[Javelin]

Sony has a hotshoe adaptor with protection but maybe you don't need it.

Check this list for your flashes and their trigger voltages. If thas the case there are a lot of adaptors around for peanuts that will work

http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GIWiner]

Hi Javelin

Thanks for your response, I have checked the list the exact model I have isn't listed its an old Courteney set of heads. The model they do list suggests 17.5v with the suggestion "your call" .

Is anything over 5 - 6v likely to cause any damage.

Thanks again. Guy

[Javelin]

I doubt 5-6v would cause any damage. you can check it yourself with a meter really. The ones that were damaging the cameras were putting out 400v or more , those are the flashes you need to watch out for. sorry for the link I had it in my head that you were talking about mounted flashes not studio lights.

You might want the Sony adaptor just for the peace of mind I suppose.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ryId=32340" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GIWiner]

I was hoping to avoid paying the silly money Sony want for a pc socket. I had seen the cheap hong kong hotshoes and was considering running it with a Wein inline safe sync (£50 and not £140)

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience of the kit from hong kong

Guy

[Javelin]

Lots of people using those adaptors with no problem. I have one of unknown origin and it's fine and have justt ordered another one with cheapo radio triggers

[harveyzone]

I was hoping to avoid paying the silly money Sony want for a pc socket. I had seen the cheap hong kong hotshoes and was considering running it with a Wein inline safe sync (£50 and not £140)

You could always get one of those cheepy radio triggers of ebay - that way you seperate camera from flash and the worse that can happen is you fry the trigger. You also get an extra wrieless flash.

[GIWiner]

Again, if anyone has any experience of wireless working with the Alpha series cameras I would be interested. When I looked back through the posts there seemed to be number of issues with the cheep wireless setup's so I thought I would play safe with the old sync cable.

They are certainly cheap on ebay so it is tempting. Does anyone have and specific recommendations or suppliers ?

Many thanks for all your help. Guy

[David Kilpatrick]

Early 90s flash heads are not old! They are unlikely to have camera-frying voltages. It's stuff like 1960s Langham and Strobe Equipment, or the first Courtenay models, which is the worry - along with a few camera top guns using very trigger voltages.

Any of the Hong Kong FS1100 clones will do. I have two or three types, they all work. I also have Sony's stupid £100+ PC socket adaptor and it does not do what it should - despite having a battery inside, and a switch to turn power on, it does not set the A350/300 to flash sync mode which means live view can not be used with studio flash. It is not even made by Sony, it's a Goko Co device and missing the necessary pins to even adapt it to supply a 'flash ready' simulation to the A350.

A useful alternative for studio flash triggering is to get an old Minolta 5400HS or 5200XI flash. These will only work in manual mode - but you can set manual power. Set the power to minimum, aim the flash at the ceiling, and it makes a perfect trigger for studio flash. They are not much use for anything else except one thing - bounce flash for indoor groups. You always need maximum power for this anyway, so you might as well use a flash which has no TTL/preflash or anything, and can just fire at max power. Set the aperture by making a test flash. Because they fire manually - one burst only - problems with blinkers/eyeshutters in groups are much reduced.

In fact, it makes sense to use the manual full power technique even with the latest Sony flash HVL-F58AM. With any group indoors, you will need the smallest possible aperture to get faces sharp (especially if the group has two rows of people). Set ISO 400, and in a normal room try f8 as a start with the flash at full power, bounced. You may be lucky in a small, light room and get f11 - in large rooms, f5.6 may be forced on you (or ISO 800). Here's where your studio flash can be very helpful, bounce a couple of those off room corners (don't use umbrellas, they make too small a light source) and you can shoot a group at f16 and ISO 200.

David

[GIWiner]

Thanks for all your advice, I think I am going to have to go with something like the Wein (I appreciate some of the HK compatibles claim voltage protection, I just can't find anyone who has checked one)

Partly, thanks to Javelins strobe voltage list, I checked out the voltage for some of the Metz 45 hammer heads I have which kick out a lot of volts.

I do get the distinct feeling I have bought the wrong camera tho' In ordinary life and out doors its good quality and covers most of the bases, but I got it because of the tilting LCD screen (almost like a waist level view) only now to find it is virtually unusable in the studio.

Thanks for all you help anyway, it is very much appreciated.

Guy

[Alain]

Hi

Just get a FS-1100 clone and a wireless flash trigger and studiowork will be work perfectly.

The FS-1100 clone will cost you about 15-20 euro's and a wireless trigger is nice to work inside a studio.


BTW. Except for the FS-1100 the "problems" are the same with all other modern camera's.

[Chris Malcolm]

Virtually unusable in the studio? My portable studio is set up with radio triggered flashes set manually. The A350 (and I presume the other Alphas) puts out the proper PC flash trigger control via any cheap hot shoe converter using the central pin or the PC socket which many have, and despite some rumours to the contrary does so at every mode and every camera setting.

If you want to use live view the problem is you have to set the camera shutter and aperture manually as well, and since the camera doesn't know you're using old fashioned manual flash the live view will be underexposed black. But all you need to do for that is to rotate the mode around to one which gives ambient light exposure and a viewable LCD for composition, and then to fire the flashes just rotate back to manual -- which remembers the previous manual setting.

Could be more convenient, I agree, but far from being virtually unusable!

[GIWiner]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for all the replys, I think on reflection Alain is right, the camera gives very good images and the problems with studio flash are more of an inconvenience rather than a major problem. Apologies if my frustration came out.

On a positve note, I found an in-line regulated sunc adaptor from Wein (id W990515) that has a male PC in and a female PC out. Unfortunately BHP charge more for the postage to the UK than for the item itself !.

So... I am probably looking at one of the HK wireless setups from Ebay, does anyone have any experience of ones to avoid ? Everyone seems to be supplying the YONGNUO CTR-301

Thanks

Guy

[KevinBarrett]

My portable studio is set up with radio triggered flashes set manually.

You could always get one of those cheepy radio triggers of ebay.

Wait a minute...what radio triggers? Link please!

[pakodominguez]

My portable studio is set up with radio triggered flashes set manually.

You could always get one of those cheepy radio triggers of ebay.

Wait a minute...what radio triggers? Link please!

Ebay 280417213483
they all look the same and cost more or less the same.
I use them at home/studio and on location and it works pretty well. But the day I'll make more money I'll invest on Pocket wizard for sure.