Studio Strobes with EOS 300D

[karlrosth]

Hi all,

I've found some old studio probes at work, and since they both flash nicely I've would love to use them with the EOS. But I know for sure that I can't plug the cord to my camera, as the voltage in the strobes are WAAAY to high. They don't have a photocell slave, so I can't trigger them with the built in flash.

I've asked a few stores, and I get different answers everywhere. One recommended I'd by a 420EX or 550EX and used that to trigger the other ones. Hovewer, when i called another store, they said that won't be possible as there is only a connector cord INPUT, not any OUTPUT. The other store recommended I'd buy a photocell flash slave trigger, and connect this to the connector-cable for the strobes. He recommended a Hama-gadget that would do just that - trigger the strobes when my internal flash flashes.

I've heard that the EOS-D's fire the flash at other speeds than an analogue house. Will there be any problems using a slave-trigger concering preflash/triggering the flash to early?

[castledude]

1) The 420EX won't work .. it does a preflash that cannot be turned off on a DRebel.

OK actually it may work but will cost you some bucks in that you will need to but digital triggers on each strobe http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... 022&is=REG

2) You have a few choices:
1) Direct cable .. You will need a "Safe sync" that will lower the voltages to a compatable level for the Canon. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... 292&is=REG
As long as you don't use auto color balance it won't try and double flash.

2) IR flash .. Make sure it is low voltage and it will work

3) Radio flash ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3841855846. IMHO this is the best way. The radio strobe as no recycle time (IR Flashes do) and the IR capabilities of digital cameras is such that sometimes you can see a red spot on your picture. This also works at any angle. You hook it to one strobe and let the others fire off the first flash.

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Be sure to get a flash meter, it will save you a lot of time.

The same guy that sells the Radio flash also sells inexpensive umbrellas and softboxes. They are good quality and work great for home studios.

[karlrosth]

The radio-thingy sounds neat, but I'd prefer not buy from eBay/overseas. I would look for something that could be purchased from a norwegian retailer.

I've looked at this one:

http://www.hama.co.uk/product.asp?produ ... tionid=213

Will this work if I use the internal flash of the EOS 300D?

[castledude]

Sorry no,
The internal flash on the Canon does a preflash. Since that Hama unit doesn't seem to ignore the preflash it will cause problems.

You could use that unit with a dumb flash (non-canon non ttl manual flash) or an IR Flash.

[karlrosth]

Hookey, so the internal flash does some kind of preflash a few miliseconds before the actual flash? I haven't noticed any kind of flashes like focusaids or red-eye-red. before the shot...

I actually have a stupid manual flash i can use. Might work. But i'm curious about IR-flash - do you have any examples of good IR-flashes for EOS-D?

[castledude]

The only IR Flash I played with was this one http://www.adorama.com/JTIRTE.html?sear ... &item_no=8

It works but the recycle rate was slow (especially as the batteries got lower). It was easier for me to use a standard dumb flash (Sunpak 383) twist the head around and set it off over my shoulder at minimum (1/16) power.

When I did use the IR flash I could see red spots in reflective surfaces with some lens camera combinations.