Photography question .. regarding strobes ..
 

Hey just fucking around with some new Strobes and I am in need some assistance syncing my strobes to my camera's flash ...
Seems to look like my flash is the only one actually being captured by the shutter ..
I actually have countless pix with the strobes not lit ..so they are not flashing at the right time ..
Any input would be great ..
thanks .

What is your shutter speed and aperture settings?

tried just about all for both .. dropped shutter to 1/10 even .. fstop all the way through the adjustments ..

Couple of things. Your on camera flash might have a pre-flash meaning it might be triggering the slaves on the strobes a split second before your shutter is being released, so your strobes are firing then recycling when your shutter and your on camera flash actually goes off.

I recommend putting your camera in Manual mode and either tether your camera to one of the strobes (use a pc sync cord between your camera to your strobe) or buy a remote trigger you can place on top of your camera's hotshoe (I am assuming you are shooting with a digital SLR and not a point and shoot).

Otherwise the typical SLR should sync at 1/200 of a second or slower as a general rule of thumb so it doesn't sound like that is the issue here since you even attempted so slowly...sounds like what I am suggesting in my first paragraph.

Hope this helps.

BTW...I have a ton of shoots lined up in Vegas Jan 6-14th and am available for other's shooting if you need a mentor. If so, hit me up for details and/or check out my site: www.GlamourWorkshops.com for more about my work and myself.

Thanks Paul .. I have actually been in the game for 13 yrs .. just haven't used strobes since chrome .. the camera I am trying to sync is my Sony DSCR1 .. not really a point and shoot but not a Alpha 900 .. a sync cord it cheap .. I can grab one in the am .. it just doesn't seen like my flash is going off as a "pre or double flash" .. hell it seems as if it is not going off at all .. but it is .. and the strobes are firing .. just not at the right damn time ..
Was more wondering if there is a setting I am not aware about that would have them flash earlier or later .. say for slower exposures .. ?

Jake....gotcha...the good ole days of chrome. :) I finally gave up my Pentax 645 NII medium format camera two years ago. lol.

I was just reading DP review on that model and it does have some custom settings that will delay the flash and also the sync speed for external....I would play around with the camera menu's to see if you can find these functions and see if you have something setup wrong.

One thing you didn't mention though is if you are keeping the camera on Auto or (P) mode vs switching it to manual mode. I ask because you camera could also be making adjustments to give you what it thinks "proper" exposure is if the strobes are firing properly.

Lastly....tell me a little bit about the strobes you are using as well.


Oh...just encase.....go into your menu, look for the flash settings and turn off the red eye reduction. It might be that simple too.

re: Sony DSCR1

That's the reason why. Even with red-eye preemptive flash turned off, the built in flash still is going to miss the timing between the shutter being open and the strobes going off. That's been a problem ever since the first Sony P-series cameras. Solution: Get the external flash option for it... that's really the only way to fix the issue.

Are you using a synch cable or wireless trigger like a pocket wizard right now or are you trying to get the strobes to fire using the built in camera flash?

what kind of strobes are you using?

sorry, just re-read that you are trying to use your on camera flash to fire the strobes.
Strobes usually come with a synch cord, if not they are cheap. trying to get the two to synch up will probably be impossible, easier to just get a synch cord.

wjay strobes are you using and are you also using a light meter?

never use the flash!

Makes the most sense so far .. I have a few cameras .. and this is the only one giving me issues with the strobes .. seems to just be missing the boat ..

thanks

Lose the flash and trigger the strobes with pocket wizards.

Probably already been said in this thread but I only read the first post. :glugglug

Invest $450 in a pocket wizard. Trust me, it's worth it.

You can buy a Sony HVL-F1000 for about $100 almost anywhere like Best Buy. That'll solve your problem.

If you're cheap, there are options on eBay to do exactly what a Pocket Wizard does. Paul Buff also has released an inexpensive radio system ... see the remotes on the AlienBees site.

Me... I'm addicted to the Sekonic L-358 triggering the Pocket Wizards. No way I'm moving off of them... unless I decide to go to the Radio Popper system that pushes TTL info around.

yup...:thumbsup