On Sep 24, 2012, at 11:31 AM, Christine Nielsen wrote: > On Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 12:35 PM, Bruce Walker <bruce.wal...@gmail.com> wrote: >> I love the shot. >> > > Thanks, Bruce! > >> Can't help specifically with the system glitch, but I wonder if >> there's any chance the flash was the problem. > > Yes, I was thinking along those lines, too... I usually just use the > flash off-camera indoors, and I've never had an issue with the > wireless firing. Outside, in the middle of the track, though, found > I didn't have much range - couldn't get too far from the light stand & > still get the flash to fire. I wonder if the reflect-y silver lining > of the softbox gets in the way of the flash/camera communication...? > > And I did think maybe I should try some radio triggers... what kind > did you get? Whenever I start to think about getting some, I first > reason that I can rule out Pocket Wizards... But then, how cheap do > you go? I've considered the Paul C Buff triggers... but maybe ebay > triggers are just fine...?
I've got some of the cheap chinese radio triggers, about $10 for each transmitter or receiver. And they work OK, as long as the transmitter and receiver are within a few feet of each other and there is nothing (like a strobe body) between them. I get a fair number of missed triggers with them anyways, but for studio work it's not like you're blowing a dollar's worth of film/processing. Note: do not use fancy rechargeable batteries in the receivers, they run at a lower voltage than regular AAA batteries, and don't have nearly the sensitivity. Paul C Buff makes some great gear, and for reasonable prices for what you get. I recently acquired some old, simple pocket wizards. All they do is trigger, no control over flash intensity or anything. They seem to work a lot better than the cheap chinese ones. In short, for $20 or so, the cheap ones will more or less do the job most of the time, but you'll learn to love radio triggers and will eventually want to upgrade. If you don't mind spending $20 (or a bit more if you get spares, a trigger for your second body etc.) on something that you'll eventually just set aside as a spare, and don't mind the occasional (1 in 8 or 10) shot where the flash doesn't fire, they are a great deal. > > Thx, > -c > >> >> On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 10:38 PM, Christine Nielsen <ch...@inielsen.net> >> wrote: >>> Hello all, >>> >>> Here's a head-scratcher: >>> >>> Tonight, I was shooting senior portraits of my son. We had gone out >>> to the track at the high school, a place he holds quite dear, for the >>> occasion. As the evening grew darker, I had my flash (540) set up on >>> a stand & softbox, firing with the camera's wireless remote system. >>> All was fine, more or less, for several minutes. Until the camera >>> stopped shooting. I would press the shutter, and I'd get a flicker of >>> light (focus assist or pop up flash signalling the 540? not sure..), >>> but the shutter wouldn't fire. Several times I would re-focus and try >>> again, but nothing. I tried the following: >>> >>> - turning the whole thing off & on again >>> - turning off the focus assist light >>> - setting the AF to release priority, instead of focus priority >>> - using manual focus >>> - turning off flash, shooting manual exposure mode >>> - shooting in Av, Tv, Tav, P and AUTO >>> >>> None of these got the shutter to fire. >>> >>> We packed it in for the day, and when I got home, 20 minutes later, I >>> tried the camera again. Worked fine, in Av, M, Tav, etc... though I >>> didn't try it with the wireless flash again... Mind you, this whole >>> shutter mechanism was recently replaced (6 months ago) at CRIS. So, >>> I'm thinking I must be doing something wrong, or at least missing >>> something. What do you make of this? Any thoughts? >>> >>> Lastly, just for fun -- a peso. My son, Nick, from tonight. Looking >>> as bad as he is able... >>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/23028562@N04/8018036378/in/photostream/ >>> >>> Thanks in advance-- >>> :) >>> -c >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> - >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> PDML@pdml.net >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. >> >> >> >> -- >> -bmw >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
