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jfoust Offline Image Upload: Off p.1 #1 · Ugh newb question - PC Cable or optical slave? Hello everyone! I've been shooting a lot over the last years with a DSLR and it finally dawned on me that I could buy a starter monolight setup and do just as well as most generic photo places like JC Penny, etc, for taking pics of my kids. I finally convinced the wife to let me have a go at it, and before I start ordering junk, I am trying to figure out how to 'talk' to the strobes... The strobes I am looking at have a built in optical slave. I'm guessing that means I could take my hot shoe flash, aim it up in the air, and when it fires, the strobes also fire. They also have a PC Sync Socket. I'd need something to hook in with since my Rebel XT doesn't have a PC Socket. So I would have to buy a hot shoe adapter that gives me a PC socket or go with a remote transmitter/receiver. Obviously remote would be awesome, but more expensive! But that's not really my question.... The question I have is what is the advantage of PC vs the optical slave? It seems like there would be a slight imperceptible delay between my camera firing and the strobes realizing what happened and firing as well. Any downside to operating like this? Oct 07, 2008 at 07:56 PM

k7xd Offline Image Upload: Off p.1 #2 · Ugh newb question - PC Cable or optical slave? Optical slaves should work fine with the qualifier that your on camera flash might produce light in places that is undesirable. Electricity travels through hard wire at the "speed of light" so really no concerns there. Wireless is popular also. Lot's of pluses to using it. Oct 08, 2008 at 04:56 AM

cwebster Offline Image Upload: Off p.1 #3 · Ugh newb question - PC Cable or optical slave? If you are just starting out with a couple of lights, just buy a hot-shoe to PC adapter for $20 and focus (pun intended) on learning how to light portraits. Yes, having a trigger wire is a PITA, but since there are power cords to the strobes anyway (either pack & head or monoblock) one more wire won't make much difference. Once you have some experience under your belt, ditch as many wires as possible and go with Pocket Wizards, CyberSync, or similar. Your in-camera flash might work to trigger the strobes, but watch out for pre-flashes that are used for TTL metering. Your in-camera flash must be in manual mode to eliminate such. <Chas> Oct 08, 2008 at 05:12 AM

jfoust Offline Image Upload: Off p.1 #4 · Ugh newb question - PC Cable or optical slave? Ah great points! Thanks for the info! I was planning on getting the hot shoe to PC adapter for starters, but really hate being tied down... Taking pics a 4 year old and 10 month old tend to require a little movement. I might look into a cheapish wireless transmitter for the time being and then upgrade to pocket wizards down the road. I know the common thinking is don't waste your money on the cheap junk, buy something that will last (like pocket wizards) but it's just not in the budget right now, considering at the least I have to get monolights, a backdrop, and either build or buy something to hang that backdrop on! Ah well, thanks again for the advice, now I guess it's time to search around here for a recommended book on lighting! Oct 08, 2008 at 01:47 PM

Jeremy Conoley Offline Image Upload: On p.1 #5 · Ugh newb question - PC Cable or optical slave? I was in the exact same boat 6 months ago, my best advice is to get the hotshoe adapter now and you will have it as a back up when/if you get any wireless triggers. My 2 year old is enthralled with the PC cable, so I'm going to move to wireless to prevent the inevitible pull-crash-bang of the mono light. I think I'll look into the Cybersyncs by Alienbee/White Lightning, since i've never had any issues with their gear, and they're moderately priced. As for the Backdrop, my studio is in my tiny basement with 9' unfiinished ceilings, initially I bought 2 muslins to use as backdropss (one black and one white) and after the hassle of trying to keep the material wrinkle free I went out and got a roll of seamless paper. that was the best investment I could have made, it was about the same price and is MUCH easier to shoot on for me. For the background holder I went back to highschool days, I went to Home Depot, got a 12' length of 1" pipe and 2 screw in hooks and just put them into a 2x4 I had nailed to the joists of the basement ceiling. it's not portable, but it does give me a dedicated space to play with lighting. If you keep the seamless paper to a shorter length you can probably make a BG stand for realtively little cost if you don't have or want to use you homes foundation. an example of my tiny studio with one monolight and a reflector. (before the seamless, hence the wrinkled bg) Oct 08, 2008 at 03:11 PM

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