I'm trying to find the most cost effective way for me to get rear curtain sync with my studio strobes. I'm currently using the Profoto Air system for syncing and I do not believe it is possible to do this with either my Canon 5D MK II or my Pentax K-7.
I understand that the Pocket Wizard Multimax will give me this capability.. Can I just purchase one Multimax and one regular pocket wizard? Then I could set my other strobes to optical slave or perhaps plug the output of the regular pocket wizard into the input of one of my air's...
Or perhaps I don't even need the regular pocket wizard and could just plug an output of the Multimax into the input of one of my Air's danging from the camera?
Thoughts? There are times when working with other photographers that the pocket wizards would come in handy, but it's quite an expensive thing just to get rear curtain sync.
You only need a Multimax for the transmitter, any model receiver will work. Buying a Multimax and PlusII would offer an excellent backup, which I can guarantee that you will need sooner or later. And you can trigger your Air with the output port on the MM, you just have to enable it.
you can save money and buy a MiniTT1 or FlexTT5, as they both now give canon cameras 2nd curtain sync capability and work with any pocketwizard receiver and any flash on the other end.
they trigger on standard pocket wizard channels just fine, and auto-detect camera shutter speed and engage 2nd curtain when you dip below 1/100.
works like a charm.
they're also more accurate with 2nd curtain timing than the Multimax.
If I were asked to do a second-curtain effect that involves studio strobes, and I didn't have a MultiMax, I'd mount a Canon flash (a 580EX II, for example) on the camera, set it to manual mode (so it would produce no pre-flash), dial it down (or aim the flash away from the subject) so that its light doesn't add to the overall exposure, and then set either the flash or the camera to second-curtain sync. When the shutter is pressed, the Canon flash would fire at the end of the exposure and the optical slaves on the studio strobes would fire in synchronization. It has worked for me.
You know what you're trying to achieve with second curtain sync; I don't. On the off chance you're dealing with slow shutter speeds, here's some helpful advice from Robert Seale on how to manage the effect without using the technology:
"People have asked me about whether we used rear-sync on these. Actually, we were using Dyna-Lite studio strobes with a Hasselblad at the time…..so there was no rear sync. I have found, over time….while shooting with slow-sync speed exposures with strobe, that if you have people leap into the air, and if you fire the exposure (and strobe) right at the apex of the leap, that the blur falls below the subject…making it appear that it is a rear-sync picture. It is sort of like panning backwards…it gives you the same look as a rear-sync, but you can precisely control the moment that you want strobed. Personally, I think rear-sync, unless the exposure is very short, leaves too much to chance.
"As far as rear sync goes....it does work....but I learned another trick for that years ago.....sort of a ghetto rear-sync. If you have your strobes on regular sync, and you are shooting slow shutter near dusk, simply pan your camera ahead of the subject in the opposite direction that you want the blur/shadow to show up....this will give you the blur shadow behind your subject. The downside is it blurs everything else, too. No big deal if you’re just shooting someone against a sky, but if you have buildings or other items in the background that you want to be clear, then you should use the Pocketwizard method."
Good info. I've wondered about this too. I use a combo of PW fired ABs with on-camera bounced speedlight at wedding receptions. Looks like my solution is going to entail the multimax.
I do not understand this question. My Olympus cameras you set second curtain sync in the menu and you get second curtain sync. It does not need any particular flash unit. All second curtain sync is is firing the flash just before the shutter closed rather than just after it opens, it is entirely camera dependent.
I shot that by moving the camera. The flash radio sync'ed, so the camera only controlled firing the flash. Camera Olypus e420, FL-40 flash, Yongnuo RF-602 radio trigger, 1/4 sec, f/5.6, flash on auto. Camera sync set to Slow2 (second curtain).
I think that shows that 2nd curtain sync is not flash dependent.
