# Hello to the PhotoForum! Anyone know about strobe lighting?



## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

I'm a second year photography student, just getting ready to take a studio photography class in a few weeks. Got my (2) strobe light kit, a "hot-shoe" for my NikonD3100 and NikonD5100 although I had a hard time finding out just what these were and what they were for. My disappointment grows as I try and try to get answers about initial hook-up and synchronization of my cameras and strobe lights. Most sites I've been to are so advanced I'm treated like an idiot. I'm hoping that my stumbling on this site might prove beneficial. So, does anyone here have experience with strobe lighting, or can you guide me to an informational website I might look at? Thanks to everyone who reads and considers. Happy photographing! Deb Sturm


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## Designer (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi, Deb.  Yes, there are many on this site who have extensive experience with strobe lighting, although I'm not one of them.

It will help quite a bit to tell exactly what your strobe units are, and how you intend to use them.


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## amolitor (Jan 8, 2013)

Are you having trouble connecting strobes to your cameras?

I have a little cube-shaped widget that slips into the hotshoe. On one side of the cube is a little metal peg with a hole in it -- this is a PC cord socket. From this I run a PC cord to whatever I like. When the camera's shutter fires it indicates this fact on the PC socket, firing the strobe(s). Done and done!

There are radio-based solutions as well, which perform some equivalent task, but those are for modern people and I don't know how they connect to a D3100 or a D5100. Someone else does, and they will surely chime in soon, however!


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks amolitor, you are so kind to take the time to help. I'm clear so far on your explanation, but I have (2) strobe lights and will soon have a total of (4) strobes. How are they connected to control at the same time? My kit did come with a remote control capable of handling (7) lights. Is this where I need to concentrate? Thanks again, Deb


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

I'm a student, so I had to start out small, so my first purchase is an Impact VC-500LR 500w MONOLIGHT 2-LT KIT . 250watts each, and I just ordered the hot shoe adapter for my cameras. I will be using the strobes for studio lighting (mostly portrait work) and whatever else my school decides I need to use them for. Sorry to be so stupid, my background is in graphic art and I've only been using DSLR for a couple years now. I've already taken over 30,000 pictures and have learned a lot but now it's time for my next class which is Studio Photography. I will be adding an addition Impact VC-500LR 500w MONOLIGHT 2-LT KIT in the near future for a total of (4) strobe lights necessary for Portraiture Class. The instructions that were included with the kit are poor at best. They are designed for seasoned professionals who know what they are doing. I hope this helps, I appreciate your time and expertise. Deb


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## amolitor (Jan 8, 2013)

My solution, which is pretty ghetto and not up to date at all, is to optically slave my strobes.

Many strobes have an optical slave function built in -- when the appropriate switch is flipped or button is depressed, the strobe will fire whenever it detects ("sees") another strobe firing. For strobes that don't, I have a handy little device that "sees" other strobes going off and fires whatever strobe it's plugged into the PC socket of.

There are, I think, better ways to do this! It seems to me there OUGHT to be a a little box where you plug the cord from the camera in, which has 4 PC sockets on it, but I've never seen one and I don't know for sure if it exists.

Someone is sure to mention Pocket Wizards pretty soon, which are the standard radio-based solution.


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## jwbryson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

Deb, welcome to the forum.  :mrgreen:

Find Derrel and send him a PM.  He will answer your questions.   Amolitor is right that PW's are the "standard" in terms of radio triggers, but I'm not familiar enough with your lighting set up to be 100% certain that they work with radio triggers.

Good luck!


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## rtr (Jan 8, 2013)

hey deb,  do a search for ... the strobist...dave  hobby ... he's also has a blog ...google plus... he is THE Authority... if it's not on his site ... it ain't important...all kinds of tutorials , examples, info... and much of it geared for low budget...radio triggers, flash slaves, etc. covered...


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## Robin_Usagani (Jan 8, 2013)

The remote you are talking about is just a remote to control the settings of up to 7 strobes.  It will not trigger them.  So you can control the power of each 7 strobes without walking up to each of them.  You have to connect ONE to your camera via radio trigger OR PC cable.  This one strobe will trigger the rest.  You can also trigger them with your speedlite or internal flash probably.


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks again amolitor, my best to you. Deb


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## cgipson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

According to the info on B&H, the remote control will allow you to set the various controls, light output, etc.. on the monolights and that is it, although it is a very nice feature. That remote has nothing to do with actually firing the flashes though.

They do have optical slave capability, and appear to have the standard 1/4" female jack on them for remote actuation. They do come with some 1/4" to PC sync cords... which will probably work fine with the hotshoe adapters you picked up, so that is one solution. 

What I would suggest is to pick up some wireless remotes (pocket wizards (maybe plus 3?), calumet litelinks, or any of the positively reviewed 3rd part wireless remotes like the Yongnuo's  or similar (see Amazon.. search on wireless flash trigger) .... and get the appropriate cable to attach them to the monolights (there is one list on B&H under the Accessories tab 1/4" to 1/8" mono). This will allow you to use the lights, without having worry about tripping over cables... very simple and easy to use!


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

AH-HA! An explanation! You have NO idea how much this has helped me. My "lightbulbs" are going off now and I would sure like to thank you. This makes complete sense to me now. THANKS! deb


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi Charlie, I'm Deb. Thanks for the info. everyone here is being SO helpful and kind. I'm impressed. I'm so tired of people who are condescending and stingy with their experience, this place is a breath of fresh air. I will check out the pocket wizards for remote, and again, thank you. Deb


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## Robin_Usagani (Jan 8, 2013)

Deb, go set these strobes to SLAVE mode.  Then try snapping pictures with your internal flash.  See if that will trigger them.


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## jwbryson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

DebSturm said:


> this place is a breath of fresh air.




Give us time!  We're like fish and visitors in the home---both begin to stink after 3 days...

:smileys:


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks jw, for the info. and the welcome. It's nice to find a "nice" place to get some answers about photography! I'm really excited to have found this site. Deb


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi Robin, I don't have my hot shoe unit yet, it should arrive by Friday. I will then attempt the procedure you have suggested, I have a feeling I will have good results. I'll let you all know later. Thank you all again! Deb


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## cgipson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

DebSturm said:


> Hi Charlie, I'm Deb. Thanks for the info. everyone here is being SO helpful and kind. I'm impressed. I'm so tired of people who are condescending and stingy with their experience, this place is a breath of fresh air. I will check out the pocket wizards for remote, and again, thank you. Deb



Hello Deb,

Pocket Wizards are very versatile, and one of the best choices IMO... but also more expensive than some of the other choices. Do a little research and get what you need... ask questions here as needed. The monolights are manual only.... in that they won't work with TTL (auto flash exposure, basically)... so you don't really need wireless triggers that are TTL capable for instance.


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## cgipson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

DebSturm said:


> Hi Robin, I don't have my hot shoe unit yet, it should arrive by Friday. I will then attempt the procedure you have suggested, I have a feeling I will have good results. I'll let you all know later. Thank you all again! Deb




You don't even need a hot shoe unit to test that.... use the pop-up flash on your camera (assuming it has one)... set the monolights to slave, and fire. They should go off!


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

LOL! Photography may be new to me, but good people are not, and I think I may have found a nest of them here! Thanks for the smile. Deb


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## DebSturm (Jan 8, 2013)

Gotcha! Man, you guys are soooooooooooo helpful! Thanks! Deb


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## jwbryson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

If you don't want to spend the $$$ on Pocket Wizards (2wheelphoto will be devastated!), then you can go dirt cheap with Cowboy Studio radio triggers, seen here Amazon.com: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Hot Shoe Flash Trigger Receiver: Camera & Photo
These work fine but they can misfire at times.  Some people swear by them. I own a set as "backup" only.

My primary radio triggers are these units which are priced mid-range:  Amazon.com: Strato II Wireless 5 in 1 Trigger Set for Nikon: Electronics


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## cgipson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

I would strongly advise against Cowboy Studio anything..lol! (But I will admit, that is a personal bias!)  

But the Stratos that Jeff mentions above, or the Yongnuo's, or some others mentioned in previous threads that you can search for.. will do fine for starting out. If you want professional level gear, the Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers, and some of the Lighting manufacturer OEM stuff is good!


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## kundalini (Jan 8, 2013)

I have been using Paul C Buff CyberSync's for a few years now without any misfiring.  I use them for speedlights and monolights.  If you want to optically slave your lights, you would only need one trasmitter and one receiver.  However, I have a receiver for each light, perhaps that explains no misfiring.   


*Paul C. Buff - CyberSync*


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## Robin_Usagani (Jan 8, 2013)

cgipson1 said:


> I would strongly advise against Cowboy Studio anything..lol! (But I will admit, that is a personal bias!)



It is $28 bucks and you get 1 transmitter and 2 receivers.  What do you expect?  You cant beat the price and it does what it is supposed to do.  


Cowboy studio trigger has played a HUGE role in my photography development.  I have dropped and stepped on one receiver before.  It broke.. guess what.. I didnt feel bad.  $12 down the toilet.. no biggie.  If it wasnt because of Cowboy studio trigger, I wont learn OCF as early as I did and may still be a "natural light" photographer.


Now if you lose your PW.. you may cry.


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## smalltowngirl13 (Jan 8, 2013)

Welcome aboard Deb!


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## cgipson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

Robin_Usagani said:


> cgipson1 said:
> 
> 
> > I would strongly advise against Cowboy Studio anything..lol! (But I will admit, that is a personal bias!)
> ...



They are ok to learn with I suppose, as long as you don't need absolute  reliability. I have never actually used the Cowboy triggers, but have  ordered two different strobe frames from them because they provided what  I needed.. both of which literally fell apart when I tried to use them.




Robin_Usagani said:


> *Now if you lose your PW.. you may cry*.



Nope ... they are insured... or I would just buy another! Five is enough for now though...


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## Robin_Usagani (Jan 8, 2013)

cgipson1 said:


> Robin_Usagani said:
> 
> 
> > *Now if you lose your PW.. you may cry*.
> ...




Dude.. come on.. you wont contact your insurance when you lose one trigger.  You have deductible you know.  My deductible is $250.  If I lose my 50mm f/1.4 lens, I wont bother contacting them.


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## cgipson1 (Jan 8, 2013)

Robin_Usagani said:


> cgipson1 said:
> 
> 
> > Robin_Usagani said:
> ...



If I only lost one or two.. yes. If I lost all of them, I would probably also lose other gear, since they are all in whatever bag I am using at the moment... that would go to insurance! lol!


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## osumisan (Jan 13, 2013)

I have read this thread and just want to clarify that I understood the information correctly:

I am learning the art of studio shooting and am blown away at how some of the seemingly simple tasks still take careful planning.  In trying to combine a studio strobe with an SB600 speedlight, I get confused and this thread seems to cover the subject.  I have been able to fire my strobe (cheap JL 180v eBay purchase) with it connected to my D700 via sync cable AND with it connected via wireless transmitter (another cheap eBay purchase).  My SB600 has worked fine on camera and off-camera in slave mode.  I want to use them together and seem to be missing a detail.

*Senario:* D700 connected to strobe via sync cable, and SB600 is in slave mode off-camera (channel 3, group A).  Should the strobe trigger the SB600 in this situation?  On the camera menu, is the strobe the 'built-in flash' and SB600 is 'group A'?  Should both be set in TTL mode or only one?  Do I need to have the on-board flash popped up in this situation to trigger the SB600?  

I am confused as to if the on-board flash is 'built-in flash' and strobe AND SB600 are classified as groups A and B or if whichever flash is connected via sync cable is considered on-board flash?  Could I have worded this any worse 

My main problem is I seem to get one flash to fire or the other, but not both.


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## cgipson1 (Jan 13, 2013)

osumisan said:


> I have read this thread and just want to clarify that I understood the information correctly:
> 
> I am learning the art of studio shooting and am blown away at how some of the seemingly simple tasks still take careful planning.  In trying to combine a studio strobe with an SB600 speedlight, I get confused and this thread seems to cover the subject.  I have been able to fire my strobe (cheap JL 180v eBay purchase) with it connected to my D700 via sync cable AND with it connected via wireless transmitter (another cheap eBay purchase).  My SB600 has worked fine on camera and off-camera in slave mode.  I want to use them together and seem to be missing a detail.
> 
> ...


 
If you have the SB-600 setup to use CLS... that will not work unless you raise your pop-up flash, or use an SU-800 on top of your camera. CLS uses IR / pre-flash .. not optical slave. The SB-600 does not have an SU-4 mode, which you would need for the setup you describe .. but you could use one of these Amazon.com: optical slave trigger (put the flash in Manual)

I am not familiar with the JL strobe you describe (from Ebay)... but if it is a monolight, then it may have a optical slave mode built in. Use the SB-600 to set it off... not the other way around.

Or get a hotshoe adapter that will allow multiple PC cables to hook up, and use cables on all of it. Or buy another wireless unit to put the SB-600 on....


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