Actor's Portrait in Studio

DanOstergren · Aug 24, 2019

A couple of days ago I bought a sync cable for a flash unit that had previously been donated to my house's "community studio cabinet"; up until now I have only been able to use the modeling lamp on the flash unit because there was nothing to sync it with a camera. Yesterday I decided to go to the camera store and just get a sync cable since I have been the only one in the house using the equipment anyways. I know radio triggers are a better option and investment, but I couldn't argue with a $15 price tag on the cable and can't really justify spending too much money right now.

The flash unit is a Neewer C-300 with a rectangular softbox attached. Shot on a Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens attached set to f/8, 1/250th sec, ISO 100.

Jeff15 · Aug 24, 2019

Nice one.......

DanOstergren · Aug 24, 2019

Jeff15 said:
Nice one.......

Thank you.

Derrel · Aug 24, 2019

Yeah, the old manual way of attaching a flash to a camera, a synchronization cable, it's pretty reliable… I used the same Paramount sync cord from 1986 until 2001, when I got my first radio triggering system...even today the sync cable proves its worth!

Tinstafl · Aug 24, 2019

I carry one with me all the time as a backup incase the trigger does not work. It is pretty simple but it is a wire.

Derrel · Aug 24, 2019

Never any confusion about channels, or doubt about battery life. As long as the cable is connected correctly, it works. Never any complicated troubleshooting issues, which arise even with the best of triggers. I own two sets of Pocket Wizzard brand triggers, and recently I've begun to experience difficulty with one set. Just last week it took me 10 minutes or so to get the damn things to work right.

DanOstergren · Aug 24, 2019

Derrel said:
Yeah, the old manual way of attaching a flash to a camera, a synchronization cable, it's pretty reliable… I used the same Paramount sync cord from 1986 until 2001, when I got my first radio triggering system...even today the sync cable proves its worth!

Just curious, as it's something I'm relatively unfamiliar with, but do sync cables prevent you from being able to control the output of a flash, or does that have to do with the flash unit itself? I found that in the case of this shoot, I was only able to control the exposure with the aperture, ISO and shutter speed, and turning the dial down on the flash head had no effect other than changing the output of the modeling lamp.

In hindsight after writing this, I realize I could google it.

DanOstergren · Aug 24, 2019

Tinstafl said:
I carry one with me all the time as a backup incase the trigger does not work. It is pretty simple but it is a wire.

I'm definitely keeping this one on hand for studio shoots, even if I get a trigger.

DanOstergren · Aug 24, 2019

Derrel said:
Never any confusion about channels, or doubt about battery life. As long as the cable is connected correctly, it works. Never any complicated troubleshooting issues, which arise even with the best of triggers. I own two sets of Pocket Wizzard brand triggers, and recently I've begun to experience difficulty with one set. Just last week it took me 10 minutes or so to get the damn things to work right.

Yeah, I think the only real issue I had was having the cable unplug from my old camera fairly easily a couple of time, but that's probably for the best so nothing get's toppled over if it's yanked too hard.

Derrel · Aug 24, 2019

There is a tool designed to make the PC cable fit the camera more tightly, but you are correct, if the cable comes unhooked relatively easily, it prevents an accidental tipping over of the light on the stand.

DanOstergren · Aug 24, 2019

Derrel said:
There is a tool designed to make the PC cable fit the camera more tightly, but you are correct, if the cable comes unhooked relatively easily, it prevents an accidental tipping over of the light on the stand.

At this point I still need to invest in a sandbag, so I'll take it as a blessing right now.

paigew · Aug 25, 2019

Beautiful. Your portraits and editing always have such a great sense of depth to them.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Derrel · Aug 25, 2019

One way to prevent light stands from tipping over easily is to zip tie or tape or wire the power cord to the bottom of the center shaft of the light stand. That way when, not if, somebody trips on the power cord,the force tends to scoot the light stand across the floor. When the cable runs from the floor directly to the light head,a pull on the power cord,and the stand is pulled at the top and tends to tip over.when combined with a roller base on the light stand, and the cable tied directly to the bottom of the light stand, it is almost impossible to tip over the light when you trip on the cord.

Perhaps the power output selector switch on the Flash is not working right.using a sync cord should not affect the power output selector switch in any way.

One thing to consider is that when the sync cable was developed , basically all studio electronic flash systems were of the box and cable type where a 5 to 30 pound flash generator sat on the floor close to the camera and roughly 20 foot cables ran from the pack up to each of the lights. The cable for synchronization of the flash went from the power pack to the camera,so using a sync cable was not the same in the old days as it is today with the modern type of monolight flashes that pretty much first made their appearance in the 1980s.