Digital camera with "flash cable" port -- Please help a new guy

Trevor_1971

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Hi guys,

First, thanks for taking the time to read this post and help me out if you are able. I see this is a subforum for "Beginners" -- well, I'm not really even that.

My father is a photo enthusiast, but he's older and is unfamiliar with digital technology. He has a problem, and he's turned to me for help ("can you research it on the internet, son?").

Here is how he described it to me: He has a Nikon (35mm) pictured below. There is a port (I don't even know the name of the port but it's pictured below also, in his photo) on the camera into which he can plug a cable, which splits into two cables, each controlling what he calls a "strobe" -- I think he means a flash.

When he snaps a photo, the two lights ("strobes") flash simultaneously. This is important for what he does, since the kind of photos he takes do not work well with a single, camera-mounted front flash.

He said he got a nice digital camera -- a Nikon D80 -- but that is not capable of supporting this cable. He's very frustrated.

Now for the question: he's asked me which good digital camera can use his old cable setup. He'd like to spend under about $700 but for the right one he could go a bit higher.

Can you guys point me in the right direction? I would dearly like to help guide him but this is so far out of my area of expertise that I don't know where to begin.

My very best regards, and thanks for your help,

Trevor
 

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Sorry Mods, I just read the Notice on the use of this forum and see this should probably be in Equipment and Products. Should have read before posting. Please move the thread over there if it's more appropriate.
 
Thanks very much for your quick help Josh.

He'll be happy to know an adapter could help -- certainly cheaper.

Can I ask you, then: how does a digital photographer operate remote flashes if not with a PC port?
 
Sorry, another question:

I want to order the Vello Universal Adapter for him. It says it won't support TTL flash. Is that a potential problem?

Really appreciate the help guys.

Best,
Trevor
 
Thanks very much for your quick help Josh.

He'll be happy to know an adapter could help -- certainly cheaper.

Can I ask you, then: how does a digital photographer operate remote flashes if not with a PC port?

Usually, the higher end DSLR cameras do equip with PC sync port. At least both my Canon 40D and 7D has the port. However, photographer can use wireless trigger to trigger the flashes/strobes.
 
If his external strobes connect with a PC sync cord, then they don't support TTL anyway. TTL requires additional pins. If you look at the hot-shoe socket on a modern DSLR, you'll notice a number of pins. But a PC sync cord only has two pins. The hot-shoe socket's center pin is one of the two. The ground pin is actually the plate of the hot shoe itself.

Your father is likely already familiar with setting the camera to use flashes with manually controlled power and won't rely on TTL. Manual flash power is simply based on full (1/1), half (1/2), quarter (1/4), 1/8, 1/16th, etc. as these work just like full stops of exposure in aperture and shutter speed. That, and the "inverse square" rule help you use studio lights (meaning moving the flash closer or farther from a subject is the same as dialing the power up and down. You can lookup the "inverse square" rule on a site like Wikipedia for the details and how distance changes based on the square root of 2 will double or halve the amount of light. E.g. if a light was 10' away and you move the light back to 14' away (which coincidentally happens to be 10 x 1.4 ... and note that 1.4 happens to be the rounded off value for the square root of 2) then the amount of light on the subject will be half of what it was when the light was 10' away. And at 20' away, it'll be half of what it was at 14' away. You can also use a dedicated incident light meter capable of metering for flash to determine the correct exposure.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks very much for your help.

TCampbell, some of your post went over my head, but I gathered enough to know that my dad can use the Vello adapter, which will make him extremely happy. I ordered him one for father's day. If it doesn't work out, I will check back into this thread and ask for help again.

My very sincere thanks.

Trevor
 

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