Haaalp!! Studio lighting moron here!

[SabrinaO]

Will it work with the d5000? I was thinking of putting my cactus trigger on my hotshoe and speedlight, and hiding the speedlight so I can use that as a trigger for my AB's.

Hes crying because i took away all the rest of the cookies... LOL

 

[SabrinaO]

oh wait... this wont work, because the AB's need to see the signal from the cactus... ugh. Ill check out that trigger!

 

[mwcfarms]

I have the cactus triggers, I put one on my Alien Bee and one on my D90. Its radio signal not infrared so it should work. I can also put it on my speedlight and that will trigger all three of them.

 

[mwcfarms]

Why do you want to hide your speedlight? You can always use that as fill, or background seperation etc.

 

[SabrinaO]

Because I have two AB's and only use them mainly... and i need something to trigger the AB's. Ill use the sb600 if i need it for a seperation or to blow out a background though. You said the cactus v4 works on the AB?? really?

 

[SabrinaO]

OMG my AB's are at my studio so I can't test it out now... but i just saw one of the pics Ive taken of my alien bee and saw a "headphone jack" (sorry i don't know the correct name for it) on it. Theres also a "headphone jack" on my cactus... so all i need is the right connector and it will work wirelessly? I just thought the cactus was for speedlights because its a hotshoe adapter

 

[mwcfarms]

Yep you just need the correct size of connector pin which should have come with your Cactus 4 set.

 

[SabrinaO]

OMG I love you lol...
But so many pictures ive ruined because i thought I had to use my on camera flash as a trigger for the AB's. I had everything i needed under my nose! Thanks for you help! Im looking at the connector now...lol. How do you secure your cactus to your AB? I was thinking about just using the hook and loop tape so I can take it on and off easily.

 

[mwcfarms]

Haha Um a piece of electrical tape, if I even bother. It doesn't come off. I have two receivers, I leave one on the Bee all the time.

 

[gsgary]

It's not rocket science

 

[Big Mike]

f.8... im gonna try that! Its so easy to forget that adjusting shutter speed and aperture controls the light also!

As I mentioned above, aperture is one of the things that controls exposure from the flash/strobe....but shutter speed in not.

Shutter speed has no affect on flash exposure, as long as you keep it under your camera's max sync speed (1/200).

Remember that you need to keep the camera in Manual mode when using these studio strobes.

 

[raphaelaaron]

Set your ISO to 160.

I don't think that the D5000 can set it's ISO in 1/3 stops...and like most Nikon DSLR cameras, it won't go lower than ISO 200.

yeah, i was generally saying a low iso. i set mine to 160, but 200 still works.

 

[SabrinaO]

I think i always have my apertures at 5.6 or even 3.5 with my kit. I shoot in manual, but i don't adjust the aperture much... which I should.

 

[Big Mike]

I think i always have my apertures at 5.6 or even 3.5 with my kit.

Those are going to be your worst apertures, especially with a cheap kit lens. On of the big benefits of having your own (powerful) studio lights, is that you can easily shoot at F8 or F11, which is like the sweet spot of your lens (give or take). This lets you get the best quality out of your cheap lens.

 

[SabrinaO]

I think i always have my apertures at 5.6 or even 3.5 with my kit.

Those are going to be your worst apertures, especially with a cheap kit lens. On of the big benefits of having your own (powerful) studio lights, is that you can easily shoot at F8 or F11, which is like the sweet spot of your lens (give or take). This lets you get the best quality out of your cheap lens.

Really? I had no idea of that! Another gem ill try tomorrow.. .thanks