PC cords - am I missing something?

sheepflash

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Hey guys
I'm trying to figure out how to use my flash off-camera.

What I have is:
1) a hot shoe adapter on my camera with a female PC end.
2) a flash adapter, also with a female PC end.
3) a PC cord with 1 female end and 1 male end.

Ok so obviously this won't work, but the hot shoe adapter came with a mini PC cord of around 8-10 inches (what is its utility? pocket wizards?) with 2 male ends.

Basically my setup would be this:
CAMERA ADAPTER (female) <--> (male) Mini PC cord (male) <--> (female) PC cord (male) <--> (female) FLASH ADAPTER

So my question is this: Can I plug my PC cord with that little PC cord that came with the adapter? Am I supposed to do this?

I know that a male-male PC cord would work, but the guy at the camera store gave me this. I DID test this setup and it did work, but is there some sort of danger that I'm not aware of when plugging two cords together?

Sorry if the post seems confusing.
 
Sorry, what I got out of this was "Blah...blah...blah...Ginger...is there some sort of danger that I'm not aware of when plugging two cords together... blah...blah"

So, to answer that question, if the cords mate properly (ie you're not forcing them together) then there should be no danger whatsoever, just a small degree of annoyance.
 
A picture is worth a thousand words... I also had a little difficulty making heads or tails from the post.
 
I DID test this setup and it did work, but is there some sort of danger that I'm not aware of when plugging two cords together?.

No danger other than it's another connection that could possibly fail. If you are going to use pc cords a lot buy a "pc conditioner". It's a cheap little device that helps you bend pc ends back into place. Then tend to get loose with lot's of use.

If you are always going to use it this way just tape them together, or buy the cord you need.
 
Alright thank you

Note to Jerry:
I hope you're not venturing outside today, it's freezing as hell in montreal.
 
The server room I am in is a balmy 45F... lol
 
Wait a minute, 45° Fahrenheit? Isn't that really cold? Like 5° Celsius? And doesn't "balmy" mean soothing?

Are you saying you like it that cold?
45 degrees Fahrenheit sounds like paradise to me right now (32 is freezing, so it's still spring time weather)

You don't find +7(ish) celcius balmy compared to our current weather here in Alberta?
 
7° Celsius indoors is very uncomfortable. Normal room temperature is 21°C.

And yes, I'm very surprised at our biting cold this last week. Where the hell are all the Chinooks this year? I want to see another gymnasium's roof blow off this year, like last year. :D
 
Wait a minute, 45° Fahrenheit? Isn't that really cold? Like 5° Celsius? And doesn't "balmy" mean soothing?

Are you saying you like it that cold?

Compared to -23C, which is what it was outside here yesterday (before wind chill factor!!)... a cool server room *is* balmy... lol
 
I suggest you buy a pc cord that is at least six feet long if you plan on using your flash off-camera as this will allow you to either hand hold the flash or put it on a light stand to achieve the angle of illumination you want. It should have the male connector at one end and the female connector at the other.

Whenever you couple your flash through multiple cords you run a risk of failure - keep it simple by using one cord. And if you're doing a paying assignment you should have an extra cord as a back up.
 
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