By inserting a Wein Peanut Slave into the the PC cord socket the Vivitar 283 speedlight that a friend mailed me, I can convert it to a slaved unit. That will make the old flash safe to use with my camera if the D200 is used in Commander Mode. I will need an umbrella swivel adapter for the top of my existing lightweight light stand. Thus equipped. I will have a portable single light strobist unit. I'll need a bag too.......
Since you're tinkering with older strobes, this might be handy:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html
Obviously a trigger of 230 volts would fry an optical slave or the flash IC on a digital camera, so I hope it's a post-1987 Chinese 283.
I like the older flashes that were after the mains-level voltage era, but before the piss-weak computerized ones--when a 50 guide number meant 50 feet at ISO 25 & 35mm equivalent coverage, not 100 at 50mm; a compact flash with a juuuust enough power to bounce off an umbrella.
I have this swivel adapter: http://www.mpex.com/browse.cfm/4,11776.html
ReplyDeleteIt's quite a bit smaller than the full sized adapters and fits nicely in a small sling bag for on-the-go lighting! It has no problem with the 43" compact fold umbrella that I've been using with it.
Also-
In lieu of a bag, you can always drill a couple of holes, thread in a couple of key rings and have a nice little handle/sling in that manner.
Congrats on the cool new strobist gear! :)
Thanks J. Brinks, I should have listed that link to prevent any misunderstanding. My intended use is an off camera slave strobe.
ReplyDeleteX,
ReplyDeleteConsidering what you're spending on your studio gear, if you're interested in a lower-cost set up, there's always these guys:
http://www.ephotodiscounters.com/
And these items:
http://www.ephotodiscounters.com/index.php?cPath=8
http://www.ephotodiscounters.com/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=33
(I bought my light stands as a kit, including the umbrellas, studs and adapters, and paid a lot less than the individual item prices.)
OK, sorry but slaved lights reminds me of a story I heard but didn't actually see...
ReplyDeleteBack in college I had a part time job helping at the planetarium; a standard job for the physics majors. By then the Halloween light show had evolved to some pretty nice special effects (for 1990, and by 1994 it was automated with an Apple II.) But...
A few years before, they'd done a show on the Tunguska Event. One of the effects involved two wires strung across the dome; they had a small voltage across them. A tissue wrapped light bulb would slide down them to the edge of the dome. My late boss, a serious amateur photographer, would hold up a handheld flash and trigger the several, high power, slaved strobes around the dome. When you're dark adapted, that's impressive to the point of painful.
All well and good, until during the next week, strobes still plugged in, a class full of 3rd graders was in getting a show, and one of them ignored the request "please, no flash photography."
75 kids doing a simultaneous dump.
- Mike
When my kids played hockey, I used a 283 with on a light stand with a slave on the other side of the rink.. I set it off with the on camera flash. Worked fairly well.Too bad I dropped and broke the strobe.....
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