Is a Wein safe sync really necessary?

[Conk]

Is the Wein Safe Sync really necessary? I've been told by a couple people here that this is what I'm going to need to hook my D-Rebel up to my new Alien Bees strobes as the camera has no pc outlet. I recall someone saying something about regulating voltage to 6 volts and under.
I was just at Lens and Shutter to buy some goodies and the salesman told me it just simply was not true. He handed me this, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=Azeyt0KXCB!-1943256015?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=89979&is =REG and said it was all I needed. He said that the Hama only makes contact with the one large contact whereas the Wein contacts all 5.
Now, I have to be cautious of not damaging my camera but also the cost difference is more than $100.00.
There has got to be someone around here with some personal experience with this.

[chris.bailey]

The Hama just gives you another flash socket from the hotshoe. The Wein will also regulate the sync voltage from your AB's to the 6v the Canon is designed for. I have heard of people who link up all sorts of things to their sync terminal with no problems but also heard tales of fried flash sync contacts.

I do seem to recall that the AB's use quite a low sync voltage, worth checking their website. My Bowens units sync at 24v so I always put the Wein in between.

[Conk]

It did seem that after I told the salesman that I was hooking up the Bees he then suggested the Hama. I've e-mailed Canon tech support to see what they've got to say.

[4walls]

I was in a photo store while in Ottawa and the salesman there (seemed to know his digital stuff fairly well) recommended this for my Canon G3.

Nikon hot shoe adapter (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=AzeQ1qaSFL!-1943256015?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=y es&O=SearchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=nikon+hot+shoe+ada pter)

A second store in the same area recommended the same thing. One contact and they figured it would be safe on my digicam.

[scottbergerphoto]

The 10D Hot Shoe/PC circuit is only designed to handle 6V. It is attached directly to the shutter. If you fry the circuit you may need to replace your shutter$$$$$$. Some flash units use over 200volts in the firing circuit when they fire. Unless you have tested the firing voltage with a voltmeter or are using a unit dedicated to Canon, it would be senseless to not use a Safe Sync or wireless means of firing.
I suggest you read this:
http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/
Salesmen are not your best source of technical information.

Do Not Use the Nikon Hot Shoe Adapter. It has no voltage protection.

Scott

[slejhamer]

I would agree with Scott's comments with one exception: the Alien Bees are supposedly low-voltage and might be okay with just the hama. That is among the reasons I would consider them over some less expensive lights.

Hopefully someone who as tested them (or uses them regularly without a safe sync) can comment further.

[Conk]

Thanks Scott. Hopefully Canon can give me the definite answer, but also a piece of mind for $129.00 seems worth it.

[scottbergerphoto]

I believe you can test it yourself by connecting a PC cord to one of the Alien Bees and trip it by touching the probes of a Voltmeter to the contacts on the PC cord. It should trip the flash and record the voltage. If it's 6v or less your fine.
Scott

[Conk]

I believe you can test it yourself by connecting a PC cord to one of the Alien Bees and trip it by touching the probes of a Voltmeter to the contacts on the PC cord. It should trip the flash and record the voltage. If it's 6v or less your fine.
Scott
Sounds like a good idea Scott. I also got a reply from Canon but when I first e-mailed them I never mentioned I was using Alien Bees.
Here is the reply I got.
Dear Mr. Conk,

Thank you for your inquiry on the EOS Digital Rebel.

We are sorry to inform you that Canon does not supply specifications to
or test with other manufacturers products. Therefore, there is always
the possibility that they will not interact properly with our cameras.

If you choose to use the EOS Digital Rebel with studio lighting
equipment, we suggest using a Safety Sync device (which can be obtained
from Wein) to protect the camera from the voltage of the lighting
system. The Digital Rebel has a trigger voltage of 6 volts. Studio
flash units may well exceed this voltage. High voltage flashes should
not be attached to the camera's hot shoe. When connected in this
manner, such flashes may not fire.

If the studio strobes were to damage the camera, the repairs would
likely cost more than the cost of this cable.

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact
us if you have any further questions or concerns.

Thank you for choosing Canon.

Sincerely,

Chris
Product Support Representative

Customer Satisfaction... The most important product we support!

I will now send an e-mail to Alien Bees. And see what they say.
Maybe I'm going through too much trouble to save $100.00. :?

[Vegas Poboy]

Just some info & I'm not sure if I'm just one of the lucky ones. I have the 10D and have been using it with strobes for the past six months and has had no problems. At the college we use Visateks, profotos & photogenics all with the 10d & 1Ds. The school is very carefull concerning the cameras & lights, I have not yet seen anyone use the safe sync. I do own one & used it for my 35mm film SLR's but not yet on the 10D. I also own AlienBees lighting for the past month & have not yet had a problem.
Just a little info from my daily usage.
Good Luck

[robertwgross]

I believe you can test it yourself by connecting a PC cord to one of the Alien Bees and trip it by touching the probes of a Voltmeter to the contacts on the PC cord. It should trip the flash and record the voltage. If it's 6v or less your fine.
Scott

Scott, I don't have any Alien Bees, so I can't test this.

I would think that with any normal high-impedance voltmeter, if you put the meter leads across the PC cord, it should show you the trigger voltage but not trigger the flash. Normally, it takes something approximating a short circuit to trigger the flash, and that is not a high-impedance voltmeter set on a DC volts scale. Now, if you set it to a different scale that is low-impedance, it might trigger the flash.

---Bob Gross---

[scottbergerphoto]

I believe you can test it yourself by connecting a PC cord to one of the Alien Bees and trip it by touching the probes of a Voltmeter to the contacts on the PC cord. It should trip the flash and record the voltage. If it's 6v or less your fine.
Scott

Scott, I don't have any Alien Bees, so I can't test this.

I would think that with any normal high-impedance voltmeter, if you put the meter leads across the PC cord, it should show you the trigger voltage but not trigger the flash. Normally, it takes something approximating a short circuit to trigger the flash, and that is not a high-impedance voltmeter set on a DC volts scale. Now, if you set it to a different scale that is low-impedance, it might trigger the flash.

---Bob Gross---
Thanks Bob.
I've always used the Pocket Wizard Plus setup using the Hot Shoe. I believe there were previous threads on this issue and using a voltmeter.
Question: If the voltmeter doesn't trigger the flash, how can you get a voltage reading?
Scott

[Conk]

Ok,it is now confirmed. Here is an e-amil I received after a phone call to Alien Bees.
Hey Colin,
It was nice to talk to you today....I wanted to let you know the only thing
you need to get to allow you to plug your sync cord into your Canon Digital
Rebel is a basic Hot Shoe adapter...The hotshoe we carry is part number HSA
and the cost is $14.95 but this is just a basic hotshoe adapter...
No need to get a safe sync hotshoe adapter because the sync/trigger voltage
on the Bees is low enough to use with any digital camera at 5.8 volts.

Hope this info helps...Let me know if you need anything else or if you have
any other questions at all just get in touch.
Thanks
Lori
AlienBees

Just so you know, everyplace that I've looked on the web, (B&H, AlienBees, etc.) sells the adapter for more than I paid here in Canada. Only by a few dollars but my point is, don't disregard ordering from the country with the low $. You never know what you may find cheaper.

[robertwgross]

Question: If the voltmeter doesn't trigger the flash, how can you get a voltage reading?


With every flash unit that I have ever fooled with, it works this way:

If you flip the meter to DC volts, and then put the probes across the cable or connection leading to the flash unit, the meter will read the DC trigger voltage, whether that is 5 or 6 or 170 or anything. The flash unit still hasn't triggered, but that DC voltage is the "shock" that it would put back into the hot shoe and sync circuit on your camera.

Then, if you accidentally short out that same connection, the flash unit will be triggered. The short circuit momentarily brought the trigger down to zero, which is just about the same as what the camera body's sync circuit would have done. However, the sync circuit uses a transistor (I am guessing). If you present a low DC voltage to the transistor, it can trigger it. If you present a high DC voltage to the (Canon EOS) transistor, then you may or may not burn it out. Or, it may stand up for a few and then fail prematurely later. It's a crapshoot.

---Bob Gross---

[scottbergerphoto]

Thanks Bob.
Scott

[Conk]

I think it is safe to say a safe synce isn't necessary when using the AlienBees.

[slejhamer]

I think it is safe to say a safe synce isn't necessary when using the AlienBees.

Good news! 8)

[Conk]

I think it is safe to say a safe synce isn't necessary when using the AlienBees.

Good news! 8)
You bet. Anything is good news that saves you $115.00. :D