Skyport & Sunpack 383's

[snedigity]

I am more confused then ever with this thread. I just purchased 2 Sunpack 383's and the Elinchrom Sky Port universal set up. Am I going to need anything else to make them work?

Scott

[Curtis N]

You'll need either a hotshoe adapter like this:
http://flashzebra.com/wizardcables/hotshoe.shtml

Or a sync cable like this:
http://flashzebra.com/wizardcables/0016.shtml

[snedigity]

Thanks, I am amazed these dont come with the universal kits.

[Phil H]

Send an email to Lon at Flashzebra and explain what you have and what you want to do. He will help you find the simplest solution. Several times I've tried to make the off-camera connections way too complicated - he straightened me out - and saved me money in the end.

[asysin2leads]

I was lucky that my AB800's came w/ the sync cable that I use w/ my 580EX II and Skyport. The Skyports came w/ the necessary 1/8" sync cords for my AB's and Skyports. I didn't have to buy anything extra.......yet.

[snedigity]

Thanks Asysin2leads,
Phil H I will definately hit him up

[Strayz]

Get the cable in curtis's post (second link) it is all that you need.

I am ordering mine here today or so, otherwise you get a log PC cord and adapters and a mess, just get the one cable solution.

*********************** EDIT **************************************
Doh they are Out Of Stock...

[snedigity]

They are out of stock and that is why I am wondering what else I can do until he gets more. Does anyone know the Radio shack part number for the adapter?

[Mark_48]

I did the Radio Shack visit recently for an adapter for the same reason. What I found was the length of the 3/32" plug on the adapter was slightly shorter than the plug that came with the Sunpack 383 I have and it wouldn't quite go in far enough to be a reliable connection. I ended up buying a package of the 3/32" sub-mini plugs and in a drill press machined off enough of the plug with a file to get the depth needed to fit correctly. Then soldered the modified plug to a standard 1/8" mini plug via 2 conductor wire to make the assembly. I wanted to do this mostly to make sure the Skyports worked properly with no problem. It would seem that that the sub-mini connector to the 383's are non-standard in length, although I have a wall wart power pack that has a size that will fit the 383's.

[Curtis N]

Unfortunately the sync connector for the Sunpak 383 is really an odd duck. Longer than a standard 3/32 sub mini plug.

But the hotshoe adapter will work fine, and has a few other advantages:
1) It will work with other flash units you may someday acquire
2) It has a threaded hole for mounting on a lightstand or tripod.

[snedigity]

So what I am hearing is that I have two flashes that are coming my way that I have to buy sometype of adapters to use. WOuld I have been bettter off with Vivitar?

[Mark_48]

The Sunpaks are a great flash for the price. You won't regret the purchase once you get things setup. I just looked at my old Vivitar 283's and if the plug on the current models is the same as old, you'd even be less happy. The hotshoe solution is probably the best way and as Curtis suggested it will give you more options for using other flashes as well.

This is a depiction of the diffrence of plugs for the Sunpaks from Flashzebra's site.

http://flashzebra.com/tips/sunpakplugs/index.shtml

[Curtis N]

WOuld I have been bettter off with Vivitar?No. They have their own proprietary connector and require a special cord to work with the Skyport system.

Unfortunately there is almost no industry standardization when it comes to sync cord connections. No matter what you're firing, you need the right cord with a specific connector.

[Mark_48]

This might be an option also.....

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/105429-REG/Pocket_Wizard_804605_PC_Female_to_Miniphone.html

The 383's own male PC cord could plug into this adapter which then plugs into the Skyport.
Would of been nice if Elinchrom had included one of these.

[snedigity]

Mark have you used this one? I would hate to buy them and have them too short.

[Mark_48]

No I haven't. The female PC connection on the adapter should be standard and I have no reason to think that the mini-phone plug would be non-standard in any way, unless someone else reading this thread knows otherwise.

I'll probably order one from B&H shortly when I put together some other things to buy.

[snedigity]

Well I just ordered two of them and will give everyone some feed back on how they work.

[Mark_48]

snedigity,
Presuming you're going to use the two 383's together, with the Skyport firing one of them, do you have an optical slave trigger or something else to fire the second one?

I had bought a few of these from this ebay dealer and they work pretty well.....
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sonia-Optical-Slave-Flash-Trigger-Digital-Wireless_W0QQitemZ230225287470QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3 0084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[snedigity]

I bought 3 receivers and 1 transmitter from Elinchrom Sky Ports I have the 580exII which will be used as my main light and the 2 Sunpacks as a Fill light and hair light or fill light and back ground light.

[Mark_48]

I got the PC Female to Miniphone adapter today and gave it a try. Works just the way it should. As I said before Elinchrom should have included one of these in the package. Well maybe not the Pocket Wizard brand......

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/105429-REG/Pocket_Wizard_804605_PC_Female_to_Miniphone.html

[snedigity]

Thanks. I should be trying it out in a couple hours when all my stuff arrives

[snedigity]

Truck Just arrived. Whooohooooooooooooo

[snedigity]

It official. I am now a member of the Strobist movement.

http://www.sneddonphotography.com/Storage/IMG_9903.jpg

[telles75]

snedigity, how did your setup worked? I am thinking on getting the Elinchrom Skyport system to use with my 580EXII and 430EX, are you happy with it?

[snedigity]

I have honestly been pretty happy with them I would defiantly suggest you get the cable from Flashzebra.com for the 580exII. I honetly like these better then the Pocket wizards I had. Time will tell if they keep working as well as they have so far.

[telles75]

I have honestly been pretty happy with them I would defiantly suggest you get the cable from Flashzebra.com for the 580exII. I honetly like these better then the Pocket wizards I had. Time will tell if they keep working as well as they have so far.

Thanks for the thumbs up on the Skyports.

I bought 3 receivers and 1 transmitter from Elinchrom Sky Ports I have the 580exII which will be used as my main light and the 2 Sunpacks as a Fill light and hair light or fill light and back ground light.

However I was also asking you about the entire setup of the 580EXII as main light and the 2 Sunpacks 383 for fill and background lights? I am very interested in buying your exact same setup (meaning 2 Sunpacks 383, 1 Skyport transmitter and 3 receivers). Don't you miss ETTL? How do you use your 580 and the Sunpacks: Manual or Auto mode? Are your results consistent and is the setup not that difficult?

Thanks a lot for the info...

[Curtis N]

Don't you miss ETTL?I know the question wasn't directed at me, but...

Using E-TTL is like going to the dentist. You do it because you have to, and you expect that it's going to be painful.

That is true of any form of automatic flash metering to some extent.

Manual flash isn't always practical. But when it is practical, it pays to use it. Less pain that way. The smartest purchase I made in the last few years was a light meter.

If you plan to use your 580EX II + Sunpaks in a studio-like setting, then a PC cord and a few optical slaves will work great. Save the cost of the Skyport system and get a meter instead.

The Skyports shine when you venture outside the protected environment and need more range, especially outdoors.

[snedigity]

Honestly I don't ever shoot in ETTL mode unless my Flash is attached to my Camera. I prefer shooting manuel because I use this setup more as studio strobes then anything else. Here is a quick example I did last night with my three light setup.

http://www.sneddonphotography.com/Storage/IMG_0219.jpg

[telles75]

Thanks for the advice snedigity and Curtis...

Curtis when you mean that a few optical slaves would work I am assuming you are saying my 580EX would be on-camera (or off camera connected with the PC cord). A second option to the one I mentioned above was only getting 1 Sunpak + 2 optical slaves + 1 Transmitter Skyport + 1 Receiver Skyport; used as follows:

- Skyport Transmitter On-Camera
- Skyport Receiver on 580EXII used as main light (Manual or Auto mode)
- Optical slave on Sunpack 383 used as fill light (Manual or Auto mode)
- Optical slave on 430EX used as background light (Manual mode)

Do you think this set-up will work fine?

snedigity do you have a light meter (if yes which one)? Is a light meter really necessary if I plan to setup something like you with flash guns instead of studio lights (which have helpful modelling lights)?

If a lightmeter is a must for manual flash shooting then is the Sekonic L-308S ($189)good enough or should I pay the extra $50 and get the L-358 ($239)?

Thanks for the info guys!

[Curtis N]

An optical slave isn't a viable option for firing a 430EX or most other EX Speedlites. They don't work well together. However the 580EX II works fine with an optical slave attached to its PC socket.

So to throw the 430EX into the mix with optical slaves, it will need to be the "master", fired via Skyport or PC cord, or on the hotshoe.

But otherwise, using the Skyports to fire the master and using optical slaves on the rest will work fine.

The Sekonic L-308S is fine if flash it your only light source. It will meter ambient light too, but the L-358 has a few more practical features for when you're mixing ambient and flash.

[telles75]

Thanks for the quick reply Curtis. I am now thinking that my 430EX is just not worth it to have as a slave. I thought ETTL wireless was a good way of using multiple lights, and even concidered getting a second 430EX to get 2 lights off-camera (slaves) and the 580 on camera as master; but now I am rethinking that.

Seems more like I should sell my existing 430EX and buy 2 Sunpacks 383 + 2 optical slaves with that money; then use my 580EX as a master (either on camera or triggered by a skyport if I want 3 lights off camera). I love my 580EX and for single on-camera ligth is just as good as it gets, but I think I am undersuing my 430EX.

[telles75]

To answer my own question. After some research I see is not possible to fire the 580EXII on Master Manual mode with the Skyport , to fire the 430EX via infrarred, so that setup is discarded. With that said I think I will definetly sell my 430EX and buy 2 Sunpacks and 2 optical slaves.

Any recommendations on which optical slaves that work flawlessly with the Sunpack 383? Curtis? Anyone?

[Mark_48]

I had bought several of the triggers shown from this ebay seller http://photography.search.ebay.com/_Cameras-Photo_W0QQcatrefZC12QQsacatZ625QQsassZnaiveQ2dbuye r to use with 383's and they seem to work well. They didn't have any listed presently, but they had shown up often. They're around $18 for (1) slave unit and hotshoe adapter.

[Curtis N]

Don't sell the 430EX. It's a good unit. It has adjustable manual power and can be fired on the hotshoe or via PC cord or radio system + hotshoe adapter. It just won't work with optical slaves, so use it as the master and use the slaves on the other units.

In a quasi-studio setup with optical slaves, your "master" can be your fill light, hair light or background light. The master doesn't need to be your most powerful flash.

Check out flashzebra.com for some inexpensive slaves. Get a short male-male PC cord to use one on the 580EX II.

[crazyskillz07]

I just bought a sunpak super 383. I figured it would be a good because it will force me to learn manual. How powerful is it compared to the 580ex II?

[Curtis N]

I just bought a sunpak super 383. I figured it would be a good because it will force me to learn manual. How powerful is it compared to the 580ex II?About the same.

[snedigity]

They are really close in power. The only thing is the 580 ex is a lot more adjustable

[telles75]

I had bought several of the triggers shown from this ebay seller http://photography.search.ebay.com/_Cameras-Photo_W0QQcatrefZC12QQsacatZ625QQsassZnaiveQ2dbuye r to use with 383's and they seem to work well. They didn't have any listed presently, but they had shown up often. They're around $18 for (1) slave unit and hotshoe adapter.

Thanks for the tip Mark. Are there any similar products as there in B&H or Adorama, instead of Ebay?

[René Damkot]

Using E-TTL is like going to the dentist. You do it because you have to, and you expect that it's going to be painful.

:lol:

[PacAce]

Using E-TTL is like going to the dentist. You do it because you have to, and you expect that it's going to be painful.

On the contrary, I think setting up your light in manual mode is more like going to the dentist. It's painful but sometimes you have no choice.

E-TTL wireless, on the other hand, is like a godsend. The only regret is that it isn't practical to use all the time, like when outdoors under bright sunlight.

If you know what you're doing, you can set up your E-TTL wireless light with whatever lighting ratio you want to use within a couple of minutes. You definitely can not say that when all the flashes are set up manually and have to be metered individually.

[Curtis N]

If you know what you're doing, you can set up your E-TTL wireless light with whatever lighting ratio you want to use within a couple of minutes.Then you can take two shots, one of someone in a white shirt and one of someone in a black shirt, and get drastically different exposures.

No, thanks.

There is a recent thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=469075) with a statistical analysis of the output consistency of various strobes. More than one person has implied that a strobe with a standard deviation of 0.12 stops from one pop to the next is "unuseable." E-TTL won't come close to that on a good day.

[PacAce]

Then you can take two shots, one of someone in a white shirt and one of someone in a black shirt, and get drastically different exposures.

No, thanks.

There is a recent thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=469075) with a statistical analysis of the output consistency of various strobes. More than one person has implied that a strobe with a standard deviation of 0.12 stops from one pop to the next is "unuseable." E-TTL won't come close to that on a good day.
Well, that's what FEC is for and it doesn't take much to learn how to use it. In a fraction of the time it take to set up a manual setup, you can take a couple of test shots to make sure the exposure is right and then get on with your business.

Re E-TTL consistency, with my flashes, I haven't had any issues with their consistency. Sometimes, I just have to wonder if it's the 3rd party flashes that's having issues being consistent when working in E-TTL mode. And beside, how often do you need consistency to a 10th of a stop. Not often, I bet. But during those times when you do, then fine, go ahead and set things up manually. But there are times when E-TTL makes more sense and makes life easier for you, not harder as you claim.