PC Sync Cable Length and Battery Advice?

[GregSteer]

Hi,

I've got a 580 EXII on order and at somepoint I'll want to take it off camera (blame Strobist) - I realise that using a PC Sync cable will loose ETTL and I'll be running in manual but thats (hopefully) the fun/learning part!

Question is.. is there a length limit? I've seen 5m / 10m available, are there any problems with the longer lengths as I'd rather have more available than not enough! Also could anyone in the UK suggest a supplier (is there a difference in manufacturer quality too?) as I can only find a couple of <£10 Kaiser leads on Warehouse Wxpress's site.

Batteries:
Er - its a flash - it's gotta take (or eat) batteries right? What do you UK people suggest as a good companions? Costs/Life/Suppliers? Rechargeables Ofc!

Thanks in advance!

Greg

[Curtis N]

I used about 47 feet (14m) for this shot.

16 ft. or 5m is a common length for studio use.

http://performancephoto.smugmug.com/photos/277278069_w6yiu-M-0.jpg

You'll want a couple sets of good NiMH rechargeable batteries, and a charger.

[form]

I use the 5 meter ones but I often have to combine two of them to reach as far as I need. 10 meters would be better than 5.

At least two sets of nimh batteries at $10 per set of 4. I can personally vouch for the duracell 15-minute charger; it works on everything I have, which are energizers and duracells.

[GregSteer]

Is there a difference in quality of cables at all - materials / connectors etc or are they all pretty generic ?

[Curtis N]

The screwlock PC connector is more secure and reliable. Both your camera and your 580EX II will accept a screwlock plug. Here's one:
http://flashzebra.com/screwlock_pc_fivemeter/0034.shtml

[GregSteer]

Thanks Curtis

Having a bit of a problem managing to find a UK store with Screwed cables - so if anyone over here happens to know of a stockist could you throw me a link - its easy to find a 10m non screwed ~ £10 from warehouse express!

[Curtis N]

If you don't have any luck, FlashZebra does ship to the UK.

[GregSteer]

If you don't have any luck, FlashZebra does ship to the UK.

Aha - thanks for the info Curtis!

[Jim M]

If you want absolutely unlimited cable length and don't mind a little cable-bashing, then you might try some variation on my insane method. First I'll tell you what I have for my eBay radio slaves when I want my power pack out of radio range. My strobes use a North American two prong household plug. I made an adapter to go from the 1/4" (6.3mm) radio receiver plug to a male two-prong household plug. I cut up an cheap extension cord to do this since it was cheaper than buying the component parts, and soldered it to a Radio Shack female 1/4" plug. When I don't need extra range, the home-made adapter goes right into the flash power pack. When I need the range, I plug the adapter into one or more cheap two-prong household extension cords.

If I needed another type of plug for the flash, I would get a pair of connectors/adapters from flash zebra. One would fit the flash and go to a 1/4" socket. The other would go from the camera to a 1/4" plug. Then I would make up a long cord out of any two wire cords I could get my hands on cheaply - two-wire extension cord, speaker wire, bulk two-wire cord, anything - and solder a male 1/4" plug on one end and a female 1/4" socket on the other end. If you wanted to have the ability to splice in more wire, you could make household plug adapters or make a few more cords with 1/4" plugs and sockets. Just be sure to keep the polarity of all the connectors the same. Of course, not many people need more than 16 feet of cord, so a long Flash Zebra cord should get you there all by itself.