G5 & Multiple "Slave" Flashes - How?

[Ted Barto]

I have a G5 and a 380EX flash. Although just an amuteur, I've had some successes and occassionally I'm asked if I could do a photo of a friend's or relative's family. Obviously a single flash is not particularly flattering but the requests are infrequent enough that I cannot justify the expense of studio lighting. I've thought, however, about using my 380EX with the sync cord off camera, purchasing an inexpense flash w/ slave (or 2), an umbrella and some gator board to experiment with an inexpensive but quickly portable set-up when the needs arise. The problem I've quickly learned is that "slaves" will be triggered by most "pre-flashes" is digital cameras. Can this be overcome by disabling the red-eye lamp alone? By positioning the lights properly I could eliminate the need for the red-eye but will I also have to disable the AF assist beam? (I'd prefer to not disable this). If this would work, even an inexpensive unit like the $20 Quantaray MS-1 (Good review in Steve's Digicams) might work just fine for my limited needs. Any other suggesetions? ~ Thanks, much.

[GordonSBuck]

Put the camera in manual exposure mode. This turns off the pre-flash. Adjust shutter speed, aperature and flash power setting for the effect that you want. (Works with my G3).

[ScottK]

Try looking specifically at digital slave flashes. They're designed to ignore the pre-flash of digital cameras. I think some are adjustable as to how they react as well. Try looking at some of the results in the link below for some examples. I've heard good things about the Phoenix units, though not necessarily by anyone "reputable". :)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=BvIW1rN12B!-278357070?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=ye s&O=SearchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=digital+slave+flash es&image.x=5&image.y=5

[Ted Barto]

Thanks guys. I will try these suggestions. I've been looking at the new Vivitar DF200 which, I think, ought to work. Happy holidays. Ted