Any simple way to use second-curtain sync w/ studio strobes....aside from MultiMaxes?

[Cathpah]

There are a few different location shoots where I want to use second/rear curtain sync with my elinchrom 600RX's and at somepoint soon, a Ranger RX speed AS. I'm hoping to do this relatively simply/cheaply, and I'm wondering what the best solution really is.

I own skyports, and I've heard that I can add a sync delay with my laptop....but when I'm shooting location shoots, I want to keep delays and excess gear to a minimum, so changing the sync delay based on necessary shutterspeed while on location just doesn't seem to be an option.

I've heard that a PC cord won't work for rear-curtain sync....is this correct? I'm using a 1D3 and a 5D. This would certainly be my cheapest option, as I've already got sync cords.

I know PW multimaxes support rear-curtain sync, but is this really my only simple option? It's certainly not cheap. I owned multimaxes for a short period, but swapped them out for skyports as soon as I moved to elinchrom lights. I'd love to be able to do this simply, without having to spend big bucks on multimaxes

Do the new PW's support rear-curtain sync? I don't really plan on using these with my hotshoe flashes, so I'm not overly concerned with the radio interference issues they're dealing with.

Any other ideas?

Thanks ahead of time.

[TMR Design]

Hey Jeff,

I can't give a definitive answer and apparently no one else knows or wants to venture a guess, but to the best of my knowledge, I don't know of any other way to do with with a strobe other than to use the Pocket Wizard Multi Max. That's one feature that sets the Multi Max apart from other triggers.

I know it's not what you wanted to hear but I'm afraid that might be the answer.

[FlashZebra]

There are a few different location shoots where I want to use second/rear curtain sync with my elinchrom 600RX's and at somepoint soon, a Ranger RX speed AS. I'm hoping to do this relatively simply/cheaply, and I'm wondering what the best solution really is.

I own skyports, and I've heard that I can add a sync delay with my laptop....but when I'm shooting location shoots, I want to keep delays and excess gear to a minimum, so changing the sync delay based on necessary shutterspeed while on location just doesn't seem to be an option.

I've heard that a PC cord won't work for rear-curtain sync....is this correct? I'm using a 1D3 and a 5D. This would certainly be my cheapest option, as I've already got sync cords.

I know PW multimaxes support rear-curtain sync, but is this really my only simple option? It's certainly not cheap. I owned multimaxes for a short period, but swapped them out for skyports as soon as I moved to elinchrom lights. I'd love to be able to do this simply, without having to spend big bucks on multimaxes

Do the new PW's support rear-curtain sync? I don't really plan on using these with my hotshoe flashes, so I'm not overly concerned with the radio interference issues they're dealing with.

Any other ideas?

Thanks ahead of time.
I think you would only need one MultiMax (not two) and one other Pocket Wizard capable of acting as a receiver.

Enjoy! Lon

[Cathpah]

Hey Jeff,

I can't give a definitive answer and apparently no one else knows or wants to venture a guess, but to the best of my knowledge, I don't know of any other way to do with with a strobe other than to use the Pocket Wizard Multi Max. That's one feature that sets the Multi Max apart from other triggers.

I know it's not what you wanted to hear but I'm afraid that might be the answer.

Sometimes the truth hurts, right? :p

thanks for your insight, Robert.

I think you would only need one MultiMax (not two) and one other Pocket Wizard capable of acting as a receiver.

Enjoy! Lon


Lon,
This is news to me! I always thought that you needed the PW MultiMax as the receiver as well in order to utilize the benefits of the PW multimax on the camera.....is that only true with certain features?

[k_strecker]

you could get adventurous and put a canon speedlight on-camera, set to manual, and set the strobes to optical slave. . . the delay might be too long though and you'd have to fine-tune the power of the speedlight enough so that it triggers the flashes without adding bad light to the photo

:)

or go really wild and see if the timing will hold up when using a photo-slave w/ hotshoe on top to trigger the skyport . . .

this is all theory though.

[TMR Design]

you could get adventurous and put a canon speedlight on-camera, set to manual, and set the strobes to optical slave. . . the delay might be too long though and you'd have to fine-tune the power of the speedlight enough so that it triggers the flashes without adding bad light to the photo

:)

or go really wild and see if the timing will hold up when using a photo-slave w/ hotshoe on top to trigger the skyport . . .

this is all theory though.

We might have to contact the guys at Mythbusters to prove or disprove this theory. :D

[FlashZebra]

Lon,
This is news to me! I always thought that you needed the PW MultiMax as the receiver as well in order to utilize the benefits of the PW multimax on the camera.....is that only true with certain features?
Your question was with regard to simulating second curtain sync with a MultiMax. I think you only need one for MultiMax for that, the one acting as a transmitter, you dial in the sync delay there.

My reply was to that focused question, not a reply dealing with all possible use modes of a MultiMax.

In other words I replied with an possible solution to your very specific question.

Enjoy! Lon

[TMR Design]

Your question was with regard to simulating second curtain sync with a MultiMax. I think you only need one for MultiMax for that, the one acting as a transmitter, you dial in the sync delay there.

My reply was to that focused question, not a replay dealing with all possible use modes of a MultiMax.

In other words I replied with an possible solution to your very specific question.

Enjoy! Lon

Hi Lon,

So you're saying that the transmitter is what enables the second curtain sync and this could be done with one MultiMax as the transmitter and a Plus II as the receiver?

[k_strecker]

Hi Lon,

So you're saying that the transmitter is what enables the second curtain sync and this could be done with one MultiMax as the transmitter and a Plus II as the receiver?

I'm not Lon . . . but, Yep.

For a lot of Multimax's clever timing tricks, you only need one of 'em. Zone triggering (and features that require it, like auto-cycling) and Pre-Release remote camera control are pretty much the only things you need 2 of 'em for.

The multimax implimentation of rear-curtain sync is really slick. You go into the Delay menu, select "second curtain sync" and dial in the shutter speed you want to use, everything form 1/60 down to 1 second.

Some canon cameras need a 1/3rd stop adjustment to actually sync fully, but it depends on the model.

[Cathpah]

Your question was with regard to simulating second curtain sync with a MultiMax. I think you only need one for MultiMax for that, the one acting as a transmitter, you dial in the sync delay there.

My reply was to that focused question, not a replay dealing with all possible use modes of a MultiMax.

In other words I replied with an possible solution to your very specific question.

Enjoy! Lon

sorry if you misunderstood my wording....I mean nothing harsh in my response....only surprise/joy. thanks for your input!

[FlashZebra]

Hi Lon,

So you're saying that the transmitter is what enables the second curtain sync and this could be done with one MultiMax as the transmitter and a Plus II as the receiver?
Robert,

I think so.

I think the MultiMax, acting as the transmitter, can be set to just delay the signal to the receiver by the amount of delay you dial in on the MultiMax acting as a transmitter.

The receiver can be any Pocket Wizard capable of acting as a receiver (there are several models)

I do not have a MultiMax and cannot test this, but this is my understanding of how it works.

Actually I would not describe the function of the MultiMax as "Second Curtain Sync". I would describe it as introducing a delay that would simulate second curtain sync. You could introduce all sorts of different time delays to the receiver to get various effects, like a delay anywhere between the first shutter opening and the second shutter closing.

Enjoy! Lon

[FlashZebra]

you could get adventurous and put a canon speedlight on-camera, set to manual, and set the strobes to optical slave. . . the delay might be too long though and you'd have to fine-tune the power of the speedlight enough so that it triggers the flashes without adding bad light to the photo

:)

or go really wild and see if the timing will hold up when using a photo-slave w/ hotshoe on top to trigger the skyport . . .

this is all theory though.
Optical slaves are very fast and would likely not introduce enough delay.

This excellent post by CurtisN, acting as a POTN Mythbuster, shows just how fast optical slaves function:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=431093

Enjoy! Lon

[Cathpah]

Optical slaves are very fast and would likely not introduce enough delay.

This excellent post by CurtisN, acting as a POTN Mythbuster, shows just how fast optical slaves function:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=431093

Enjoy! Lon

And do you think that the optical triggers built into a studio light (in my case, the 600RX) will be able to keep up as much as speedlights?

Even then, I'm not sure how much that'll help me, because it won't be a pre-flash triggering the other lights (where I can have the option for the flash to trigger the other lights without actually firing while the camera is taking the picture), but an actual flash that'd most likely have an impact on the lighting in the image.

[Titus213]

2nd curtain sync can be set on the camera if the EX flash doesn't support it. It sounds like that would work since you would trip the strobes when the on-camera flash fired.

At least it sounds logical.