Can you sync two cameras together?

[texshooter]

I and a collegue plan to shoot a group portrait together. We will have separate cameras. We will be using my flash triggers and receivers. Is it possible to connect my camera to hers via a cable so that both cameras fire simulataneously. I don't want to have to go buy more triggers/receivers.

[DDCSD]

What kind of cameras?

Why do you need them to fire simultaneously?

You'll probably need to buy more triggers and special cables to do what you're asking.

[jra]

Maybe you could share your trigger? Use if for a few shots and let her use if for a few. I would think that trying to sync the cameras and shooting at the exact same time would be much more difficult.

[J Kacey]

Not sure what triggers you have, but you should be able to run a Shutter Release Cable (http://www.flashzebra.com/shutter_pw/index.shtml) from the trigger on your camera or other trigger to your remote camera. Then it will fire the same time as yours.

Hope this helps

[texshooter]

One camera is a 5D Mark II, the other is a Nikon D something.

I need them to fire simultaneously, otherwise, after every time I take a shot, I'll have to remove the trigger from my hot shoe and mount it to my friend's camera so she can take a shot and back and forth while the the flash batteries quickly run dead. We're shooting the exact same thing, and she wants to get practice using her camera even though mine is better and would suffice alone.

[texshooter]

I use the Alien Bee Cybersync trigger/receivers. Those cable releases from your link look like they go with Pocket Wizards.

Ideally, I'd like to trigger my camera either with the shutter button or with the Canon infrared remote trigger, then via a cable that runs from my camera's pc plug to my friend's camera's pc plug cause her camera to shoot at the same time.

[J Kacey]

Ask Lon from the link I sent.... I know they are camera specific but I think they will work with cybersyncs as well as PW. Yes, these would work with your shutter button on your camera.

Edit: Found (this) (http://www.paulcbuff.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6016&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) for you

[dmward]

Your logic is flawed.
If the purpose is for her to learn how to use her camera, connecting them together so one fires the other defeats the purpose. She becomes just a human tripod.

What kind of lights? I have used ABs at 1/4 to 1/2 power with two shooters, each with a camera trigger, and the lights recycle fast enough to cover both shooters. I don't think we had one black frame for the whole session.

If you are using speedlites then all bets are off.

[bieber]

This isn't going to work the way you think it is. Unless the cameras have the exact same shutter delay, and their shutters are operating perfectly in sync, only the camera that fires the lights will actually see them: the other will probably be off by a millisecond or two and miss them. What it sounds like you should be doing is just having both cameras set off the same transmitter, which you could do, for instance, with PocketWizards by putting it on top of one camera and running a PC sync cable from the other camera's PC sync port to the Camera/Flash jack on the PW. Or you could probably just use a Y-cable, but either way it's going to be a pretty messy solution.

[PacAce]

I and a collegue plan to shoot a group portrait together. We will have separate cameras. We will be using my flash triggers and receivers. Is it possible to connect my camera to hers via a cable so that both cameras fire simulataneously. I don't want to have to go buy more triggers/receivers.

This isn't going to work the way you think it is. Unless the cameras have the exact same shutter delay, and their shutters are operating perfectly in sync, only the camera that fires the lights will actually see them: the other will probably be off by a millisecond or two and miss them. What it sounds like you should be doing is just having both cameras set off the same transmitter, which you could do, for instance, with PocketWizards by putting it on top of one camera and running a PC sync cable from the other camera's PC sync port to the Camera/Flash jack on the PW. Or you could probably just use a Y-cable, but either way it's going to be a pretty messy solution.
Yes, I agree with Bieber. It'll be next to impossible to sync up the two cameras to one flash, without using very low shutter speeds, just by connecting the two cameras together via a cable unless they are identical cameras and even then, it may be hit-or-miss. Due to differences in the shutter lags of the two camera, the chances of the shutters of both camera being fully open at the same time when the flash fires is very low unless the shutter speeds of both cameras are set very low.

You can save yourself the headaches and aggravation by getting another transmitter or transmitter unit for the 2nd camera and then setting the shared flash to a power level which will allow the flash to fire at least two or three consecutive flashes before needing to recycle.