3 Sigma Super DG flashes

[Henry Low]

I have two more super DG 500 SIgma flashes coming this way. I have a qusetion about them. I have to set the slaves on manual when using wireless right? My first one didnt have a manual so I am not sure if i have to or not.

Thanks,
Henry

[dsze]

not sure...I use my super DG as the master and a 420 as the slave. I think you'd have to set the super DG to the slave setting though. Keep pressing the mode? button, I think, and you'll eventually come to the slave setting. YOu can also use the Super DG's as optical slaves.

-daniel

[DavidEB]

I only have one. I think it functions as a slave in E-TTL mode (cycle thru the main choices to find this) and also can function as a slave in manual mode (cycle thru the manual flash choices to find this). They're different. I believe it functions as a fully automatic slave. See pages 24 and 25 of the useless manual.

[rich_yau]

not sure...I use my super DG as the master and a 420 as the slave. I think you'd have to set the super DG to the slave setting though. Keep pressing the mode? button, I think, and you'll eventually come to the slave setting. YOu can also use the Super DG's as optical slaves.

-daniel

Not very effective for e-ttl

[Henry Low]

Sorry, the posts didnt really answer my qusetion. Will I be able to use E-TTL when using in Slave mode for the flashes not attatched to my camera?

Thanks,
Henry

[lostdoggy]

Only the sigma super can be use as wireless ETTL. Set them all to wireless mode and select a channel. The default channel is C1. you'll know you're in ettl wireless mode when you see 3 lightening bolt with two connected together by dashes.

[dsze]

Not very effective for e-ttl


Whats not very effective for ettl? The super DG functions fine with the the 420 as a wireless slave.

-daniel

[Henry Low]

Not very effective for e-ttl

Could u elaborate?

Thanks.


Thanks for the help guys... So basically, with wireless sigma super dgs on slave mode, they can all use ETTL?

So does the camera send camera information such as the lens zoom length and aperature to the other cameras through IR? Or will it just trigger it? and bascially the slave flashes will adjust its brightness according to what it "sees" it self, or waht the camera sees?

I was always confused by this.

[PacAce]

Could u elaborate?

Thanks.


Thanks for the help guys... So basically, with wireless sigma super dgs on slave mode, they can all use ETTL?

So does the camera send camera information such as the lens zoom length and aperature to the other cameras through IR? Or will it just trigger it? and bascially the slave flashes will adjust its brightness according to what it "sees" it self, or waht the camera sees?

I was always confused by this.
When a flash is in slave mode, it acts like a very dump flash and only does what the master tells it to do. It is the master that works in ETTL mode. The camera actually determines how all the flashes (master and slaves) are going to fire via the master flash and then orders the slaves (via the master again) to fire accordingly.

[Henry Low]

When a flash is in slave mode, it acts like a very dump flash and only does what the master tells it to do. It is the master that works in ETTL mode. The camera actually determines how all the flashes (master and slaves) are going to fire via the master flash and then orders the slaves (via the master again) to fire accordingly.

So im assuming using a light meter to meter all flash exposer from all the cameras wont help too much to get a proper exposer (no blow outs)?

[Henry Low]

When a flash is in slave mode, it acts like a very dump flash and only does what the master tells it to do. It is the master that works in ETTL mode. The camera actually determines how all the flashes (master and slaves) are going to fire via the master flash and then orders the slaves (via the master again) to fire accordingly.

So im assuming using a light meter to meter all flash exposer from all the cameras wont help too much to get a proper exposer (no blow outs)?

[PacAce]

That's right. You really have no manual control over the flashes working in ETTL mode other than dialing in + or - flash compensation so using a flash meter really isn't going to help you much.

However, if you set the flashes to manual mode and the camera to manual mode, then you can use a flash meter to determne your aperture/flash output level combinations.

[blundar]

For the price of 3 Sigma 500DG Super flashes, I would rather buy 1 Sigma 500DG Super and 2 Alien Bees 400's with umbrellas. I can then do some studio like lighting and not have to worry about so many unreliable battery powered flashes.

[lostdoggy]

It would be a moot point to use ettl and a flah meter since the whole point of ettl is allow the camera's ttl meter to determine the exposure. The additional flash is basicly used for fill in lighting. With digital you have the same flexibility as having a medium format camera witha polariod back. Take sample picture to determine the the lighting effect and change if necessary to express your intent. I believe the zoom part is inactive in slave mode and they will all preflash for exposure.

The difference in having all three flash unit vs have one and two alienbee would be portability. The slave flash can be set up by placing them on neighboring surface or dedicate photoequipment supports,eg tripods or light stands. The alienbee would require to be setup on stands and probably power source. This is in no way saying that one is better then the other. But you must agree that having ETTL capability make for easier quick setup.

[Jwreich]

For the price of 3 Sigma 500DG Super flashes, I would rather buy 1 Sigma 500DG Super and 2 Alien Bees 400's with umbrellas. I can then do some studio like lighting and not have to worry about so many unreliable battery powered flashes.

How would you fire the Alien Bees? They don't work optically do they?

--

[drewmk2]

Fires via your hot shoe? No flash works optically?

[Jwreich]

Drewmk2,

I understand the part about the MASTER flash being attached to the hot shoe. My question is how do I trigger the two Alien Bees when I'm using them as extra lights? Can they fire optically like my Sigma does when slaving to my on camera flash?

--

[SkipD]

How would you fire the Alien Bees? They don't work optically do they?Using an on-camera flash to trigger studio flash units is generally going to be an exercise in futility for a couple of reasons.

An on-camera flash frequently emits a "pre-flash" to gather exposure information. The studio flash units will probably trigger on this rather than waiting for the second (main) flash.

Even if you get the studio flash units to trigger at the right time, there's a potentially serious problem with exposure. The camera and built-in or hotshoe flash generally work together to control the exposure. External flash units can be triggered by the flash from the camera, but cannot be controlled by the camera. The typical result is extreme overexposure.

Even if you do manage to get the exposure controlled, the location of the on-camera flash is usually NOT the best for most lighting schemes.

My suggestion is to totally ignore any kind of automatically controlled (exposure, that is) flash system and use only the studio flash units in a studio type environment. The alternative is to go to a complete automatic system with flash units that communicate with each other to control the exposure all the way around the system.

[tim]

I'm pretty sure that both the Sigma flashes and alien bees have an optical trigger. You'll need an external flash operating in manual mode to trigger the alien bees, try pointing the flash directly up on a low setting so it doesn't affect the pictures but still triggers the strobes. You'll need a light meter and a good understanding of studio lighting to use the alien bees, i'm told the book from http://lightingmagic.com is good (mine's on the way), and Scott (the author) is very knowledgable and helpful.