Dumb Question of the day...

[smittymike19]

I just purchased an alien b800. How do I trigger it with the rebel xt? do I need to buy a hot shoe adapter? I cant believe i didnt think of this when i ordered the light:o .

[idofotos]

Im not familiar with yor flash or camera but if you dont have a spsync cord plug on the camera you will have to buy an adaptor, some of the older cameras were that way, Does the AB have a slave sensor in in you might be able to trigger it with your on camera flash till youget one ordered, I would check B&H photo, some one more familiar with your set up might have a better solution, a radio slave could also work but much more expensive

[SkipD]

You need a hotshoe adapter that will provide a socket for the PC plug on the cord that came with the AB flash unit. The sync voltage of the AB units is about 5 volts, so you don't need to spend extra money for a "SafeSync" type of adapter. The plain ones are fine.

Forget trying to trigger the AB flash with the on-camera flash. Yes, you MIGHT get it to work, but the results would never be what you want anyhow. If you use the on camera flash, you will find that the camera/flash is trying to control the exposure, and does not know about the AB flash or how to compensate for its being there. I suggest using strictly manual exposure controls (M mode) on the camera.

A good flash meter would be very handy, but it's not imperative that you have one. You can take several shots at different exposures and, using the histogram on the camera's display, arrive at good exposures. A good meter such as the Sekonic L-358 would definitely save time and allow you to do more creative work with the lighting.

[arpi]

I think the digital rebel XT does not have a pc terminal for use with external flash unlike the 20D, therefore you will need an additional adapter. there are many in b&h ranging from $10 to $60. The Wein safe-sync shoe adapter will protect your camera from high voltages from the flash units but you don't need it if you are using alienbees because they are voltage compatible (but is is good to be extra safe). If you get an adapter, see if the adapter has a pc end 'female' type because your alienbees cable has pc 'male,' and you need to pair them 'male-female,' otherwise you need another extra pc adapter 'female-female' or get a long cable (pc-female to mini-plug) in adition to the shoe adapter(with male pc)

Cheers

[Titus213]

Alien Bees with the Rebel XT is done via a PC cord which will cost you about $5-$10. A simple hotshoe adapter to PC terminal is all that should be needed. A Wein safe-sync will cost you about $50. Voltage should be safe (I measured it at about 4.0 and used them on my 300D) but all settings are manual. Tripping via the on-board flash is a mess because of the E-TTL nature of the camera/flash. The Bees will trip on the pre-flash.