Sony Lounge Thread MKIII (All Sony cameras welcome)

Gene, just remembered you mention getting a larger catch basin.
We've learned that depth is nothing like I thought it would be.
Nothing really goes on rebounding wise with water deeper than 1/2 inch,
the Worthington Jet height is determined by how far the drop falls + the size
of the drop (but to a somewhat lesser extent). BUT if the drop falls too far
then you will run into issues with not enough camera delay.

Seeing collisions. The more you do this the more you will actually see the collision
in the air BUT when we turned off all ambient light we had much harder time seeing
it.
Why do we want to see it? Well we can see if it is before or after the flash fires and then
make changes accordingly.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/24gi​bgK

I miss Spring Training already.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18596734
Gene, just remembered you mention getting a larger catch basin.
We've learned that depth is nothing like I thought it would be.
Nothing really goes on rebounding wise with water deeper than 1/2 inch,
the Worthington Jet height is determined by how far the drop falls + the size
of the drop (but to a somewhat lesser extent). BUT if the drop falls too far
then you will run into issues with not enough camera delay.

Seeing collisions. The more you do this the more you will actually see the collision
in the air BUT when we turned off all ambient light we had much harder time seeing
it.
Why do we want to see it? Well we can see if it is before or after the flash fires and then
make changes accordingly.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/24gi​bgK Spilt silver by MedicineMan4040, on Flickr

The larger catch basin isn't for the depth but for a further distance away the sides are from the drop. I understand the drop height has to do with the distance between the water and where the drop falls from. I need to raise my valve height as I'm only about 5.5" above the top of the water now.

The 2 second exposure time is to give me the time to trigger the valve which in turn fires the flashes to make the exposure. If I used flash sync speed, it would be just by chance that I would take the exposure just at the time of the collision, yes? Maybe I haven't read everything thoroughly enough, which wouldn't surprise me, but I had hoped that once fired, the trigger would calculate when to fire the camera as well as when to open the valve and fire the flashes and then do so.

We're in the same boat. I push the button on the controller, the drops are released, the controller tells the camera to release the shutter
which in turn fires the flashes. Then the dialing in begins.
We start with one drop to get the height we want.
We measured/plumb bob style to get where the drop is hitting.
Dial in some more until we are getting repeatable collisons....and amazing how repeatable they are UNTIL we change up the mixture recipe (
an art in itself)....then we re-measure to get as close to the collision point as we can.
Poof and I can burn through 3 hours getting to a productive run.
Our last night we were colliding 5 min's in but still kept shooting for hours.

I'm telling you now there are two keys to this whole thing-
Xanthum gum
Nature Clean All Purpose Cleaning Lotion (the magic ingredient)

Plus mixing the recipe ahead of time and filtering it.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18596758
We're in the same boat. I push the button on the controller, the drops are released, the controller tells the camera to release the shutter
which in turn fires the flashes. Then the dialing in begins.
We start with one drop to get the height we want.
We measured/plumb bob style to get where the drop is hitting.
Dial in some more until we are getting repeatable collisons....and amazing how repeatable they are UNTIL we change up the mixture recipe (
an art in itself)....then we re-measure to get as close to the collision point as we can.
Poof and I can burn through 3 hours getting to a productive run.
Our last night we were colliding 5 min's in but still kept shooting for hours.

I'm telling you now there are two keys to this whole thing-
Xanthum gum
Nature Clean All Purpose Cleaning Lotion (the magic ingredient)

Plus mixing the recipe ahead of time and filtering it.

Following directions from Pluto, when I push the button on the controller, it releases the drops and controls the flash but does not control the camera. That's why I have to have the shutter open long enough for the controller to do its work during that time period. I wish it were otherwise but that seems to be the only way the Pluto Trigger works on water drops.

No cropping with any of the photos, so there's lots of opportunities for cropping for more close ups.

1st photo: 70-200 f2.8GM @200mm without extension tube. Lens approx. 32 inches away

My "not-so-good" attempt at shooting this hawk with the 2xTC:

mickeyb105 wrote in post #18596747
I miss Spring Training already.

Gallery photo:
posted by mickeyb105 originally in forum: Sports

Gallery photo:
posted by mickeyb105 originally in forum: Sports

Gallery photo:
posted by mickeyb105 originally in forum: Sports

Mickey how can you miss spring!!! It's just now hinting here in the mountains.

navydoc wrote in post #18596761
Following directions from Pluto, when I push the button on the controller, it releases the drops and controls the flash but does not control the camera. That's why I have to have the shutter open long enough for the controller to do its work during that time period. I wish it were otherwise but that seems to be the only way the Pluto Trigger works on water drops.

What?
I thought Pluto was smartphone app based, yes?
I can remotely trigger my camera thus flashes with even dslrDashboard (recently discovered it works on the 10iv)
and Sony's app can trigger shutter release. Hmmm. That is puzzling. Well might be an advantage column tick for the SplashArt kit

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18596793
What?
I thought Pluto was smartphone app based, yes?
I can remotely trigger my camera thus flashes with even dslrDashboard (recently discovered it works on the 10iv)
and Sony's app can trigger shutter release. Hmmm. That is puzzling. Well might be an advantage column tick for the SplashArt kit

Watching another video tonight, it looks like the controller CAN be plugged into the camera instead of the flash. This way, like your setup, the controller would fire the camera which in turn fires the flashes remotely as usual as well as control the valve. My batteries are running low so I'll try tomorrow.

Pluto is smartphone app based and that is how the drop sizes and delays are determined. That's also how the exposure is made, by pushing the 'exposure button' on the app. It's just that in the way Pluto describes it, when that button is pushed it workes the valves and controls the flash while the cameras shutter is open manually.

I certainly hope the other method works.

i was shooting long exposure this afternoon. i don't know but my remote control won't work to trigger the bulb mode. I then used my playmemories app. it works. very handy. it's a lot easier to pair with the phone now. pics later.

OK got it.
I have the external SplashArt controller=you have the smartphone which acts as controller.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18596815
OK got it.
I have the external SplashArt controller=you have the smartphone which acts as controller.

Good news! I was able to plug the trigger into the camera and set up the flashes to have the camera fire them wirelessly as usual and then use the smartphone app to trigger the camera and water drops like I thought it should.

Here's a quick test. This time, I used a white background and a white plate to contain the water. Tomorrow, I'll try to get a 2nd drop to collide with the 1st one. Sorry for the boring image but I'm glad I was able to get this to work as I had hoped.

Miranda1 wrote in post #18596705
Beautiful shot of an amazing raptor. I've always been fascinated with raptors. Some of the shots shared here have fueled my interest in bird photography and specifically raptor photography. In the area of Portugal where I was born and that I often visit Goldens are pretty common, they nest in the cliffs of the Douro river gorge separating Portugal and Spain. The area is a world Biosphere heritage site and raptors are really common there, Golden Eagles, Bonelli's Eagle, Peregrines, Egyptian vultures and Gryphon vultures are quite common. Maybe one day.....

It’s a strange one for me, I love owls, eagles, hummers but most other birds don’t really spark my interest. I wish they did though as it’s a whole other avenue of photography I could pursue. Unfortunately eagles, owls and hummers are either not common here or not here at all. The only time I’ve really loved shooting birds was when I was in Tanzania for my honeymoon as they were all really exotic species compared to what I see here.

navydoc wrote in post #18596797
Watching another video tonight, it looks like the controller CAN be plugged into the camera instead of the flash. This way, like your setup, the controller would fire the camera which in turn fires the flashes remotely as usual as well as control the valve. My batteries are running low so I'll try tomorrow.

Pluto is smartphone app based and that is how the drop sizes and delays are determined. That's also how the exposure is made, by pushing the 'exposure button' on the app. It's just that in the way Pluto describes it, when that button is pushed it workes the valves and controls the flash while the cameras shutter is open manually.

I certainly hope the other method works.

Did you order the valve with the “s2” cable Gene? The site lists the a7riii under that cable type

Edit - never mind, I see you have now sorted it. I should have read ahead first