Remote Flash Hack for "Bridge"" Cameras?

I own a Canon "bridge" camera, the sx160is.

The only thing I would REALLY like to have is a remote flash activator that is dependable,and does not add the pop-up flash's light to the picture, e.g. the various classical portrait shots, which are very sensitive.

Has anyone "hacked" the camera to create, say, a PC cable setup, or a remote hot shoe? Would open up soooo many possibilities.

Tried the film negative across the flash. Still adds light. A cardboard shield with a slot, not fully dependable, and speedlight location sensitive.

Has anyone tried a photoresistor in a little black hood, with appropriate circuitry to, say, close a circuit? Not enuff of a wirehead to do this. Aren't the majority of hot shoe flash firings merely closing the circuit between the center pin and the flange contact? The remote hot shoe, on a Yongnuo 603, and you control all your remote lights! With a "bridge" camera! How cool is that?

What a business opportunity for somebody!

Egad, what you can find on the internet! A photoresister circuit would be too slow. A phototransistor circuit would be better. Phototransistors, it seems, are about the size of a grain of wheat. You could use the output from the trigger circuit to the base of a generic transistor (I get confused by PNP and NPN) which is robust enough to handle whatever wattage would flow between the center pin and the flange. As to the circuit, I found
http://www.optekinc.co​m …213-opto%20assemblies.pdf
Of course, whoever actually breaks out the solder iron, share the resistor values with us less adepts? Of course, there is also the issue of keeping the circuit closed long enough for the YN-603 to react. Capacitor and resistor?

From there, all you'd need is a light sealed hood for the pop-up flash, with the phototransistor inside. Would work on ANY camera with a flash, e.g. Kodak Easyshare C302 (chuckle).

I just Rube Goldberg a Sonia optical peanut slave onto a RF-602Tx's PC input, then cover the front of my S90's pop-up with it. Works a treat.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/inkista/5825534​215/

Hoooahhh! Why build when you can buy?!?! Many thanx. Will buy this, and work out some kind of hood. A cable from its PC socket to its hot shoe PC socket, and all light control limits fall away, whimpering! WITH A "BRIDGE" CAMERA!

Hmmmm. Do I really NEED a DSLR?

OK, The Ebay offering does not seem to have the hot shoe attachment. What is a good PC to hot shoe trigger, so I can use this?

buffumjr wrote in post #16049224
Hmmmm. Do I really NEED a DSLR?

You really can't compare the two....

buffumjr wrote in post #16049224
Hoooahhh! Why build when you can buy?!?! Many thanx. Will buy this, and work out some kind of hood. A cable from its PC socket to its hot shoe PC socket, and all light control limits fall away, whimpering! WITH A "BRIDGE" CAMERA!

OK, The Ebay offering does not seem to have the hot shoe attachment. What is a good PC to hot shoe trigger, so I can use this?

inkista's set up is perfect for your wants. but it looks like you're not going to be able to achieve it without something exactly like the RF-602tx.

which seems like a pretty unique set up.

Aressem wrote in post #16049299
You really can't compare the two....

yup. and you can get a good camera (advanced point and shoot with a hotshoe or DSLR) for a couple of hundred bucks.

i know the G series do, but don't some of the SX series have hot shoes?

http://www.flashzebra.​com/products/0129/inde​x.shtml

my old triggers sets...

+1 to Lotto's set up.

Attach the radio trigger (say, Cactus V5s or RF-602/603s) to an optical slave with a hotshoe. Like the one Lotto linked to.

The problem is going to be the compatibility of the radio trigger with the optical one, and the compatibility of your bridge cam's pop-up flash with the optical slave.

Given that the SX160IS has M mode on the dial, though, I think you'll be ok.

When I use my S90, if it's in M mode, the Sonia optical slave I used works. If it's in Av/Tv/P/Auto/scene modes, however, it does not, because those modes get the pop-up to emit a preflash and trip the Sonia early. You also want to stay away from any red-eye reduction flash modes, as they may do the same.

inkista wrote in post #16052765
Given that the SX160IS has M mode on the dial, though, I think you'll be ok.

When I use my S90, if it's in M mode, the Sonia optical slave I used works. If it's in Av/Tv/P/Auto/scene modes, however, it does not, because those modes get the pop-up to emit a preflash and trip the Sonia early.

It's interesting and somewhat curios that your camera doesn't emit a preflash in m mode. I would expect it to, just as i would expect the SX160 to preflash.

I did a quick check, and it seems the SX160 does allow for FEL (Flash Exposure Lock) which would allow for the on-board flash to fire, and the exposure and flash output to be set independently of the shutter button/release. I would expect that FEL would be available in any of the "Creative Modes".

using FEL will allow your external flashes to recycle before you take the shot.

Hoo boy! Lotsa choices!

Having trouble with Ebay. Ebay is Paypal - only. No Paypal, no buy or sell. Wife had her Paypal account hacked. One of 100,000 who also had that happen. What a nightmare. They tried our BANK ACCOUNT! Fortunately, we had seen the unauthorized credit card trasnsaction and figured out what happened. They got SOME money, but the bank refunded it. All new accounts. Since getting hacked, Paypal is not letting her transactions go through. And people thot I was an old fogey for being scared of Paypal! I think I'll let Ebay fade into my past.

Thanks for the alternatives to Ebay. Eagerly going with FlashZebra. Will duplicate the camera setup above in my shop, unless there is a vendor? Would also work with my Pentax IQ Zoom 160 film camera. Gels, soft light boxes, strobes, all controlled by point-and-shoots! Hoooah!

Next to try taping a 5x jeweler's loupe on the lens housing for Macro mode shots. Live better. Spend less. Kludge!