Genesis Strobes Not Firing

Now I am starting to see why these lights are so cheap. Took about 250 shots today with them and After about 20-25 shots, would hit the shutter and get nothing. Sometimes it only happened once, sometimes it did this 3-4 times in a row before working again. I am syncing direct to my 40D via the PC connector and the other light is in slave mode. Anyone else have this happen?

I suppose this is the trade off for only paying $325 for a set of two, 200 w/s lights with stands and umbrellas? If this happens again, I think I will be returning them and going with a different brand, even if it means paying more.

2112 wrote in post #6290284
Now I am starting to see why these lights are so cheap. Took about 250 shots today with them and After about 20-25 shots, would hit the shutter and get nothing. Sometimes it only happened once, sometimes it did this 3-4 times in a row before working again. I am syncing direct to my 40D via the PC connector and the other light is in slave mode. Anyone else have this happen?

I suppose this is the trade off for only paying $325 for a set of two, 200 w/s lights with stands and umbrellas? If this happens again, I think I will be returning them and going with a different brand, even if it means paying more.

Pc sync cable are the worst thing to happen since ERR99 in canon land or the RR in Nikon land :P... try activating them with optical slave unit -using a hotshoe strobe or the pop up from your camera if it has one-, if they work like this then you need a new Pc sync cable

I had a Pc sync cable go bad the other night, no apparent reason, just went out during a shoot

eduardofrances wrote in post #6290358
Pc sync cable are the worst thing to happen since ERR99 in canon land or the RR in Nikon land :P... try activating them with optical slave unit -using a hotshoe strobe or the pop up from your camera if it has one-, if they work like this then you need a new Pc sync cable

I had an Alienbees ringflash that plugged in with the PC sync cable. Took probably 2k shots with that thing and never once had it not fire the light. Its not a problem with the PC sync.

2112 wrote in post #6290380
I had an Alienbees ringflash that plugged in with the PC sync cable. Took probably 2k shots with that thing and never once had it not fire the light. Its not a problem with the PC sync.

Its the cables that often go bad.
Try another cable and see if you get the same problem.

Moppie wrote in post #6290438
Its the cables that often go bad.
Try another cable and see if you get the same problem.

hmmm, this is the one supplied with the strobes and its brand new. I suppose I could try the other one.

2112 wrote in post #6290380
I had an Alienbees ringflash that plugged in with the PC sync cable. Took probably 2k shots with that thing and never once had it not fire the light. Its not a problem with the PC sync.

Trust me try with another cable and later with the optical slave

Well my roommate has pocket wizards. Maybe I will try em tomorrow and see what happens using that.

Ok, so I tried the lights today using pocket wizards and they worked flawlessly. Must be this damn sync cord

The sync cable would be my first suspect. I have had new ones play up in the past, and only carry sync cables in my bag now as backup (in case all my radio triggers play up, run out of battery, or break for some reason).

cables, if cheaply made will fail often. These things are being bent, twisted, pushed and pulled and a poor design will just fail. I have seen it happen in a lot of personal electronics. The cables probably are being bought for a quarter or less in China. Tough to build quality in with that kind of price margin.

FWIW: I was in my 2nd studio shoot using Genesis lights last month and about half-way through the session the lights quit firing. I fussed with the camera, the light settings, tried a different light, etc. Absolutely nothing would fire and I decided I'd somehow screwed up the camera synch port.

I finally grabbed another synch cord from my box never believing it was the cord's fault, but it instantly worked again and for the rest of the shoot without a hitch.

Cheap crap cords!!!

slivr wrote in post #6297310
FWIW: I was in my 2nd studio shoot using Genesis lights last month and about half-way through the session the lights quit firing. I fussed with the camera, the light settings, tried a different light, etc. Absolutely nothing would fire and I decided I'd somehow screwed up the camera synch port.

I finally grabbed another synch cord from my box never believing it was the cord's fault, but it instantly worked again and for the rest of the shoot without a hitch.

Cheap crap cords!!!

Yep, time for me to buy some pocket wizards I guess.