canon t3i and speedotron flash setup. can't get flash to trigger.

T

tedstriker

Active member
When I goto the external flash options it says flash not compatible or not turned on. Everything is connected and turned on. Do I need to get a wireless flash trigger for it to work? I've googled and can't find anything.

Thanks for any help.
 
Are you talking about the Speedotron studio flashes? I don't seem them as coming with a Canon EOS module so are they triggered as a flash slave or via a PC port (which a T3i doesn't have, so are you using an adapter)?

I count about 6 different accessories used to trigger a Speedotron on their site, so which "connection" are you using?
 
I use these

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/685034-REG/Impact_POWERSYNC16D_PowerSync16_DC_Radio_Slave.html

685034.jpg
 
A hotshoe adapter works fine, as long as you have a working one. How old and how long is the PC cord (older PC cords are notorious for breaking)? Do you have any other way of testing the hotshoe adapter, the cord etc?
 
I've borrowed this system from my photo teacher and he has been using it fine. He stuck some metal in the pc port and it triggered. it also triggers using the manual fire button on the power box. It could be the hot shoe adapter, but where in the t3i menu do i go so the camera will do a simple trigger? or should it just do it automatically?
 
I use a SunPak (Canon EOS dedicated) flash in the hotshoe, flash set to manual and output "dialed down" to minimum. Flash fires up at the ceiling (or when cam is turned to portrait - vertical- orientation fires at a wall.

Studio flash has an inexpensive "slave" trigger plugged in where the shutter cord (AC end) would normally go. My current Alien Bees B800's all have a built in slave sensor but the above setup worked with Novatron, Speedotron, and Bowens monolights.

The popup flash cannot be used to trigger slaves in synch with the shutter because I have found no way to turn off the "preflash" it uses for exposure/autofocus management.

Be very wary of what you connect to a hotshoe adapter. Much flash gear has a much higher "trigger voltage" than your camera circuits can handle. "Fried" electronics can result. The Wein "Safe Synch" is a hotshoe adapter with a "buffering" circuit built in to protect your camera. However operation can be erratic, so I settled on a Canon dedicated flash set to manual to trigger "slaves".
 
If everything else is working, then make sure the hotshoe adapter is completely seated in the hotshoe. It needs to be _all_ the way in, I find it tight on several of my Canon DSLR's.

As for high-voltage, to my knowledge, every Canon DSLR since the 20D can handle 250V in the trigger voltage (the 20D is the first Canon DSLR to state the 250V limit in the manual), and modern studio flashes are fine. I do have an old hammerhead flash that has a trigger voltage of 400V, but it's almost 30 years old.
 
so i just tested the hotshoe adapter on an old film camera i've got and it works fine. Now the flash is doing this wierd thing. when i slide it on the canon hot shoe it triggers, but then won't trigger when i take a picture. the onboard flash works fine. could the trigger on the canon be messed up?
 
On an EOS camera, there's a few more pins in the hotshoe than your old film camera so that the camera can communicate with the E-TTL flash. Somehow, your hotshoe adapter is just not fitting correctly, possibly getting stuck in the wrong pin position, or there's too much metal in the hotshoe adapter, and it's making contact in the wrong places.
 
I've been trying to move the adapter back and forth in the hotshoe to get it in the right place and that doesn't seem to be workin either. I went to a camera shop and tested my camera with an external flash and it worked so that isn't the problem. So its definitely the adapter. I was thinking of getting one of these
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-NPT-04-Channel-Wireless-Receiver/dp/B002W3IXZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323308243&sr=1-1

but it says, "Other flash models with a trigger voltage of 12V or lower", and the trigger voltage for the speedotron is much higher, so will it work?

thanks a ton for your time everyone.
 
Last edited:
tedstriker said:
i think i got a solution. im ordering a canon specific pc sync hotshoe adapter. hopefully that makes it work.
Click to expand...

That's what you need - my nikon stuff fires my Speedo gear just fine - tried it with my Canon and it was hit and miss.

What you really want is some sort of wireless radio slave. The synch cord is just a huge hassle.
 
Any wireless trigger should work on the pack end. At the camera, it's got to "translate" your camera's flash trip, based on contacts in the shoe. On the pack side, it's just closing a circuit.

Older speedo gear uses a twin-blade household style plug for synch (like a 2-prong lamp cord). Newer speedo gear uses a 1/4" male "guitar plug". There are adapters available though. Many of the less expensive radio triggers use things like 1/8" (iPod headphone style, but 2 conductors instead of three). So you may need adaptors, based on what you have and what you buy.
 
so the t3i can't trigger non canon flashes in live mode. thats what i was doing wrong. now its annoying that that is the case.
 
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