DIY remote flash triggering

[Jarhead5811]

I've been thinking of using a IR repeater meant for making an IR TV remote control aSat/Cable boxin another room. They're simple setups that have an IR receiver that converts the signal to RF sends it to a receiver that repeats the IR signal. I'm not sure if it would work. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Canon's slaves/masters use a "near IR" signal. Latency could also be an issue. BUT, if this worked you should maintain TTL plus improve the capabilities of the native Canon system.


Any thoughts? Anyone have what they would need for an experiment?

[Jarhead5811]

I found this article ("http://diyirrepeater.blogspot.com/) that could be an interesting project. even if "near IR" knocks normal systems out maybe this could be a jumping off point. Note: That is for wired


Amazon has several ready made options here ("http://www.amazon.com/Ramsey-RRW1AC-Wireless-Repeater-Transmitter/dp/B0002NRKWQ).

[Sean Setters]

Jarhead, you should dive into this head-first. I'm interested to see what you come up with.

[Jarhead5811]

I know it could help allot of peopleand it doesn't seem like it'd be too hard to pull off. Done correctly with small tape on LEDs attached to the receiver on the remote flashes and taped over to block sunlight it seems it would work in direct sunlight. as far off as the wireless repeater would work. I guess it's time to bust out the solder gun.


It'd be nice to find an off the shelf unit that would work without much modification.

[Sean Setters]

If it were that easy, it probably would have already been done. The strobist group on flickr is currently 56,000 strong and growing. There's quite a few electronics nuts in there, as my eyes have glazed over more than once when reading an in-depth thread. I really am interested to see what you can come up with. If you start making progress, I'll certainly buy another Canon unit and help you test the thing. I'd even try my hand at creating some front-end software in case you wanted to make it programmable (however, my Visual Basic skills are relatively limited..but I always seem to learn whatever I need to in order to get the job done...just takes me a good while, though).

[Jarhead5811]

Yea, I need to spend more time searching old threads on the strobist group on flickr. I'm not thinking of a gadget to make money, just acheap simple wayto improve the flexability of my current setup.


I'm an Excel nut myself and have been thinking of buying a good book on Visual Basic. Recorded Macros are fairly limited in their application but I've set up some real time savers myself.

[Oren]

Programming shouldn't be a problem - I'm a programmer.

[Oren]

Now, does anybody know how the camera's PC terminal or hot shoe work?

[Jarhead5811]

I'm thinking I'll buy one of Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 (http://www.amazon.com/X10-POWERMID-Control-Extender-PM5900/dp/B00023KG40/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t]these[/url] and see if an IR repeater will even repeat the "near IR" signal from my [url="http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Speedlite-Transmitter-ST-E2-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #3366cc;)to one of my 430EX (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-430EX-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #3366cc;)s stuck off in another room. If so I'll proceed, if not I'll regroup and try something different.

[Jarhead5811]

I suspect even if the repeaters will work with the light wavelength of "near IR" that latency could make it unusable. I mean we are talking about tiny fractions of a second here. But atforty bucks it might be worth trying as a proof of concept. I'm sure someone could make something that would do what I'm talking about but I don't want to invest much time, money or energyif the concept is flawed.


It's quite likely thatsomeone reading this owns an IR repeater (A devicefor making an IR TV remote control aSat/Cable boxin another room)a Canon master(ST-E2 (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Speedlite-Transmitter-ST-E2-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #3366cc;), 550EX (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-550EX-E-TTL-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;), 580EX (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-580EX-E-TTL-2-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;), or 580EX II (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-580EX-II-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;))and slave(420EX, 430EX (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-430EX-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #3366cc;), 430EX II (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-430EX-II-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;), 550EX (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-550EX-E-TTL-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;), 580EX (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-580EX-E-TTL-2-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;), or 580EX II (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-580EX-II-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx]<span style="color: #003399;))to test this. Anyone???

[Jarhead5811]

It's been done before, they call 'em Radiopopper ("http://www.radiopopper.com/products/)s. I was aware of the product but not how it worked. It's pretty much exactly what I was picturing. Well at least I know what I want now.

[Sean Setters]

LOL


Yes, but they're also $250 per unit. That's pretty hefty in my opinion. Certainly worth it if you need it and are making big bucks shooting weddings, events, etc. But too much for my blood.

[Jarhead5811]

What's the most cost effective option that you would recomend?


(I'm sure you've made a suggestion before but I'd rather not go digging for it. I realize it would be mannual only.)

[Sean Setters]

Radiopopper PX and the new Pocketwizard Flex &amp; Mini units are the only ones that work with ETTL. When it comes to manual triggering, Cybersyncs are the best buy for the money, in my opinion. I've owned a couple of ebay triggering devices (Cactus V2s, CTR-301), but Cybersyncs are substantially cheaper than Pocketwizards, yet are just as reliable. They work up to (and maybe a little farther than) a football field away. Pocketwizards will give you more range, but they cost substantially more. I don't need more than the 300ft range of Cybersyncs, and most likely never will. I've been completely happy with the set I purchased in April. In fact, soon enough I'll purchase another receiver and another trigger as backup.