Vivitar 285HV

[Sean Setters]

Head to rump, he would have fit on a dime, though I'm sure he would have liked to include the length of his feelers, at which point I'd say a nickel.


I ended up with some used Cactus V2's, because that's what I could find, and I was impatient. they seem to work fine. The only time I've seen the flash not fire was when I forgot to turn the receiver on. Sometimes I'm quite the brainiac [img]/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]
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Wow, I was severely off on my estimation of his size....We have creaturs that look very similar here in TN that show up when it starts getting warmer, and they're positively huge compared to your guy, then.


I had a set of V2s receivers that worked quite well for a good while, but then they started getting a bit flakey on me...so I upgraded. They saw an enormous amountof use before becomingsomewhat unreliable, though, so it's a great (and relatively inexpensive) way to get your feet wet in off-camera lighting.

[Chuck Lee]

Once you've got it down, then you might have to go to a slightly more reliable (with decent range) option in Cybersync triggers. They are fantastic, and not nearly as pricey as PocketWizards.

Sean,


I'm waiting for the "Cyber Commander" tocontrol my B800's before I invest. So farthe Cactus V2s setup is working nicely. I bought a new set of CRV3s just in case, but still, after 200-300 pops I haven'tneeded to swap out the OEM ones yet. I keep reading these forum posts about the QC issues with the Cactus (e-bay) triggers. All these negative vibes make me feel like I'm sitting on a time bomb or something, like these triggers are going to blow up in the middle of a shoot or something. Up until the cactus triggers I was using cheap optical slave triggers, firing off everything from an old Vivitar 266D mounted to the hot shoe of my camera. Talk about irritating!! This wireless trigger deal is a breeze compared to that!!


Chuck

[Sean Setters]

[quote=Chuck Lee]

Once you've got it down, then you might have to go to a slightly more reliable (with decent range) option in [url="http://www.alienbees.com/cybersync.html]Cybersync[/url] triggers. They are fantastic, and not nearly as pricey as PocketWizards.[/quote]


Sean,


I'm waiting for the "Cyber Commander" tocontrol my B800's before I invest. So farthe Cactus V2s setup is working nicely. I bought a new set of CRV3s just in case, but still, after 200-300 pops I haven'tneeded to swap out the OEM ones yet. I keep reading these forum posts about the QC issues with the Cactus (e-bay) triggers. All these negative vibes make me feel like I'm sitting on a time bomb or something, like these triggers are going to blow up in the middle of a shoot or something. Up until the cactus triggers I was using cheap optical slave triggers, firing off everything from an old Vivitar 266D mounted to the hot shoe of my camera. Talk about irritating!! This wireless trigger deal is a breeze compared to that!!


Chuck
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Well, you're very right about that--optical slaves can be a pain under alot of circumstances. In some situations they were quite nicely, like in this example:


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I set this up as a proof of concept as my radio triggers are not attached. I just wanted to see if I could use my LumoPro Clip Clamp to add a 3rd flash to the dual-flash rig I already had. With this setup, I wouldn't hesitate to use two optical slaves (like Wein peanuts or else the built-in slave of the DF400MZ) and a radio trigger because of the closeness of the reflected light triggering the slaves. However, if you do alot of shots in broad daylight (or at least have your flashes positioned in sunlight), the farther your optically triggered flash gets from your source the less reliable it becomes (in my tests, at least).


As far as the Cactus V2s receivers go, they're not all that bad. They worked quite well for me for quite some time. I was not gentle with them, and time took its toll. I thought I could count on them, and most of the time I could. With the Cybersyncs, I'm never in doubt. They just work--everytime.

[Chuck Lee]

Sean,


That's quite a rig. Does it darken the sun? [H]


How are you connecting the cybersyncs to your Vivitars?


Also, if you have battery operated recievers, what battery do they use?


What is the furthest distance (trigger - reciever)that you'veused the cybersyncs during a shoot?


Thanks, Chuck

[Sean Setters]

1) I haven't actually used the rig out in the wild yet, but that's the eventual plan. I may use it in conjunction with a 2 stop ND filter &amp; a circular polarizing filter to enable a shallow depth of field (while strobing) in broad daylight.


2) I connect the Cybersyncs to a flash adapter I bought from FlashZebra. I set the flash on the flash adapter (which either screws into my umbrella swivel's stud or else can slide into an existing shoe). A miniphone to miniphone cable connects the adapter to the Cybersyncs (I didn't take the time to use the flash adapters in the setup pic above because I was only settingthe standup to see if the clamp would work to give me a 3rd flash as I suspected it would..I wasn't actually shooting anything that day).


3) The Receivers use AA batteries. That was a one of the aspects that I really liked over the competing (yet-to-be-released) RadioPopper JrX units. The Cybersync receivers can go about 200hrs of awake time on a set of AAs. There is no "OFF" button. Once they are turned on (via the test button), they will stay awake for an hour after your last signal trigger. While some see this as a liability of the units, I see it as an asset--I was always forgetting to turn off my other triggers; now I don't have to worry about it.


The trigger takes a CR2450 if I remember correctly. Those particular batteries aren't hard to find as every drug store/wal-mart carries them.


4) I haven't really tested the range yet. So far they've worked out to about 30-40 feet, but I know they can go much further. Reports put the usable range right at about 300 feet in the open. Some report farther, but that seems to be the magic number.

[Sean Setters]

I thought I'd post of picture of the way I connect my Cybersyncs to the flashes. A picture is worth 1000 words, you know...


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From top to bottom:


Vivitar 285HV


Miniphone Flash Adapter from FlashZebra


Miniphone to Miniphone cord (supplied with Cybersync Receiver)


LumoPro LP634 Umbrella Swivel


LumoPro LP606 lightstand


Cybersync CSRB


Vent Caddy from Walmart (modified with hole for cord)

[Chuck Lee]

Looks good Sean,


I like the Army pouches. I'm looking for the same kind of thing to put my 6V LA batteries in. They arrived in the mail today, so tomorrow I'll get crack'n on the battery leads to connect them. I'll probably buy inexpensive compact/P&amp;S camera cases from WallyWorld to put them in. Black canvas is very shiek!!


Thanks for the hotshoe link but I think I'll stick with the pre-corded ones from Midwest. They're under 11USD and seem to work very well.We"ll see how they hold up over the year.


Thanks for the images. I'll post a couple when I get my 6V LA battery rig going. For that fact I may make a little video to show off the recycle times.


Chuck