SB-800 off camera

[James Haba]

Originally Posted by Jonathan_Roberts

James,
Do we understand what you want?

You can also string them together with the SC-27 or SC-10 but they are just under 10' long and don't coil like the SC-17 or 29.

Using these flashes wirelessly only work if the sensor on the side of the flash is not obscured. It's best then not to use the extra battery compartment for the wireless setup.

Jonathan

First of all let me say thanks to all for taking the time to respond to me.

What I am trying to do is get the primary flash off the camera so I can move around somewhat without changing the "lighting" of the scene. If I shot this with standard strobes, I would set three up on stands, link the primary flash up with the camera via a 20' or so cable and then shoot away. With the SB-800, it is easy to move the camera 3 feet from the camera but after that, I run the risk of cloths lining someone. That is why I was thinking of a 20' cable. Basically I am looking for the low tech (or, as some would say, cheap) way to do this. I am thinking that since the large strobe kits have this, why not the SB-800 . . or am I missing something? The SU-800 is an answer but it costs almost as much as the flash, does one function of the SB-800 (IE remote control of extra flash units) without having the flash.

Now if the SU-800 offered radio frequency control, IE does not need to see the flash sensors to do its thing, then I would say sweet, where do I sign up.

BTW, is there such a thing for the SB-800s?

Thanks for the Storbist link Ron, I am going there next . . .

Thanks
James Haba

[LarryRyder]

If studio flash type of control is all you need you can use a PC cord or the ebay radio remotes and set the flash to manual or AA. This will no give TTL or on camera flash adjustments but will trigger the flash

[Ron_Hiner]

The SU-800 is exactly what you say you need... a device to intellegently control your lights without the problems of a cable -- and it's $50 less than your max spend.
As for the line of sight thing... it is isn't necessary. The SU-800 is basically a flash head that shoots IR light that splashes all over the place. It doesn't have to be line of sight to the SB-800 -- as long as the SB-800 can see the reflected IR light.

If you want RF rather than IR, then pocketwizard is the way to go. The SU-800/SB-800 combo doen's have the range that pocket wizards have, but its a lot cheaper and you can control the output of the flash from the camera -- whiich you can't do with pocketwizards.

If you really want a cable... buy the short Nikon cable (SB-29??) and send it to paramountcords.com -- they can probably turn it in to a 20 foot cable for you.

[Luke_Miller]

I second Ron's suggestion. I'm using SB-800s on lightstands shooting into umbrellas as main and fill lights. I have an SB-600 as background light. All are controlled by the SU-800 on camera. I set up the lights, pose the subject and then I am free to move as necessary to get the shot. No cables. Works great.

[James Haba]

Originally Posted by Ron_Hiner

If you really want a cable... buy the short Nikon cable (SB-29??) and send it to paramountcords.com -- they can probably turn it in to a 20 foot cable for you.

This looks promising as does the SU-800. My goal is to not spend a lot of cash to do a job that I do in limited amounts. If I did it every day, it would be a no brainer.
Thanks for your help.
James Haba

[StevenAbramson]

With the Sb800 on camera, you can get an SB600 for less than your limit. Again, no wires.

Steve

[Tony_Whaling]

What are the real advantages of using an su-800 as the trigger rather than using an sb-800. The method we currently use is SB-800 with diffuser as fill flash from camera controling a sb-800 as main light and another as backlight using brollies. Have even used this setup where the remote flashes trigger strobes with a pc lead.

tony