What will trip the slave in Paul C. Buff flash units?
Each Paul C. Buff flash unit has a
built-in slave tripper, sensitive to both visible and infrared flashes of light. The slave cell is located on the back control panel of each unit, positioned next to the sync jack.
Whenever this sync jack is left empty (without a sync cord or blank "dummy" plug inserted into the jack), the slave is activated.
Any light flash that the slave cell “sees” can trigger the flash unit to fire (tripped 50+ feet away), including:
• the flash from
another flash unit in your setup
• a conventional
on-camera flash
• an
infrared remote transmitter
Although this gives you more options for triggering the lights in your setup, the presence of extraneous triggers must be considered when you are not the only photographer in the area.
Other photographers' flash units, on-camera flashes or infrared remote controls can inadvertently trip your lights as well.
It is also important to note that you can
inadvertently trip the slave with your camera if you are using your camera in the
automatic mode (using your camera's automatic internal light meter to determine the camera settings). When in automatic mode, many cameras use a through-the-lens (TTL) metering system that will send out an infrared signal or pre-flash to read the amount of light available, and that signal / flash may trip the built-in slave before the shutter actually opens, causing the flash to fire prematurely and cause incorrect exposure.
When using studio flash units, you must use your camera in the manual mode, using a dedicated external flashmeter and/or histograms to determine the correct camera and flash settings.
When
you are the only photographer in a specific shooting environment, the built-in slave tripper on each unit
eliminates excess wiring in your setup. You can use multiple flash units, and hardwire just one unit to your camera. Your camera’s sync circuit will fire the hardwired flash, and the built-in slave cell on each of your other units will fire the remaining units simultaneously.
If you are shooting in an environment where
other photographers are working (using flash units, on-camera flashes, remotes, etc.), you will need to
disengage the built-in slave tripper in your flash units so that they are not inadvertently tripped. The slave tripper is disengaged whenever a sync cord or blank "dummy" plug is inserted into the sync jack. Disengaging the built-in slave tripper will prevent your flash units from being tripped by other flashes.
To
fire multiple units without using the slaves, you can use our CyberSync Radio Remote Control System or our LG4X Four-Channel Wired Remote. To hardwire up to three flash units, you use our SS1 Sync Hardwire Kit.
>> Click Here to learn more about the CyberSync Radio Remote Control System
>> Click Here to learn more about the LG4X Four-Channel Wired Remote Control
>> Click Here to learn more about the SS1 Sync Hardwire Kit
