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White Lightning slaves

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Mclain

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Why on earth are the slaves on the back of the units?!?!?!?! I just got my strobes a couple days ago and used them for the first time yesterday. I have to say, but for the slave location, the WL1600 is a very, very nice flash as is all the other gear I purchased from WL in the same order. I had to rig up reflectors behind the flashes to bounce light into the slave. From what I have read about Paul's gear they seem to take customer feedback very seriously. I simply can't believe that no one has had an issue with this. My Aurora Genesis strobes have the slave on top of the unit and I have never had one not "see" the other lights. I think the only reliable long term solution is to stick a Pocket Wizard on each of them but that is a several hundred dollar (I could buy another WL1600!) solution that could be solved for the most part by putting the slave on top of the unit. Any one else have this problem?

--Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
 
Ok just to play devi's advocate: You're assuming that the WL slave cell placement is the problem, but you've switched brands and with brands comes different slave cell sensitivities. My guess is that location doesn't make that much difference to incite a rant: to test, buy two cheap optical slaves, tape one to the back of one strobe and tape the other to the top of the other strobe. My guess is that they'll trigger with a similar success rate.

As for 'why'? If you were to manufacture a strobe with a slave cell on top, while the module that contains all controls, plugs and indicators is on the rear, you would make it more expensive to produce. And you bought the WL because it was cheaper than other options like Broncolor, right? Can't have everything...

Chris
Mclain said:
Why on earth are the slaves on the back of the units?!?!?!?! I
just got my strobes a couple days ago and used them for the first
time yesterday. I have to say, but for the slave location, the
WL1600 is a very, very nice flash as is all the other gear I
purchased from WL in the same order. I had to rig up reflectors
behind the flashes to bounce light into the slave. From what I
have read about Paul's gear they seem to take customer feedback
very seriously. I simply can't believe that no one has had an
issue with this. My Aurora Genesis strobes have the slave on top
of the unit and I have never had one not "see" the other lights. I
think the only reliable long term solution is to stick a Pocket
Wizard on each of them but that is a several hundred dollar (I
could buy another WL1600!) solution that could be solved for the
most part by putting the slave on top of the unit. Any one else
have this problem?

--Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
Click to expand...
 
Why on earth don't they include a ready beep? Why on earth do they fire when they haven't reached the right charge? You get what you pay for (and you get a heck of a lot). Simply tape a 3x5 card in the right spot as a reflector and keep shooting.
-Kent
 
chris3010 said:
Ok just to play devi's advocate: You're assuming that the WL slave
cell placement is the problem, but you've switched brands and with
brands comes different slave cell sensitivities. My guess is that
location doesn't make that much difference to incite a rant: to
test, buy two cheap optical slaves, tape one to the back of one
strobe and tape the other to the top of the other strobe. My guess
is that they'll trigger with a similar success rate.

As for 'why'? If you were to manufacture a strobe with a slave cell
on top, while the module that contains all controls, plugs and
indicators is on the rear, you would make it more expensive to
produce. And you bought the WL because it was cheaper than other
options like Broncolor, right? Can't have everything...

Chris
Click to expand...
I agree that you get a hell of a lot for the money (I did say I was very happy with the strobe) but to put the slave where it could be potentially completely out of reach of any decent amount of light just seems silly. So it costs $100 (doubtful) to move the slave. The price is still a steal compared to other manufacturers. Isn't the idea to produce the best product possible? It sounds to me that that is Paul's goal. Consumers shouldn't be left to taping cards to the unit and such. Obviously there is an issue that perhaps needs to be dealt with. Maybe the AB line could have it on the back and the WL could be on the top? I purchased the WL not solely based on price but for the incredible availablility of gear and support. I feel 100% confident that if I have issues they will be dealt with. There is nowhere around here that I can say the same about. I had my order a week or so after I purchased it. Unreal. I live in Canada.
--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
 
Mclain said:
I agree that you get a hell of a lot for the money (I did say I was
very happy with the strobe) but to put the slave where it could be
potentially completely out of reach of any decent amount of light
just seems silly. So it costs $100 (doubtful) to move the slave.
The price is still a steal compared to other manufacturers.
Click to expand...
I kinda see your point, but today the WL cost to add a full RF remote control system independent adjustment of every strobe is only about $130/strobe for a 4-light kit. The corded version is only $25.00 per unit for a 4-light kit. Everyone else who's happy with the current slave cell placement gets to save $25 to $100 per unit. Therefore almost everyone is happy.
Mclain said:
Isn't
the idea to produce the best product possible? It sounds to me
that that is Paul's goal.
Click to expand...
No, of course not. It's his goal to profitably produce the best product for a lot of users. Not to please all users, or it would be cost-prohibitive.
Mclain said:
shouldn't be left to taping
cards to the unit and such. Obviously there is an issue that
perhaps needs to be dealt with.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, but everyone can either tape cards to back in those rare situations where the slave doesn't pick up the light - or buy the WL remotes - or buy another brand. No one is without options. If I were you I'd seriously consider the WL wired remote unit. It's pretty handy and lets you control the power level from 100' or more away. only $99.
Mclain said:
Maybe the AB line could have it on
the back and the WL could be on the top?
Click to expand...
If it could be done for less than $25.00, it might be an option worth pursuing; but since you can get the corded remote for $25.00/unit, I'm guessing it is an unlikely change.
Mclain said:
I purchased the WL not
solely based on price but for the incredible availablility of gear
and support. I feel 100% confident that if I have issues they will
be dealt with. There is nowhere around here that I can say the
same about. I had my order a week or so after I purchased it.
Unreal. I live in Canada.
Click to expand...
yes, I agree. great service.
Mclain said:
--
Click to expand...
Chris
 
chris3010 said:
If I were you I'd seriously consider the WL wired remote unit. It's
pretty handy and lets you control the power level from 100' or more
away. only $99.
Click to expand...
chris3010 said:
Chris
Click to expand...
Yes, this does seem like an economical solution. Is the camera wired to the strobes? I am not familiar with them. I'll have to go snoop around on the site for info. If that is the case then it is a deal breaker for me and I would have to pony up for radio triggers.

--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
 
Camera is typically connected to the remote control unit with a standard PC to mini-plug cable (just a tad bigger than the 1st generation iPods). From the remote unit, each strobe is connected via standard telephone cables.

http://www.alienbees.com/wired.html

For a hybrid solution, you can set up a simple wireless transmitter/receiver between the camera body and the remote unit, if you want advantage of wireless at camera, but are ok using wires between the heads and the control unit. This works well, I understand, while introducing some delay/latency in the triggering. This just means you should set shutter speed no faster than about 1/3 to 1/2 stop below max sync speed.

Chris
Mclain said:
chris3010 said:
If I were you I'd seriously consider the WL wired remote unit. It's
pretty handy and lets you control the power level from 100' or more
away. only $99.
Click to expand...
Mclain said:
Chris
Click to expand...
Yes, this does seem like an economical solution. Is the camera
wired to the strobes? I am not familiar with them. I'll have to
go snoop around on the site for info. If that is the case then it
is a deal breaker for me and I would have to pony up for radio
triggers.

--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
Click to expand...
 
I've used the more primitive Ultra 600's, WL 10,000 and WL 5,000 for about 16 years now. I've used them with umbrellas, snoots, softboxes, a beauty dish and barndoors on the standard reflector, in large rooms and small. I've never had the slaves fail to fire the other strobes. What were the conditions like where the slave failed to trigger the other strobes?
Respectfully, but curiously,
Bill
 
Oh, also the WL flashes can be set so the modeling light acts as the

"ready" light signal, letting you know that they've recycled and are ready to flash again.
Bill
 
William Dyer said:
For a hybrid solution, you can set up a simple wireless
transmitter/receiver between the camera body and the remote unit,
if you want advantage of wireless at camera, but are ok using wires
between the heads and the control unit. This works well, I
understand, while introducing some delay/latency in the triggering.
This just means you should set shutter speed no faster than about
1/3 to 1/2 stop below max sync speed.

Chris
Click to expand...
Yes. This is what I figured. It is not a big deal to have the strobes wired...it is the camera that I need free. I was just on the site and some of their radio devices look very promising/handy. I never bothered to check as I already have a set of Pocket Wizards. For the price I could just grab a few of the radio triggers or go with your route. Very handy indeed. I guess I have to figure out what I need. The RadioRemote One sounds like a dream. Any word on when the "revised" unit is coming out?
--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
 
William Dyer said:
I've used the more primitive Ultra 600's, WL 10,000 and WL 5,000
for about 16 years now. I've used them with umbrellas, snoots,
softboxes, a beauty dish and barndoors on the standard reflector,
in large rooms and small. I've never had the slaves fail to fire
the other strobes. What were the conditions like where the slave
failed to trigger the other strobes?
Respectfully, but curiously,
Bill
Click to expand...
Let's see. The room was a stage at the local highschool so it was very large with very high ceilings and all painted black. I have a feeling this may be the culprit at the end of the day as there was really no light bouncing around. I have main lights up front with a kicker back by the background with the back of the strobe facing away from the scene. There was really no way any appreciable amount of light could get to the slave of the kicker and this is a fairly normal set up for me. My strobes with the slave mounted on top have no problem seeing the other flashes in that situation. I also had a couple other situations that are difficult to explain where the slaves couldn't see the light and again where I had no problems with my other lights...same room.
--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
 
You could email Paul B to find out if the new remotes are coming soon. If you can't wait, the wireless remote kit saves about $200 from buying individually:

http://www.alienbees.com/remote_package.html (for some reason this is not linked from the "remotes" page?)

Chris
Mclain said:
Mclain said:
For a hybrid solution, you can set up a simple wireless
transmitter/receiver between the camera body and the remote unit,
if you want advantage of wireless at camera, but are ok using wires
between the heads and the control unit. This works well, I
understand, while introducing some delay/latency in the triggering.
This just means you should set shutter speed no faster than about
1/3 to 1/2 stop below max sync speed.

Chris
Click to expand...
Yes. This is what I figured. It is not a big deal to have the
strobes wired...it is the camera that I need free. I was just on
the site and some of their radio devices look very promising/handy.
I never bothered to check as I already have a set of Pocket
Wizards. For the price I could just grab a few of the radio
triggers or go with your route. Very handy indeed. I guess I have
to figure out what I need. The RadioRemote One sounds like a
dream. Any word on when the "revised" unit is coming out?
--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
Click to expand...
 
I can see how in the situation you described there might not be enough light bouncing to trip the slave on the strobes. I agree, if it's a fairly static setup, not a lot of take down and put up, the wired remote would work. I have one of those too, but don't care for all the extra wires if I'm on location. I recently tried the radio remotes and so far haven't had any interference or unwanted triggering. I live in a small town so that doesn't surprise me. The Pocket Wizards are even better, I understand, though certainly more expensive.
Bill
 
Check out your local camera store for a Wein Peanut (B&H $20) and plug it into the PC cord that came with the WL light and plug the cord into the slave socket. Wrap the or tape the cord to the light stand where the slave can see the light and trigger this light.

Here's the link to it at B&H so you can see what I'm talking about.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=63118&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

I must state that I have never done this, but others have suggested it to others in similar situations.

Larry
 
Larry TX Smith said:
Check out your local camera store for a Wein Peanut (B&H $20) and
plug it into the PC cord that came with the WL light and plug the
cord into the slave socket. Wrap the or tape the cord to the light
stand where the slave can see the light and trigger this light.

Here's the link to it at B&H so you can see what I'm talking about.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=63118&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

I must state that I have never done this, but others have suggested
it to others in similar situations.

Larry
Click to expand...
That would certainly do the trick. Thanks for all the suggestions thus far.
--
Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
 
Get the wired remote and one set of Pocket Wizards, dont worry it will take about 2 hours of NOT having to reach up where you cant see (or climb a ladder) to change setting and you will be glad you did.

regards
Ray
Mclain said:
Why on earth are the slaves on the back of the units?!?!?!?! I
just got my strobes a couple days ago and used them for the first
time yesterday. I have to say, but for the slave location, the
WL1600 is a very, very nice flash as is all the other gear I
purchased from WL in the same order. I had to rig up reflectors
behind the flashes to bounce light into the slave. From what I
have read about Paul's gear they seem to take customer feedback
very seriously. I simply can't believe that no one has had an
issue with this. My Aurora Genesis strobes have the slave on top
of the unit and I have never had one not "see" the other lights. I
think the only reliable long term solution is to stick a Pocket
Wizard on each of them but that is a several hundred dollar (I
could buy another WL1600!) solution that could be solved for the
most part by putting the slave on top of the unit. Any one else
have this problem?

--Swift Photography
http://www.swiftimages.net
Click to expand...
--

http://www.pbase.com/ray645
 
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