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Stoopid Place to put a PC connection on 10D

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I would think that the sync cord is on the left hand side because if you don't have the vertical grip your hand rests on the right side of the camera (or if you are shooting landscape).

I shot over 100 portraits last night of my wife and her twin sister with the vertical grip, AC power, computer link (with USB extension), and the sync cord and although there were way too many cables sticking out of my camera, they didn't get in the way, nor fall out. I'm using the sync cord that comes with the Alien Bees and it stays put quite well.

Dave
Kiwikeith said:
I just got my 10D and put it on my tripod to try it with my lights
and the bloody PC connection is on the left hand side of the
camera,so you go for a vertical format portrait shot and your sync
cord drops out!DUH!?
Who the hell designs these cameras!?
KK
Click to expand...
 
Ze Pequeno said:
1. Radio transmitter, like a Pocketwizard or Quantum;
2. "Recondition" the PC tip, with a small tool made for that
purpose, or use a newer cable, since, with time, the connection
will gradually loosen; or
3. Wrap the cable around something. Either the tripod head, or even
the lens mount. Keep most of the tension off of the connection, by
reducing the amount of weight/pull.

Zp
Kiwikeith said:
I just got my 10D and put it on my tripod to try it with my lights
and the bloody PC connection is on the left hand side of the
camera,so you go for a vertical format portrait shot and your sync
cord drops out!DUH!?
Who the hell designs these cameras!?
KK
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Ze Pequeno said:
After i found out about the tip reconditioning tool, my connections
were never problematic. And, i learned to grip the camera when
shooting verticals so that one hand was 'incidentally' holding the
PC in place, as well.

You should, though, if you shoot with strobes a lot, look into a
radio transmitter. It's a great help. And, you can use it with the
light meter to trigger your strobes 'remotely.' The new Sekonic, i
believe, has a transmitter built-in. Wish i had that one....

Zp
padeye said:
Kel Tookay said:
Unless the receptacle isn't threaded...
Click to expand...
It isn't. AFAIK the only threaded PC sockes are Nikon's cameras
and the AS-15 ISO to PC adapter and the Wein/Mamiya ISO to PC safe
sync. Suprisingly Sekonic didn't put one on their light meters
even though they are a Mamiya company.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Bern

I have a nice and tight connection now..(I remember losing 20 great shots from my very first glamour shoot because the bloody thing dropped off and no one noticed till too late,that was film!)

I have entered the fray in the post you linked me to,will be interested to hear what Chuck has to say.
What is Camera tape??
KK
Bern Caughey said:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB8&Number=150099&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

Apiece of gaffer, or camera tape, will help secure your sync cord.
From what I've gathered, most of the pros are using safe or
wireless syncs. Your strobes may be below 6V, or the damage may be
just accumulating. $40 USD is a small price to pay compared to your
other photographic investments.

Good luck,
Bern Caughey
Click to expand...
 
 
Bern,

What is a Safe Sync, and why is it necessary with digital SLRs (and not with 35mm film SLRs?)?

I've always used Profoto packs with EOS3/1v, and various medium format cameras, but have recently just purchased a Profoto Compact Plus 600 CPPS to use in South America with a 10D. Although i have a Quantum radio slave system, i thought i would also be able to use a simple sync cord, as i've always done in the past with film. Is there something i more i need to know about this sync voltage thing? The Pro compacts have a specification of 20v for the sync voltage....

Thanks, as ever.

Zp
Bern Caughey said:
I always use a Wein safe sync or a wirelss sync with digital
cameras. If your sync voltage is greater than 6 volts, you should
definitly be doing so also with your 10D. These fit into your
hot-shoe & you may prefer this placement.

Regards,
Bern Caughey
Click to expand...
 
Kiwikeith said:
I have a nice and tight connection now..
Click to expand...
As mentioned, Paramount makes "PC Tip Conditioners" that do a good job crinping the sync connection. They are very small & fit on a keychain. I don't recomend this, but you can bite the tip slightly to crinp it in a emergency. Unplug your sync first or you may get a bit of a shock.
Kiwikeith said:
I have entered the fray in the post you linked me to,will be
interested to hear what Chuck has to say.
Click to expand...
Your strobes sync voltage may be low enough not to need a safe sync, but most of the 1D & 1Ds users I know still take some precautions even though their cameras are rated to 250V. I usually use PocketWizards, but I keep a safe sync in my camera case.
Kiwikeith said:
What is Camera tape??
Click to expand...
Camera tape is like masking tape, but leaves less residue. Paper tape or masking tape could be subsituited for camera tape.

Regards,
Bern Caughey
 
As I said further up in this thread, you can fix a loose PC cable with careful use of a pair of needle-nosed plyers. I have had good luck with this approach. Why do you need a special tool?

Duncan C
---
Ze Pequeno said:
Actually, i was wrong, in case you've tried a search and failed.
It's called a "Tip Conditioner."

B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh6/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=40352&is=REG

or

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh6/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=40353&is=REG

or

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh6/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=63256&is=REG

Adorama:
http://adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=details&sid=10440888072235072&sku=PNPCC

or

http://adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=details&sid=10440888072235072&sku=PNPCD

Zp
Click to expand...
--
dpreview and PBase supporter.



http://www.pbase.com/duncanc
 
 
Ze Pequeno said:
What is a Safe Sync, and why is it necessary with digital SLRs (and
not with 35mm film SLRs?)?
Click to expand...
It slides into your hotshoe & has a PC connection. It seems that dSLRs are more delicate in this area than film cameras, but we've blown sync connections using film cameras before. I believe the damage can be much worse with your dSLR, so why risk the down time

http://www.robgalbraith.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB8&Number=150047&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

I have an older version of this Wein. Mine does not have the additional hotshoe on top of it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh6/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=245292&is=REG
Ze Pequeno said:
I've always used Profoto packs with EOS3/1v, and various medium
format cameras, but have recently just purchased a Profoto Compact
Plus 600 CPPS to use in South America with a 10D. Although i have a
Quantum radio slave system, i thought i would also be able to use a
simple sync cord, as i've always done in the past with film. Is
there something i more i need to know about this sync voltage
thing? The Pro compacts have a specification of 20v for the sync
voltage....
Click to expand...
OT, but my old D60's sync polarity was reversed from Profoto Pro-7's & I used to need to correct it. I used two-blades (household) syncs & extensions, so I would just plug it in the other way around. We used a pigtailed household to monoplug adapter for the final connection to the pack. I did this when I plugged into the PC connector, but don't remember having to do so with the safe sync, but I started using PocketWizard radio slaves shortly there after.

Regards,
Bern Caughey
 
Bern Caughey said:
Bern Caughey said:
What is a Safe Sync, and why is it necessary with digital SLRs (and
not with 35mm film SLRs?)?
Click to expand...
It slides into your hotshoe & has a PC connection. It seems that
dSLRs are more delicate in this area than film cameras, but we've
blown sync connections using film cameras before. I believe the
damage can be much worse with your dSLR, so why risk the down time
Click to expand...
The ISO spec, finalized in the early 1990's specified a sync voltage of no more than 20 volts.

Many strobes carried much higher levels of current across the sync 'path'--some still do.

Canon in particular, but many other manufacturers have built cameras that are only safe for lower than the 20 volt limit. The old T90 [FD lens mount], for example, is listed as 6 volts, as are the current 10D, and recent D60, D30, and Elan cameras. The 1V, 1D, and 1Ds are all rated at 250 volts.

The safe sync is a cheap insurance policy for any camera, especially if you use rental lights (who knows which era that particular unit was built?).
 
Kevin Connery said:
Bern Caughey said:
Kevin Connery said:
What is a Safe Sync, and why is it necessary with digital SLRs (and
not with 35mm film SLRs?)?
Click to expand...
It slides into your hotshoe & has a PC connection. It seems that
dSLRs are more delicate in this area than film cameras, but we've
blown sync connections using film cameras before. I believe the
damage can be much worse with your dSLR, so why risk the down time
Click to expand...
The ISO spec, finalized in the early 1990's specified a sync
voltage of no more than 20 volts.

Many strobes carried much higher levels of current across the sync
'path'--some still do.

Canon in particular, but many other manufacturers have built
cameras that are only safe for lower than the 20 volt limit. The
old T90 [FD lens mount], for example, is listed as 6 volts, as are
the current 10D, and recent D60, D30, and Elan cameras. The 1V,
1D, and 1Ds are all rated at 250 volts.

The safe sync is a cheap insurance policy for any camera,
especially if you use rental lights (who knows which era that
particular unit was built?).
Click to expand...
 
Chuck Westfall replied to KiwiKeith in another forum.
"Hi, Keith:

Thanks for clarifying your question. I've already addressed this issue here about 6 weeks ago in message #136880. Here's a relevant excerpt:
Bern Caughey said:
Bern Caughey said:
When you say "significantly higher than 6v" do you have any guidelines as to what is "significant?"
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
My recommendation would be to keep the sync voltage as low as possible when using the 10D, D60 or D30. 6 volts is a safe figure for these models. Generally speaking, sync voltages up to 19 or 20 volts won't cause any immediate problems, but they may shorten the life of the shutter. We always recommend a sync filter whenever sync voltage exceeds 6V with the 10D, D60 or D30. (The corresponding figure for 1D and 1Ds is 250 volts.)
Bern Caughey said:
Bern Caughey said:
And does the limit apply to the PC outlet as well as to the hot shoe?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Yes, because the sync signal with these cameras (10D, D60, D30) is generated mechanically at the shutter. The sync terminals, whether hot shoe or PC socket, are both connected to the shutter.
Bern Caughey said:
Bern Caughey said:
Is there any sign of damage being done? Or is it a gradual buildup of damaging arcs on a circuit board that will hold up for a while and then all of a sudden fail at some point?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
There's no externally visible sign of damage. However, excessive sync voltage can shorten the life of a 10D, D60 or D30 shutter. You'll know you've got a problem when the camera can no longer fire an external flash unit. When that happens, the shutter unit must be replaced. This is not a difficult thing for an authorized service technician to do, but it's relatively expensive. I won't quote an exact price, but you're looking at several hundred dollars for parts, labor and a 6-month warranty. Keep in mind that shutter damage caused by excessive sync voltage is not covered by the warranty.
Let me know if this answers your questions!"
--------------------
Chuck Westfall
Director/Technical Information Dept.
Camera Division/Canon U.S.A., Inc.
 
I once rented a summer cottage north of NYC. It had a bathroom where the toilet roll holder was in an extrmely awkward place.

A friend came to visit and used the toilet. Afterward she commented the bathroom was "designed by someone who never used toilet paper..."
 
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