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Slave flash for FZ1?

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Gospel #160752

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Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
 
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
There is no auto TTL of course but many good known flashguns will work fine with the FZ!,. I use a Metz 32-Z1 (alas no longer sold now) but such as the Sunpak 383 or similar are fine...and I use mine with a tiny HAMA cube-flash slave on the bottom of the gun, set the gun to manual settings as indicated by the variable slider for manual setting and better if your gun has two or three power settings..trial and error but one will be fine. Just be wary of any OLD guns as a lot do have VERY VERY high trigger voltages..not good !! .. but most more modern guns tend to have modest voltages and should be OK with most digis

--
EJN
 
Sorry - forgot to mention the obvious...the main external gun with the HAMA cube slave is triggered of course with the onboard gun so be sure that is set 'on'. Forgot to check if you are in US but if so , B&H do the HAMA..just go to their site and search for 'HAMA' and I think that gets it ..or maybe look under 'flashguns etc' .....just found it ..

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=163363&is=REG

EJN
Member said:
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
There is no auto TTL of course but many good known flashguns will
work fine with the FZ!,. I use a Metz 32-Z1 (alas no longer sold
now) but such as the Sunpak 383 or similar are fine...and I use
mine with a tiny HAMA cube-flash slave on the bottom of the gun,
set the gun to manual settings as indicated by the variable slider
for manual setting and better if your gun has two or three power
settings..trial and error but one will be fine. Just be wary of
any OLD guns as a lot do have VERY VERY high trigger voltages..not
good !! .. but most more modern guns tend to have modest voltages
and should be OK with most digis

--
EJN
Click to expand...
--
EJN
 
http://www.plcdigital.com/cart/xshop/Results1.asp?

Go down near the bottom of page when you get into this link.
This is the one I bought originally for the FZ1 and now I have
a second unit I use on my LC43. They work great for snap shots
up to about 16 feet. Just about right for party use. In fact I'll be
using mine tonite. These people are great to deal with, very prompt.

You are correct in that you need the onboard flash to trigger this
slave but this one has two key features.

I. You can use it as a regular flash - if you have a hot shoe like the FZ10
2 It will not trigger on a prefash which many digitals have.

and a 3rd + is that is available in Black or Silver to match your camera. It really increases the range of the built in flash.

There are some more powerful ones available also. One is from Vivatar and has guide number of 92 which is pretty good. It sells for about $80 at J&R

Manufacturer=&Category=5
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
 
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
I didn´t have a too good experience with slave flahes working with the FZ1.

I bought a Nisin Digislave, a nice litle flash, but it seems that the FZ1 does,t respond to the light the flash emits. The Nisin digislave sends always its maximum flash, so the FZ1 should respond by opening or closing the diafragm in order as to adjust to the correct exposure. In my regards it does't, as it keeps always 2,8 opening, making most of the time overexposed pictures! I wonder if anyone has had this experience?

Also to get some decent pictures I had always to use the flash regulation without the red eyes compensation and the Nisin position for red eye reduction made some very dark pictures when used with this FZ1 position.

I also had an older Vivitar 283 flash and got Wein Peanut Slave to use with it. Cost me 45 USD and the results were poor!

Now I use the FZ1 flash, or natural light as with 2,8 opening and the IS one can get some very good inside pictures.

The new white balance compensation of the FZ2 upgrade is a very big help particularly the posibility of calibration on a White celling or wall.

The poor FZ1 capability for focusing with low light also limits its use inside, with or without flash. For me this is the main fault of this fantastic camera.

I get pictures with it better than with any 4 or 5 mega pixels ones and have made big enlargements that have astonished many with higher end cameras.

Netimage software is also a big help and can make big improvements particularly to pictures taken inside at 2,8 and 400 ASA.

A happy new year to you all, and forgive my poor English as it isn't my mother language.
 
Yes, you have it correct, Steven. Either a slave flash, or a digital slave unit attached to any flash would be triggered by the FZ1's onboard flash. (It has to be a digital slave unit that detects the FZ1's preflash.)

The HAMA apparently works - I used a Wein PND (around $35). Here's sample pics illustrating the difference with and without slave flash - a Vivitar 283 at 45 degrees bounced off the ceiling (dark room with one window - the interior light was NOT turned on in any of the pictures):
http://scichess.org/fz1/
-Steve
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
 
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just went through this yesterday myself, Steve. A slave unit will work, but you gotta make sure its especially made for digital use. There's a post by another Steve that I'm too lazy and hurried right now to look up that explains the reason. Has to do w/ most digitals using a pre-flash to set the exposure. Anyway, the cheapies like the lil' $20 Quantaray don't work. I ended up w/ a Sunpak DS 20, purchased from Ritz for 30 bucks. It seems to be ok for what I want to do (just extend the flash a li'l further into larger rooms). Haven't given it a full shakedown yet, but the New Year's festivities tonight may provide a golden opportunity. I gotta feelin' that the OIS just might get a workout too, before the night is over!!

mud
 
ssteppe said:
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
Hallo Steve,
Click to expand...
As i also have a Vivitar 283 with the Wein peanut slave, can you tell me how do you regulate the Vivitar sensor coulors? it has a front plug that you can select to different colours, which one do you use with the FZ1?
Thanks for any help.
Jose
 
Steven:

I highly recommend the Vivitar DF200 slave flash for use with the FZ1/2. It has a "learning mode" and works very well with these cameras.

Please also note that trigger voltage is NOT an issue with these cameras, which have no flash shoe. The vivitar comes with an cellent flash bracket (screws into the tripod socket) and a nice mini tripod.

Jack Winberg
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
 
Jose, it depends on your ISO settings. Since it's dark enough to use flash, the FZ1 will be using f2.8, so if you have ISO set to 50, use the "red" setting on your Vivitar. Unfortunately, it's hard to focus and frame in low light when the ISO is set to 50, so I usually use ISO 100 and set the Vivitar to the "yellow" setting.
-Steve
Jose Maia said:
Jose Maia said:
http://scichess.org/fz1/
Hallo Steve,
Click to expand...
As i also have a Vivitar 283 with the Wein peanut slave, can you
tell me how do you regulate the Vivitar sensor coulors? it has a
front plug that you can select to different colours, which one do
you use with the FZ1?
Thanks for any help.
Jose
Click to expand...
 
ssteppe said:
Yes, you have it correct, Steven. Either a slave flash, or a
digital slave unit attached to any flash would be triggered by the
FZ1's onboard flash. (It has to be a digital slave unit that
detects the FZ1's preflash.)
The HAMA apparently works - I used a Wein PND (around $35). Here's
sample pics illustrating the difference with and without slave
flash - a Vivitar 283 at 45 degrees bounced off the ceiling (dark
room with one window - the interior light was NOT turned on in any
of the pictures):
http://scichess.org/fz1/
-Steve
Click to expand...
Nice examples!!!

But how do you focus in ambient light or these low light condition??
 
This is my setup. I have an Oly FL40 flash, fully automatic and manual control. Then i went out to purchase a slave trigger.



Setting.

I usually set my FZ2 with Shutter priority at 1/50 ~ 1/60. ISO to 100 . White balance wise, i found the image come out better at Auto. You can also set it too Daylight setting and use the manual color balance and set it too a bit blue setting.

Derek
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
 
That's interesting Derek. I would like to do the same with my OLY FL-50.

What type of slave trigger did you get and what is the approx. cost?

Sree
Derek Hung said:
This is my setup. I have an Oly FL40 flash, fully automatic and
manual control. Then i went out to purchase a slave trigger.
Click to expand...
RC Bear said:
Setting.

I usually set my FZ2 with Shutter priority at 1/50 ~ 1/60. ISO to
100 . White balance wise, i found the image come out better at
Auto. You can also set it too Daylight setting and use the manual
color balance and set it too a bit blue setting.

Derek
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Sree

I have two slave trigger. The first one i used goes on the bottom of the flash. it works ok on indoor photos, outdoor, the trigger doesn't work. Maybe is the lighting or something. So i went out to get another one (shown on my photo) Is a Nissan brand, then i purchase another hot shoe with a extension cable. Now, i have the extension cable tie to the slave trigger and i can position the slave trigger anywhere i wanted.

I like this Olympus flash cos it recharge quickly and can rapid fire as fast as the camera flash could go. but at full power setting, it can only flash once, this can be a problem since the camera onboard flash will flash twice before taking the photos. So, the flash is good only at anything then full power setting.

The slave trigger with the hot shoe cost me about 35~40 USD. (note that i purchase it in HK)

how is your FL-50? you like it?

Derek
Sree_G said:
What type of slave trigger did you get and what is the approx. cost?

Sree
Derek Hung said:
This is my setup. I have an Oly FL40 flash, fully automatic and
manual control. Then i went out to purchase a slave trigger.
Click to expand...
Sree_G said:
Setting.

I usually set my FZ2 with Shutter priority at 1/50 ~ 1/60. ISO to
100 . White balance wise, i found the image come out better at
Auto. You can also set it too Daylight setting and use the manual
color balance and set it too a bit blue setting.

Derek
Gospel said:
Hi all,

Can a slave flash be used with the FZ1? I not to clear on how
they work but seems that they detect the flash from the master then
go off very quickly andere is no physical wire connection betweent
he two. Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Derek

Thanks for the info. I'll look around here in Singapore to see if I can find it at similar pricing.

The FL-50 is great, although a bit expensive. My older SLR flash died on me so I bought the FL-50 as a replacement for it as well as for my 5060. I hope to use the FL-50 with my (future) DLSR (E1 or replacement) in about a couple of years too. I'm still trying to find the optimum firing strength at times. But with a GN of 50 at 85mm, its given me good exposure shots where I would not have managed any before. It copes well with multi-flash situations.

Sree
Derek Hung said:
I have two slave trigger. The first one i used goes on the bottom
of the flash. it works ok on indoor photos, outdoor, the trigger
doesn't work. Maybe is the lighting or something. So i went out
to get another one (shown on my photo) Is a Nissan brand, then i
purchase another hot shoe with a extension cable. Now, i have the
extension cable tie to the slave trigger and i can position the
slave trigger anywhere i wanted.

I like this Olympus flash cos it recharge quickly and can rapid
fire as fast as the camera flash could go. but at full power
setting, it can only flash once, this can be a problem since the
camera onboard flash will flash twice before taking the photos.
So, the flash is good only at anything then full power setting.

The slave trigger with the hot shoe cost me about 35~40 USD. (note
that i purchase it in HK)

how is your FL-50? you like it?

Derek
Sree_G said:
That's interesting Derek. I would like to do the same with my OLY
FL-50.

What type of slave trigger did you get and what is the approx. cost?

Sree
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
.. and of course as I had bought a FZ1 just a few days ago (Sun), the idea of using the FL-50 to be slave triggered for my FZ1-2 (have upgraded the firmware as well) appeals to me greatly!!.

I had just purchased a tiny SunPac RemoteLite II to complement my FZ1-2 but using a slave triggered FL-50 seems like a great way to go (and justifies even more my investment in the flash)!

Sree
Sree_G said:
Thanks for the info. I'll look around here in Singapore to see if I
can find it at similar pricing.

The FL-50 is great, although a bit expensive. My older SLR flash
died on me so I bought the FL-50 as a replacement for it as well as
for my 5060. I hope to use the FL-50 with my (future) DLSR (E1 or
replacement) in about a couple of years too. I'm still trying to
find the optimum firing strength at times. But with a GN of 50 at
85mm, its given me good exposure shots where I would not have
managed any before. It copes well with multi-flash situations.

Sree
Derek Hung said:
I have two slave trigger. The first one i used goes on the bottom
of the flash. it works ok on indoor photos, outdoor, the trigger
doesn't work. Maybe is the lighting or something. So i went out
to get another one (shown on my photo) Is a Nissan brand, then i
purchase another hot shoe with a extension cable. Now, i have the
extension cable tie to the slave trigger and i can position the
slave trigger anywhere i wanted.

I like this Olympus flash cos it recharge quickly and can rapid
fire as fast as the camera flash could go. but at full power
setting, it can only flash once, this can be a problem since the
camera onboard flash will flash twice before taking the photos.
So, the flash is good only at anything then full power setting.

The slave trigger with the hot shoe cost me about 35~40 USD. (note
that i purchase it in HK)

how is your FL-50? you like it?

Derek
Sree_G said:
That's interesting Derek. I would like to do the same with my OLY
FL-50.

What type of slave trigger did you get and what is the approx. cost?

Sree
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
If anyboby is still interested, I just picked up a vivtar sf-1 and I have to tell you that it is fantastic! It fires full pop in slave mode so you just go into apperture priority mode to control exposure, very quck and easy.

Indoors it is very sensitive and will "see" the main flash well over 90% of the time, in a well lit room and 100% of the time in a dark/dim room.

It recharges way faster than any built in flash I've ever seen too.

The only short coming I can see withit is when I tested it outside in the dark , it didn't always see the main flash and hence not fire. It would see the main flash if the subject was less than 15 feet away

, but not reliably if the subject is further. Not enough reflected light to trip the slave I guess.

For indoor fill light or add a really nice bounce this little baby is great.
And its so cheap to boot!
 
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