Running coaxial PC cable between PC sync ports is a common way of synchronizing flash with the shutter curtain of a camera. However more and more cameras and flashes come without PC sync port. The PC sync port now appears to be a legacy thing left for only the high end cameras. D200 and D300 have it but D40, D60, D80, and D90 do not.
The PC sync port can be very useful for some special cases. For example, this Nikon shooter wanted to use an iTTL flash on camera while still being able to fire his radio slaves.
This can certainly be done. I have talked about it in my earlier post titled Mixing Flash Modes. What he need is a hot shoe adapter that has all the required electrical connections to pass through the signals while adding a PC sync port. If you don’t need to maintain iTTL functionality, this device should work. Otherwise you need something just a few wires more sophisticated. The following is what I found for a little over $12 from eBay. Read More…
Posted in
Accessories on January 9th, 2010.
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Do you have a Nikon flash that is dead because of a broken flash bulb? One obvious path to resurrect it is to send it in for service. If you are handy and really understand how to follow safety procedures, you can save some expensive repair charges by doing it yourself.
It doesn’t appear very difficult.
One guy ordered a replacement bulb for ~$20 (including shipping) directly from Nikon and fixed his Nikon SB-80DX. Another guy fixed his SB-600 with a $8.52 replacement bulb. If you are motivated enough to try it yourself, be really careful! Some safety tips on camera flash capacitor probably help.
Contact Nikon Parts Department
- Phone: 1-310-414-8107
- Fax: 1-310-322-6979
- Hours: 7am – 3pm PST Mon – Fri
Posted in
DIY & Hacks on January 5th, 2010.
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If you are not afraid of wiring up an AC circuit, this constant lighting kit may be a good project for you. All the parts can be obtained from home improvement store. The set built by the author cost him $46.07 including 4 100W equivalent daylight compact fluorescent bulbs (but not the umbrella).
Why do you want constant lighting when you already have strobes or flashes? The nice thing about constant lighting is what-you-see-is-what-you-get, which makes adjustments easy. This is particularly helpful for still life photography when there will be no complaints from subject about a constant bright light making the subject uncomfortable. This will also be a good setup for people who make videos.
Source: Nikonian Forum
Posted in
DIY & Hacks on December 23rd, 2009.
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The built-in flash on your DSLR camera has many limitations such as short effective flash range, fixed coverage, etc. It may also be limited by the lens you use and the type of photography you want to do. One problem is that the light coming out of the flash may be blocked by the lens (or lens hood) when shooting subject at close range. That’s exactly what happened to a flickr user:
I’m having this problem of having shadows on my pictures whenever I take shots which is close-up and having less light. So I go with my built-in flash on my Nikon D90. I always use my hood lens for protection but I’m having these shadows bellow my pictures. What should I do? Should I change my hood lens or just remove it when there is less light? I’m using a 18-200mm lens and the hood lens that comes with it is pretty big. Please help. I need some tips.
Many others responded with suggestions to take off the lens hood (will help to a certain extend) or get an external flash. Indeed, an external flash such as Nikon SpeedLight
SB-400, SB-600, SB-800, SB-900, and the macro photography centric R1C1, are great light sources for creative photography especially when used off-camera. It would be very easy to avoid the lens or lens hood shadow. Read More…
Posted in
Photography DIY on April 21st, 2009.
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President Obama’s speech last week was excellent but it wouldn’t fix the global economy overnight. So for all the photographers who suffer from gear lust but still wise enough to refrain from spending the limited cash from who-knows-when-it-stops paychecks, DIY photography gear is a good option, especially when 1) it saves money, 2) it is as good as you can buy, 3) the details have all been prepared for you.
Karl Zemlin has created a very detailed instruction for building a mini softbox for your speedlight flash units. PDF templates for both large and small versions of the mini softbox are available for Nikon SB-600
, Nikon SB-800
, and Vivitar 285
.
What are needed on your part? Not much:
- Materials (a shopping list is provided)
- 3 hours to kill
- Access to a printer (print the templates)
- The ability to follow instructions
For American readers: When printing the PDF templates, use appropriate paper sizes. Based on the dimensions, Letter for A4 and Ledger/Tabloid for A3 should be good replacements. Make sure you don’t re-size it when printing.
Want to show off yours or need some help? Here is the flickr discussion thread …
Posted in
Photography DIY on March 1st, 2009.
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Mounting a flash unit on the camera is an effective first step to overcome the limitations of the built-in flash. However a whole new world opens up when you take the flash off the camera and arrange it creatively for much better flash photography lighting.
The natural question is how to support the off-camera flash. You can try to handhold it. It may work for some occasions but not suitable for long shooting sessions or without an assistant. Most flash units come with a small stand such as the AS-19
for Nikon Speedlights that you can use to place the flash on a flat surface. You can get lightstand and mount the flash on top it. Depending on the specific shooting situation, not all of the above may be the best solution. Using a clamp to attach the flash unit to structures within the shooting environment is a great way of supplementing the other methods. Read More…
Beauty dish is a dish shaped flash light modifier that can be used to enhance portraits. There isn’t a definitive answer anywhere I could find about where the name came from but some people think the name comes from its popular use in beauty photography involving extreme close-ups like in make up ads. Beauty dish provides a much more diffused light compared to a bare flash but the light isn’t as diffused or soft as the light from softbox. Perhaps this is why it provides certain unique “look” that many people like. It is getting very popular as a do-it-yourself (DIY) photography project.
Out of a large list of beauty dish DIY projects, I found this one to be the best I have seen so far. It uses only a few parts that cost about $20: an empty CD spindle case you may already have, a plastic bowl and a plastic downspout adapter for a gutter from home improvement store, and a convex mirror from auto parts store. It is a very easy project as well. Several people reported that the project takes only about an hour to complete once you have all the parts.
If you are temped to get started to make your own beauty dish, you may find that the parts availability can be a problem depends on where you live and what flash unit you have. You may not be able to find the exact dish, the gutter part, the convex mirror etc. Don’t get frustrated though. Just try to be creative and you should be able to find alternatives. Check out the following links for some inspiration:
Posted in
DIY & Hacks on February 1st, 2009.
2 Comments.
or the 
for use as the dish
