Can I use Radio trigger + flash with old cameras?

[ColdEye]

Can I use a radio trigger and flash combo (yong nuo rf-602 and yong nuo 460-II) with my slr, a nikkomat ft2. I had them before but sold them already so I cannot test it with my Nikkomat.

 

[erikg]

Yes, if the camera has a hot shoe or a pc sync, which I believe the Nikkormat has both, it will work. I use pocket wizards with all sorts of old stuff.

 

[ColdEye]

Oh, so all that is needed in the camera is a pc sync? Thanks, that is good new. Now I can play with off cam lighting.

 

[wally]

One thing to be careful of: These radio triggers take a certain amount of time to send their message from transmitter to receiver.

Not an issue with focal plane shutters, which normally dictate a max shutter speed of 1/25th or thereabouts.

But a leaf shutter will operate up to 1/500th. If the message from the trigger to the receiver is still being processed by the receiver when the shutter is beginning to close, you'll get an underexposed shot.

When using radio triggers, I limit shutter speed to 1/125th.

 

[CGW]

Not an issue with focal plane shutters, which normally dictate a max shutter speed of 1/25th or thereabouts.

What? Just stay at or below your camera's synch speed.

 

[wally]

Not an issue with focal plane shutters, which normally dictate a max shutter speed of 1/25th or thereabouts.

What? Just stay at or below your camera's synch speed.

You misunderstand. Leaf shutters go to 1/500th and can sync at that speed.

The issue is that the radio triggers have a delay between the shutter telling the transmitter to fire and the reciever telling the flash to fire.

If you use 1/125th or 1/160th, you're fine.

If you use your leaf shutter set to 1/500th, then you may not be getting all the strobes juice in your exposure.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

What? Just stay at or below your camera's synch speed.

What he is saying is that if you are hard wired to your strobe, you can operate up to 1/500th with a leaf shutter.

If you introduce a transmitter/receiver, the signal from one to the other may prohibit you from going as high as the shutter willl allow you.


Or in simpler terms, the leaf shutter may let you operate at 1/500th, but the transmitter/receiver wont.

 

[CGW]

What he is saying is that if you are hard wired to your strobe, you can operate up to 1/500th with a leaf shutter.

If you introduce a transmitter/receiver, the signal from one to the other may prohibit you from going as high as the shutter willl allow you.


Or in simpler terms, the leaf shutter may let you operate at 1/500th, but the transmitter/receiver wont.

PW products don't seem to have this issue. Most of my studio shooting is well south of 1/500. Outdoors at higher speed? No problems. Don't think the OP has much to worry about.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

PW products don't seem to have this issue. Most of my studio shooting is well south of 1/500. Outdoors at higher speed? No problems. Don't think the OP has much to worry about.

True. I use the Flex TT5's and regularly shoot at speeds over 1/1000th without issue.

 

[John Koehrer]

Let's see now.
lens opens completely, fires transmitter, transmitter sends signal to receiver, which relays it to the flash. Eventually the shutter closes.
Electrons travel at/near the speed of light so the slowest part of the chain is the shutter. Then comes radio waves, then flash. Blink!

Wonder how long it takes for the flash to respond to the closing of the switch?

All you need to do to test is look through the shutter at it's highest speed and trip the flash. Light = it's working at the highest speed.

 

[ghostcount]

...Electrons travel at/near the speed of light so the slowest part of the chain is the shutter...

Don't forget processing time. There are a lot of things happening from signal reception to actual flash trigger.

 

[wally]

True. I use the Flex TT5's and regularly shoot at speeds over 1/1000th without issue.

What leaf shutter operates at 1/1000th?

Or is this a FP shutter with a flash that fires multiple times during the exposure?

 

[rjbuzzclick]

What leaf shutter operates at 1/1000th?

Or is this a FP shutter with a flash that fires multiple times during the exposure?

The Super Speed Graphic had a 1/1000th leaf shutter, but I think they were prone to failures.