DSLRUsers.com

Fellow-member SteveGriffin and I were experimenting with my new sound-activated flash trigger. (Thanks Steve for doing all the fiddly work with the soldering iron). It took a bit of mucking around to get the settings right and there's plenty more playing to do but at least I got a few shots.

We tried freezing a party popper in action but it wasn't as successful as the balloon popping. Focus issues here are due to not quite getting the flash strength right. Next time!

Steve has a photo of the set-up and will either send it to me or post it here directly. Basically, the balloon was pinned down at the tie-off and stuck with double-sided sticky tape to the black backboard. The light was then turned off, remote shutter release hit to start the exposure and the balloon was popped with the pin, activating the flash. The flash and the tripod were mounted on separate tripods.

EXIF: D70, 18-70mm Kit lens, f8, 2sec exposure, SB800 in Manual mode 1/16 power, with LSPJII and diffuser dome.

Interesting stuff Simon.
Look forward to seeing the setup.

wow, thats got me thinking of some new electronics projects...

great capture of something the eye doesnt see (my FAVOURITE thing in Photography)

Cheers Geoff and OZ. Yeah - it's given me incentive to go and get my archery gear out of the garage; an arrow being shot from the bow should work. I'm on the hunt for things that make a noise and move fast. Where's that damn dog of mine...

Pic below is what makes it all possible - $19.95 from Oatley Electronics. The two yellow potentiometers (left end) control sensitivity and delay, this microphone beside them picks up the noise. Signal fed through to a hotshoe (separate: $22 from Photo Continental) and Bob's your uncle. The yellow LED at the right end lights up when sufficient sound occurs, good for testing beforehand.

Interesting stuff, how did you wire the hotshoe? Did you have to open it up or that piece is up for wiring?

Can you buy this kit in Sydney?? I'll browse around Jaycar and see what they've got... sounds interesting (no pun intended)

YiP - the hotshoe had a synch cable; we just snipped off the plug and wired it directly to the board.

The kit is available online: Here

This is an awesome technique.

Do they have the circuit diagram for the oatley board. Wouldnt mind making the whole board myself for something to do

Simon,

Great stuff.

Can you set the flash up in strobe mode, so that when it gets its trigger, it fires multiple times?

Yip, that sort of hotshoe is a common accessory; I have one here, and the way that Simon and Steve wired up a sync cord directly to the pcb is a very inexpensive, and reliable, way to handle this.

My guess is that you could also use an extension sync cord to extend the distance between the flash and the trigger too, so that, in Simon's suggested archery shot, he might want the trigger near the bow (where the sound is generated), but the camera and flash near the target, so that he can get the arrow just prior to entry at the target.

gstark wrote:Can you set the flash up in strobe mode, so that when it gets its trigger, it fires multiple times?

My thoughts exactly, Gary. I was testing that last night but haven't done any images yet.

gstark wrote:My guess is that you could also use an extension sync cord to extend the distance between the flash and the trigger too, so that, in Simon's suggested archery shot, he might want the trigger near the bow (where the sound is generated), but the camera and flash near the target, so that he can get the arrow just prior to entry at the target.

Exactly - I'm trying to rig it up in a little box with a socket for the synch cable (of any length), another for a microphone extension cable (again, any length) and two dials on the outside of the box for the sensitivity and the delay, instead of the fiddly little pots directly on the pcb. I've got some leave coming up....

garlino wrote:This is an awesome technique.

Do they have the circuit diagram for the oatley board. Wouldnt mind making the whole board myself for something to do

Here's the link Garlino.

wonder if can change that microphone for a light sensor, the flash hotshoe for a wired remote and get yourself a trigger for lightning?

obzelite wrote:wonder if can change that microphone for a light sensor, the flash hotshoe for a wired remote and get yourself a trigger for lightning?

Sounds like it would be pretty easy.

Simon impressive and a great addition to have. Good price too

I ordered one, I have a feeling my cat is going to hate me soon!

obzelite wrote:wonder if can change that microphone for a light sensor, the flash hotshoe for a wired remote and get yourself a trigger for lightning?

You'd get a lot of pictures of just after the lightning struck.

There is a world of difference between triggering a flash discharge, which has no moving parts and actuating a shutter.

In the world of high speed photography, it's almost always done with flash exposure until you get to the ultra high speed specialist stuff involving turbines and tracking mechanisms.

In the world of lightning photography, it's done with long exposures or complete fluke.

gstark wrote:My guess is that you could also use an extension sync cord to extend the distance between the flash and the trigger too, so that, in Simon's suggested archery shot, he might want the trigger near the bow (where the sound is generated), but the camera and flash near the target, so that he can get the arrow just prior to entry at the target.

nice shot! i might get this kit and have a go myself.. even though my hands are bit too shaky to handle an iron!

hehe hope you've got a good aim or plenty of cheap mule cameras to sacrifice

-julz

That lightning trigger looks cool but USD329 ????
Ouch.