Can't get the Flash trigger with M-P 240

[Leicabuff]

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Hi,

I need to do some product photography. I have got the multifunction grip with the SCA adapter bracket. I have also profoto lighting. So I went and picked up a set of transceivers. They are setup properly but the flash doesn't trigger. I can press the test button and flash triggers but not when I press the shutter. Do I need to make any setup on the camera for the flash to trigger?

 

I read the manual 3 times but can't solve the problem. Appreciate any help.

 

Cheers

Jay

[Exodies]

To start with the blindingly obvious - have you set shutter speed to ⚡️(Lightning flash) or slower?

 

Which make and model transceivers and how connected?

Edited July 9, 2017 by Exodies

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[Leicabuff]

Yes, the shutter speed on flash and 1/125 tried already.

 

The local store had only Cactus V5 transceivers. I have one transceiver is attached to the SCA Adapter bracket to the multifunction grip and the receiver via 3.5mm cord with a 6.25mm plug adapter to profoto pack.

 

This the the transceiver:

 

https://www.cactus-image.com/v5.html

[jaapv]

The hot shoe from Leica is slightly less deep. Sometimes one needs to file a small edge/corner off the front of the foot of the flash for the central contact to engage.

Edit - see that you connect through a cord to the grip - so this does not apply.

[mwilliamsphotography]

Hard to diagnose with sketchy info. Plus, you didn't mention which Profoto lights you have. 

 

Since you can trigger the flash manually, that would rule out a connection issue at the receiver end on the strobe. So it would appear that the problem is at the camera end.

 

Are you using one of the transceivers in the hot shoe? If so, it may be that the trigger pins are not lining up with the hot shoe pins. Jaap notes one possibility above, another could be that the list of incompatible speed-lights is pretty big ... which means not all hot shoes work.

 

The simple solution to any of these issues is to simply use the Profoto PC cord that came with the strobes, and hard wire it to one light, and set the other lights to slave. Done.

 

The other solution is to use the Profoto triggers or standard PocketWizards  ... I know they work with Leica.

 

- Marc

[Leicabuff]

The center connectors should connect as leica's hot shoe connector is oval. I checked it and that looks ok.

 

I am wondering why it shouldn't be compatible with only one connection in the center to transfer the command and fire the flash?

 

I have attached a photo of how the transceiver is connected to the bracket and camera. I actually tried it on both camera and the bracket.

 

Will try perhaps with a flash to use the profoto as slave.

 

I just hope it is not the camera. It was such a hassle to send a new camera to Germany for fix. And now there is no warranty.

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[ECohen]

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Is there a reason your not hooking the transmitter to the M's hot shoe?

 

When I use studio strobes I put a Pocket Wizard Transmitter  on the Ms hot shoe and hook the receiver to the strobes via a Household Sync, You may need  to use a different cord for Profoto?

 

I also have a cheap off brand transmitter set, Promaster that works exactly the same way. Hot shoe and Household Sync
 

Am I reading your issue correctly?

Edited July 9, 2017 by ECohen

[Exodies]

I have a trigger which doesn't work on a Leica and the reason is the way the trigger determines if it is a transmitter or receiver. It uses two pins in the hot shoe which it expects to be connected; in a Leica they are not. You can modify the trigger to force it to always be a transmitter and then it works. Maybe your trigger behaves similarly.

It's well past time that flash connections were standardised.

[Leicabuff]

I just went and picked up two more sets of transceivers. 1. Pocketwizard plus X and 2. Photic something.

Then connected the pocketwizard set and I couldn't even test trigger. I was giving up, then I changed batteries and tried connecting the set with sequence.

1. Connected the first one to the pack and turned on both the profoto pack and the tranreceiver. The light blinked green. It was constant red 5 minutes earlier. I could test fire.

2. Turned on the transmitter on the camera and could test fire and trigger with shutter.

3. Happy took a few photos and noticed overexposure. Changed the setting on the pack and both lights turned red on transceivers again.

4. Turned off everything and Tried again with sequence and it works.

Don't know why it is so lame that you have the turn off to change setting on the pack?

 

Any thoughts on that?

[ECohen]

Sounds like fancy electronics are not playing well together?

Doesn't Profoto have their own sync that is designed to do exactly what you want?

https://profoto.com/us/air-remotes

 

 

At least it isn't the camera  ;-)

Edited July 10, 2017 by ECohen

[Leicabuff]

Thanks for the link on Profoto remote, but I guess I can't get them here in Canada. So I will do the best I can get from Pocketwizards.

 

I am so happy it is not the Camera. It was such hassle sending the camera to Germany. The jackals from UPS charged me import taxes for the fix under warranty.

[ECohen]

I'm not sure if this solves your problem, but surely B&H in NYC will ship to Canada.
Try live chat they are very helpful ....Good Luck

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=profoto%20Air%20sync&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
 

[david strachan]

I got a set on your recommendation Paul. Transmitter and three receivers for next to nothing.

They arrived yesterday and I've tried it with one flash, so far, on my M8 and M240.

 

It works perfectly...every time.

 

Now just a matter of balance and light intensity...they are good though. Particularly with manual flashes which allow intensity control, and swivel-tilt of course.

 

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Cheers...

Edited July 14, 2017 by david strachan

[Echo63]

 

 

I had a bit of an epiphany by studying and working through David Hobby's Strobist site and I came to realise that MANUAL is the way to go for off camera flash and that you DON'T need a complicated TTL set up. All you need is a way to trigger a MANUAL flash and then establish your own "ballpark" figures at various power settings and flash/subject distances. For my set up I find that with some old Nikon SB flashes set to1/4 power with a shoot through brolly at about 2m from the subject with the camera set at ISO 200 I get about F5.6. Once this figure is known and gives a good level of illumination then it's simple to vary it for other situations.  

 

 

Yay ! Someone else who understands !

and it is easy to do the maths in your head now - move that brolly in to 1m and you get f11 or move it back to 4m and get f2.8

and the best bit, as you move around, reframe, change lenses etc, providing the ISO and Aperture stay the same, the pic will be exposed the same (ignoring the differences in light transmission between lenses at the same f stop.

 

I have found a single Canon speed light fired into the corner of a light coloured room at  1/8  power gives a nice clean 1/60 f4 800 ISO in most houses.

 

Fwiw i have found my PW Flex TT1 and TT5 for canon to be very reliable when used in manual mode (TTL on Canon was a bit flaky, but manual on Canon and Leica has been rock solid)  PW Multimax have been reliable for me too - even when doing stupid stuff (like triggering a remote camera on a drift car doing 120+KPH - reliable triggering from 350-400m, providing i remembered to plug the camera in to the trigger)

 

I have been playing with a SMDV BRiHT-360 flash recently and found it excellent too, not that much bigger than a speed light with power pack, but a lot more power, and reliable 2sec recycle time.

[Leicabuff]

Thanks everyone for recommendations. I took the PWs back because they worked one day and a few days later not anymore. I believe I made a mistake, because they fired only when the WB was on flash and I had turned it to automatic, the day it didn't work.

 

Anyways, I will give it a try with Jongnou 602. The only problem with that is the Chinese seller can't send the package via EMS due to battery regulation and I am not sure if B&H sells them with battery. Have to see where I get them.

[Leicabuff]

Got Yongnuo RF602 set this week. They work only intermittently, that means they trigger 3 to 4 times and then not working anymore for no reason. I connect them via the Sync Cord to the pack.I can see the lights on both sender and receiver are correct and actually they work with a Nikon flash with no issues.

 

When I connect my flash meter or color meter via the sync cord through the sync port to the profoto pack, there is no miss. they always work and fire. So it can't be the pack is faulty. I guess the transmitters sending a different electrical signal to the pack to fire than those signal, the flash meter or color meter send. It would be interesting to know the difference.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Leicabuff

[Leicabuff]

The problem is solved. As I guessed, none of the wireless triggers gave the right electrical signal to the Profoto pack to trigger a flash. There is a Hot Shoe to Hot Shoe Safe Sync solution from the US company Wein. Its purpose is to save the camera from high voltage from the old flash systems, however, since it regulates the electrical trigger to 6V, I thought I try to connect the wireless receiver to it and then connect the Safe sync with PC cable to the profoto pack. That way the transmitter connected to the camera sends wireless the signal to the receiver and receiver transmit it to the Safe Sync from Wein and that gives 6V of electrical signal to the profoto pack. It looks ridiculous but it works.

 

Why do I need Flash 9 to upload a photo?

Edited September 6, 2017 by Leicabuff

[Exodies]

You don't need flash 9. That's for an advanced uploader (presumably allows upload of multiple images), just use the advanced reply options, choose file, attach this file and add the file to the post.

[Leicabuff]

Here it is, My modular flash system.

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Hallo,

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