Will a Nikon SC-28 cable give you the same control as with a flash on the hot shoe?

Naboo32

Naboo32

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,278
Name
Andy
Edit My Images
Yes
Not sure if I worded that very well, but here's the thing ...

I've just bought an (eBay) TTL cord, which claims to be compatible with the Nikon system, yet when I connect it up all I can get is a reduced set of functions (the SB-900 goes from "TTL" to "A" Aperture mode every time I press the shutter release) and the settings shown on the back of the SB-900 do not match the camera settings (e.g. aperture value is wrong, zoom length on lens is wrong etc.).

Do I have a faulty cable, or is this how these things are supposed to work (if so, it's no use to me :()!?

Would a proper Nikon SC-28 be exactly like having the flash mounted directly to the hot shoe (I assume so) and do cheaper brands normally have the same functionality? Please help :'( .
 
... No takers :shrug:?

Is it that the question is not clear enough, or that nobody who's read this has had the same experience with their TTL cable, or is it because I is German :D?

(Actually, I'm not German, I'm just living here ;)).
 
chrisgeary said:
AFAIK, yes. I've used it and can't see any difference but I've not used it much so I'm not 100%
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris :).

So, for instance, if you select TTL mode and zoom the camera lens in and out, you see the zoom value change on the back of the flash and you can still dial in +/- EV compensation from the flash menu on the camera and it will register on the flash?

I can't do any of this stuff with the 'cheapo' cable (actually, 20 quid isn't all that cheap, IMO :suspect:) that I'm using. I tried switching the SB-900 to REMOTE mode as well, just in case it was supposed to communicate through the cable that way, but this just activates the IR sensors on the flash and won't work unless I pop up the camera's built-in flash and use it 'optically' (i.e. bypassing the cable) :(.

It seems that the item is either faulty or not actually iTTL compatible, but I want to make certain, before making a fuss with the seller.
 
When you've sorted it out with the seller, perhaps you should go for the SC-29?
 
Was looking to buy a similar cable from FITP who sells strobist type equipment on here. Wasn't certain at the time if it was fully compatible with the SB900 so I've waited untill i can afford the SC-29 cable.

Would be interested in others experience of this?

Paul
 
I've got a Nikon SC-28 and I'm using the old SB-25/26s and mine work totally fine. When I zoom in and out the flash zooms, different ISO selected on camera is then shown on the flash

That's why I went the real Nikon one rather than the eBay models as then I hopefully knew it was going to work
 
photon said:
When you've sorted it out with the seller, perhaps you should go for the SC-29?
Click to expand...

You're probably right about that - the extra cost over the SC-28 is not all that much. The thing is, I don't know if really need one badly enough to justify the expense. 70 odd quid is just an obscene price for a piece of curly wire and two plugs. Like a lot of Nikon's gear, it's aimed at pros, who can justify this kind of expenditure by the money-making shots that it affords them :|.

For me, as an amateur, a cable like this is just an extra convenience for those times when the built-in flash won't reliably trigger the flash (often held up in my free hand). 90% of the time, Commander Mode is all I need - a couple of times I've had problems with the flash not firing, but just twisting it round a little is usually enough to cure it.

Will try and get a refund on this piece of eBay crap and then have another think about it - radio triggers might actually be a better bet, in the long run :thinking:.

Thanks for the input :).
 
Mine was £57 from a reliable HK eBay seller. Bit miffed that I hadn't RTFM to find the AF assist doesn't work for lenses wider than 24mm.
 
chrisgeary said:
Yes
Click to expand...

cherryrig said:
I've got a Nikon SC-28 and I'm using the old SB-25/26s and mine work totally fine. When I zoom in and out the flash zooms, different ISO selected on camera is then shown on the flash

That's why I went the real Nikon one rather than the eBay models as then I hopefully knew it was going to work
Click to expand...

Thanks guys :thumbs:! This is what I would have expected the cheapo version to do, as well - but it doesn't :thumbsdown:.

"Buy cheap, buy twice". It's so true :(.
 
Bought mine for about £23 off ebay - it's not a yongnuo one but very similar and NOT an official Nikon SC-28 - and mine gives me full functions (with an SB800/SB28/SB28DX), just like having the flash on the hotshoe. Think you have a duffer....
 
specialman said:
Bought mine for about £23 off ebay - it's not a yongnuo one but very similar and NOT an official Nikon SC-28 - and mine gives me full functions (with an SB800/SB28/SB28DX), just like having the flash on the hotshoe. Think you have a duffer....
Click to expand...

Had a duffer ;) - it went back in a Jiffy Bag today!

I think I'll struggle on with REMOTE function on my SB-900s for now and just try and find a reliable way to position them so that they receive the signal from the built-in flash.

Thanks for the input though :).
 
Naboo, I'm pretty certain the Nissin ones will be reliable and cheaper than the Nikon ones. Think WEX sells them for about £45 - don't know what the Nikon cost is.....
 
I've been using an SC28 cable for around ten years now makes sense to buy the Nikon one, I'll no doubt need to buy a new one at some stage but the original is still going strong

TTL and flash full zoom capabilites unless you start bouncing in which case it sticks to the widest setting.
 
SC-29 all the way - the oncamera bit does indeed help with focussing in near dark too :)

Once you have one, you'll probably end up using it more often then you currently imagine, especially as a way into 'strobist' use

The SC-29 fits atop a monopod and stretches out to about 6ft, and I use it that way often at Weddings for the OCF look with the convenience of iTTL too. But I also mount it to tripods sometimes and work 'free' within that 6ft range

Great for macro/flowers/people up close too :thumbs:

DD
 
specialman said:
Naboo, I'm pretty certain the Nissin ones will be reliable and cheaper than the Nikon ones. Think WEX sells them for about £45 - don't know what the Nikon cost is.....
Click to expand...

Hmm, 45 quid is getting a bit close to the 65-70 quid for a Nikon one, so I think that I'd probably pay the extra if it came to it. Thanks for the tip though, SM, I'll certainly keep it in mind :).

chivers67 said:
I've been using an SC28 cable for around ten years now makes sense to buy the Nikon one, I'll no doubt need to buy a new one at some stage but the original is still going strong

TTL and flash full zoom capabilites unless you start bouncing in which case it sticks to the widest setting.
Click to expand...

I agree, I do generally like to buy 'the best', but I thought that a cable was just a cable, regardless of who made it :shrug:. Clearly, that was pretty naive of me :D.

DiddyDave said:
SC-29 all the way - the oncamera bit does indeed help with focussing in near dark too :)

Once you have one, you'll probably end up using it more often then you currently imagine, especially as a way into 'strobist' use

The SC-29 fits atop a monopod and stretches out to about 6ft, and I use it that way often at Weddings for the OCF look with the convenience of iTTL too. But I also mount it to tripods sometimes and work 'free' within that 6ft range

Great for macro/flowers/people up close too :thumbs:

DD
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave! The SC-29 seems harder to find than the SC-28, but I believe that it's only fractionally more expensive. So, if I find myself in real need of a cable, this is probably the one that I'll go for.

To be honest, since I got my second SB-900, I haven't found as many opportunities to use it as I thought I would :|. As I'm not a pro and don't work with models or clients, I only really get to practice with friends at social events. The problem there is that we tend to be in confined, public places, where I can't set up lighting stands everywhere and haven't (yet) mastered getting the optical triggering to work. Instead, I've resorted to using just one SB-900 ... on the hot shoe :( (although it did have a Lumiquest Ultrasoft on, which helped smooth things out a bit ;)).

The idea behind buying the cable was that it would allow me to go 'off-camera' with total reliability, so that I could hold the flash myself (or get a friend to do it) and not worry about whether or not the optical triggering will work. In one 'portrait session', which I tried to do recently with a friend's family, I needed the SB-900 to go way behind me, but wanted to get in close with the camera to take some close-up shots of their toddler. The D700's built-in flash just wouldn't communicate with the SB-900, as the signal was only bouncing off a dark brown sofa :shake:. I thought that a cable would have allowed me to use one SB-900 to add some low level, diffused fill lighting, whilst also pointing to the second SB-900, which was far away, but zoomed in with an orange gel filter on, to create a kind of 'sun ray' effect on the sofa. In the end, I just moved one flash closer to the side of me and took up a shooting position further away from the subject. Results were OK, but nothing like as 'creative' as I had hoped.

So, those are the kind of things that I've been trying to do. Maybe the cable is the right tool for the job, or maybe I should consider radio triggers (which would actually be cheaper, if I went off-brand again :thinking:).

Must give it some more thought ;) ....
 
Interesting - thanks for the explanation

Having used the iTTL for most of the time, and manual with triggers the rest of the time, I have to say I prefer the reliability of shooting in manual with triggers to having to always second guess how the iTTL will react and apply compensation accordingly - and keep on doing so where the subject changes position too re backgrounds

I'm currently preparing a presentation on flash usage for camera clubs too, and I can't but help preferring manual for OCF where there's time & space

For all other times though, OFC directly wired by such as the SC-29 is my preferred route, and waving it about on a monopod is cool too :D though I've also just bought the Lastolite V H flash bracket which is way cool IMO, and has the flash mounted on the SC-29 too

DD
 
DiddyDave said:
Interesting - thanks for the explanation

Having used the iTTL for most of the time, and manual with triggers the rest of the time, I have to say I prefer the reliability of shooting in manual with triggers to having to always second guess how the iTTL will react and apply compensation accordingly - and keep on doing so where the subject changes position too re backgrounds

I'm currently preparing a presentation on flash usage for camera clubs too, and I can't but help preferring manual for OCF where there's time & space

For all other times though, OFC directly wired by such as the SC-29 is my preferred route, and waving it about on a monopod is cool too :D though I've also just bought the Lastolite V H flash bracket which is way cool IMO, and has the flash mounted on the SC-29 too

DD
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can see your point about the lack of variables in using manual triggers. I suppose that it all depends how much ambient light there is and (perhaps) just how you go about composing the shots :shrug:. In a studio-type environment, I can well imagine that manually setting everything would be the way to go, whereas outside, or in an environment where the ambient light levels are changing all of the time, then iTTL really comes into it's own.

I think that, for me, the thing to do is just to try and use what I've got and see if I can get around the triggering issue without automatically just throwing more money at it (as I usually do :D). Then, if I can see a clear benefit to investing in a cable, I'll try and find an SC-29.

Thanks for your reply Dave, and to everyone else who posted :thumbs:.
 
A few ideas Andy.

A hot-shoe flash diffuser should sort out your iTTL problems (if you are using it as I image). £6.75 from FITP here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1809815&postcount=7 This should send enough light in the direction of your remote flash, especially if you angle the receiver. Unfortunatley these things aren't so good for much else as while they diffuse and spread the light well for a kind of Stofen bounce/fill effect, the onboard flash just doesn't have enough power to deliver except at low f/numbers and high ISO. Could be perfect for you though :)

Second idea is much more expensive but gives great light. Put a second commander flash on the camera and point it straight up to the ceiling. Then hold your other flash up as you would normally. The on-camera commander will flood the room with nice soft light while also triggering the main key-light for some nice modelling at the same time. CLS will sort out the exposures.

Third one will not give quite the result you're looking for, but adds a bit of directional modelling, softens the light, and is dead easy to use - Lumiquest Quik Bounce £40 http://www.lumiquest.com/products/quik-bounce.htm It's my favourite flash accessory - does pretty much everything - check the video on the link. Every photographer should have one :D Anyway, because of the way it mounts you can either position it directly above the lens, or turn it to one side which moves the light about six inches off centre. That's not much of course, but if you are close it is enough to create some slightly directional shadows, and at close distance it is also much softer than a bare flash. You can also use it in conjuction with the second flash idea.
 
HoppyUK said:
A few ideas Andy.

A hot-shoe flash diffuser should sort out your iTTL problems (if you are using it as I image). £6.75 from FITP here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1809815&postcount=7 This should send enough light in the direction of your remote flash, especially if you angle the receiver. Unfortunatley these things aren't so good for much else as while they diffuse and spread the light well for a kind of Stofen bounce/fill effect, the onboard flash just doesn't have enough power to deliver except at low f/numbers and high ISO. Could be perfect for you though :)

Second idea is much more expensive but gives great light. Put a second commander flash on the camera and point it straight up to the ceiling. Then hold your other flash up as you would normally. The on-camera commander will flood the room with nice soft light while also triggering the main key-light for some nice modelling at the same time. CLS will sort out the exposures.

Third one will not give quite the result you're looking for, but adds a bit of directional modelling, softens the light, and is dead easy to use - Lumiquest Quik Bounce £40 It's my favourite flash accessory - does pretty much everything - check the video on the link. Every photographer should have one :D Anyway, because of the way it mounts you can either position it directly above the lens, or turn it to one side which moves the light about six inches off centre. That's not much of course, but if you are close it is enough to create some slightly directional shadows, and at close distance it is also much softer than a bare flash. You can also use it in conjuction with the second flash idea.
Click to expand...

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your post - full of excellent, well presented advice, as always :thumbs:!

The second of those two options is pretty much what I've settled on, for the time being. I did some experimentation at home with both SB-900s, using one to mainly just trigger the other one and it seems to work really well, even in big, light rooms. If it will work as well outside then this is probably the answer (and won't cost me any more money, either :naughty:). It occured to me afterwards, that if I'd used both flashes and pointed one of them backwards (at the zoomed in flash that was mounted behind me on a stand), I could have got my 'sun ray' effect afterall in the portrait session :naughty:.

As for the flash diffuser from FITP, I will certainly pick one of those up when I eventually get round to placing an order, as it would also be useful for those times when I'm using the built-in flash for fill, or just for catch lights when in conjunction with another flash.

The Lumiquest range of products are indeed pretty damn fine! Just about 'pocket money' prices too (relative to other lighting gear), so very easy to add bits as you go along. I have the 'Ultrasoft', which works minor miracles, given it's compact size and have also just ordered an 80/20, for those bounce moments :naughty:. The Quick Bounce looks great for shooting in portrait mode, but it was twice as expensive, so I thought I'd give it a miss for now.

Thanks for your input :).
 
:)

At the kind of distances I imagine you'd be working at outside, like no more than a couple of meters between the master and slaves flashes with direct line of sight, option two should work fine in anything less than a nuclear dawn.

Edit: for those odd occasions when you have more distance than that between the camera/master and slave gun, putting the master on the end of an extension cord should sort it and retain full auto-TTL control.
 
cherryrig said:
Just a heads up to let you know there is a SC-28 cable in the Sales Thread if your after one ;)
Click to expand...

I think that I've just talked myself out of the idea :p, but I'll keep it mind anyway. Thanks for the heads up :thumbs:.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top