Portal:Accessories

From ProPHOTO WIKI

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Wireless Image Transmitters 3 Electronic Flash 3.1 Flash Units 3.2 Features 4 Remote Triggering 4.1 Radio Frequency Triggering 4.1.1 Pocket Wizards 4.1.2 PTP/IP over WiFi 4.2 Optical Triggering 4.3 Hard Wiring 5 See Also

Introduction

Modern professional digital cameras come with a wide variety of accessories that provide capabilities beyond what the basic models can provide. As many of these devices play an important role in photographic workflow, the following sections detail some of the more common device classes.

Wireless Image Transmitters

These devices allow cameras to automatically transmit images to a remote computer using WiFi networks. As these devices can operate in parallel with image capture processes, this technology can provide significant improvements in digital imaging workflows.

• Nikon WT-3/WT-3A - Nikon's 802.11g/Ethernet transmitter sends images from the D200 using either the PTP/IP or FTP protocol.
• Nikon WT-2/WT-2A - Nikon's 802.11g transmitter sends images from the D2Hs, D2X and D2Xs using the PTP/IP and FTP protocols. In its PTP/IP mode, the WT-2 can also remotely control the camera over the network.
• Nikon WT-1/WT-1A - Nikon's 802.11b-based transmitter sends images from the D2H, D2Hs, D2X and D2Xs using the FTP protocol.
• Canon WFT-E1/WFT-E1A - Canon's 802.11g-based transmitter sends images from a variety of different Canon DSLRs via the FTP protocol.
• Dice America WiPics - An aftermarket wireless image transmitter that can send images over 802.11g networks from any Compactflash-based camera.

Electronic Flash

Flash Units

• On-Camera Flash - Small flash units that can be mounted directly on the hotshoe of the camera. These compact units are generally designed by the camera manufacturers themselves and offer a rich set of features.
  • Nikon Speedlights
    • Nikon SB-800 - Nikon's high-end on-camera flash unit provides a variety of powerful features, including the ability to control a CLS flash system.
    • Nikon SB-600 - Nikon's mid-range on-camera flash unit with a similar form factor to the SB-800 but with slightly less power and a reduced feature set.
    • Nikon SU-800 - While not a flash itself, the SU-800 can be used to control and trigger remote CLS-capable flash units.
    • Nikon SB-R200 - Nikon's compact wireless speedlight to be used within the CLS system. Offers minimal on-board controls and lacks a conventional hotshoe, so it must be triggered by a CLS commander unit like the SU-800 or SB-800.
    • Nikon R1/R1C1 - Nikon's close-up flash unit and is composed of two SB-R200 units, a lens mounting ring and an SU-800 controller (R1C1 only).
    • Legacy Models
      • Nikon SB-80DX - Nikon's previous flagship flash unit, supports iTTL but does not support the new CLS system.
      • Nikon SB-28DX - An older on-camera flash unit that supports the DTTL digital flash system.
      • Nikon SB-28D - Designed for early Kodak cameras built on Nikon chassis, this flash uses an onboard flash return sensor rather than the TTL systems used on current cameras.
  • Canon Speedlights
    • Canon 580EX - Canon's current flagship on-board flash unit. Provides a wide range of features including wireless flash control.
    • Canon 430EX - Canon's mid-range on-board flash, offering slightly lower power and a subset of the features available on the 580EX.
    • Canon ST-E2 - While not a flash itself, the ST-E2 can wirelessly control and trigger wireless ETTL equipped flash units (such as the 580EX and 430EX).
    • Canon MR-14EX - Canon's macro ring light provides even lighting for close up objects.
    • Canon MT-24EX - Canon's macro twin light provides similar functionality to the MR-14EX, but does so with two independent lights rather than a single ring. While this generates more directional light, it provides a higher degree of control.
• High-Powered Flash - Generally designed for studio use, these large flash units provide significantly more power than on-camera units. The downside, however, is that they generally provide limited feature sets (often requiring manual exposure) and are considerably larger and heavier than their little brothers.
  • Self-Contained A/C Units - Provide significantly more light output than on-camera units, allowing photographers to light much larger areas. While generally designed for studio use, these units can be used for tasks such as lighting large sports venues.
  • Battery-Powered Units - Similar to the above A/C powered units, these devices generally have slower recharge rates and lower power levels but can more easily be used in the field.
  • Head and Pack Units - Providing the highest power levels, these units separate the flash heads from the charging circuitry. This allows additional levels of complexity, however it also makes setup more difficult.

Features

• Auto-FTP Sync - In order to work around shutter speeds limited by conventional flash technology, many newer cameras support FP Sync modes. When in this mode, many small bursts of flash are fired over the duration of the exposure rather than a single large burst. Unfortunately, this process uses more energy than conventional flash modes so the amount of light diminishes as shutter speeds go up.
• Wireless TTL Flash - Flash units offering this functionality provide more sophisticated control over remote flashes. As this technology is generally proprietary, the specific capabilities of each system depend on the implementation at hand.

Remote Triggering

Many modern photographic disciplines require the use of cameras and/or flash units in locations where it is impractical to have a photographer. In order to deal with these scenarios, there are a host of accessories on the market that allow these devices to be triggered from remote locations.

Radio Frequency Triggering

Pocket Wizards

One of the most commonly used devices for this purpose are PocketWizard's line of radio frequency triggers. These devices allow groups of cameras and electronic flashes to trigger one another quickly and easily. As they don't require long runs of wiring, they can be adapted to a wide range of environments with minimal infrastructure.

• Plus - PocketWizard's basic offering, the Plus line is divided into dedicated transmitter and receiver units. These have recently been supplanted by the newer Plus II line.
• Plus II - Their current mainstream offering, these units can automatically switch between transmit and receive modes. While they don't offer all of the features of the MultiMAX line, they offer the basic capabilities necessary for most tasks.
• MultiMAX - Pocket Wizard's high-end offering, these transceivers offer a wide range of features to maximize their flexibility.
• Cables - While conventional PC sync cables are sufficient for triggering electronic flash units, proprietary cables are necessary for more complex devices like cameras. As such, there are a host of cables offered to allow the PocketWizard line to communicate with them.

PTP/IP over WiFi

Cameras equipped with support for PTP/IP can allow remote computers to remotely control and trigger them. Wireless transmitters like the Nikon WT-2 allow all of the capabilities provided when shooting tethered, but can do so over a wireless network. Aside from the ability to trigger the camera, this technology allows a wide range of settings (exposure, whitebalance, etc.) to be remotely modified as well.

Optical Triggering

For simpler installations where line of sight will always be available, optical triggering systems provide this functionality with lower costs. These systems use visible or infrared light to communicate with remote devices. In addition to basic offerings by aftermarket vendors, both Nikon and Canon have proprietary systems that provide TTL flash control using this mechanism.

• Optical Slave - The simplest implementation of this technique, these devices simply trigger the attached device when they see a burst of light from another flash. These devices can be adapted to trigger almost any type of device, however they provide minimal control and are often set off by preflashes used in modern flash systems.
• Nikon SU-4 - An early attempt at wireless TTL flash, this unit works in a similar fashion to the Optical Slave however it also detects when the remote flash switches off and adjusts the connected flash unit accordingly. For this unit to function in its TTL mode, a Nikon flash unit must be attached to the SU-4 itself.
• Nikon CLS - Nikon's proprietary wireless flash technology provides full TTL capabilities as well as the ability to reconfigure several groups of flash units from the camera.
• Canon Wireless Flash - Similar to Nikon's CLS system, Canon's proprietary implementation provides wireless TTL flash and limited remote control capabilities from the camera.

Hard Wiring

• PC Sync Cables - Present on almost all offboard flash units and on many high-end DSLRs, this interface provides basic flash triggering capabilities using simple two-wire cables.
• Nikon 10-Pin Interface - Offered on many of their modern cameras, this port provides a number of capabilities including the ability to trigger the camera. Using appropriate cables, most of Nikon's DSLRs can be triggered by other devices.

See Also

• Digital Cameras - Summary of available digital cameras and associated technologies.
• Electromagnetic Spectrum - Summary of the wireless media used by many of the above technologies.