Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

When I got the new Ab800 a couple of weeks ago, it wouldn't fire, so I got a new flash tube and now it fires, but in order for me to take pics, it has to be at full power in order to get a proper exposure. I am bouncing the light off a softbox. Does that seem right to you? I had thought the bees were powerful but having to use it at full power, I don't see how I'd be able to use it for larger groups or with a closed down ap. Is something wrong with this bee or does everyone need to use it at full power in order for it to work? Thanks for the help!

You should get at least f/11 or so at 10' through a Moon Unit. What are your camera settings (ISO, Shutter speed, Aperture, exposure mode)? How far are you from your subject? How are you triggering the light?

TS

My settings are iso 200, 1/200 and f between 3.5 and 4.5. I am using the 50x50 Wescott Softbox with the bee. I am triggering the bee in commander mode on my camera by setting off my speedlight for fill. The bee is about 1 to 2 feet from the subject. I'm thinking I'm just doing something wrong but I can't figure it out. If I don't bounce the bee in my softbox and just shoot it straight out of the softbox then I get stronger light, but then I don't get as pretty of catchlight as I would like, so I prefer to bounce. Is this just user error?

first, sorry i thought i read ABR800, but the questions were still applicable. OK, the preflash from your commander and slaved lights are setting the bee off too early, and it does not have time to recycle (ironically, setting the bee to a low power, you will see more light from it, since it recycles faster).

Typically speaking, mixing TTL and manual flash is tricky at best (especially when the manual flash lights the subject, as it would in a studio environment), as the camera does not know that the Bee will fire, resulting in exposure issues. (my guess is you had a dark image, unless you dialed in + flash EV).

If you want or need to incorporate speedlites, i would set them to SU-4 mode if available (from your descriptions and terms used, i gather you are using Nikon), and trigger via sync cord or the "master" flash set to "M". This way, only one flash will fire, and everything will sync up appropriately.

TS

Thank you so much for the response! I appreciate it:) I feel so dumb but I don't completely understand what you are saying. Yes I have a Nikon D80 and I do have the SU-4 mode available on my speedlight (Sb800). But does that mean I have to use the sync cord attached from my bee to my camera? I don't think the sync cord will attach properly to my camera without an attachment :( It's strange because there is a hole in my speedlight to attach the bee to the speedlight, but no such hole in my camera to connect to the bee. Darn. But you mentioned setting the Master Flash to 'M'. Will that set off the bee without me having to use the sync cord and then with the speedlight on SU-4 it will all sync up? I was hoping to find a way to do this without having to use a sync cord. I apologize if I'm not understanding correctly. I've bene trying to figure this out for 4 days now :oops: Thanks again!

Yes, the M mode in the "built in flash" settings basically says "you do not need my input, i do what you say". In that setting, you can dial in from full power down to 1/16 or lower (i can't recall of the top of my head) The lower the power you dial in, the less impact that flash has on exposure. On the other hand, if you go too low, it may not trigger another light; you will have to experiment to find the sweet spot.

TS

The D80 does not come with a PC sync terminal built in. Nikon makes a pretty nice one (AS-15) that sits in your hot shoe, and at $20, it's not really worth buying a cheaper one of lower quality.

You can use the pop-up on camera flash to fire your AB800. Go into the Custom Setting Menu and scroll down to 22 Built-in Flash and press OK. Select Manual and press OK. Scroll down to 1/128 and press OK. That will set your pop flash to its minimal power. In my dark basement it fires my Bees just fine.