DIY Off-Camera Flash Cord: You Choose the Length
coldclimb
Registered Users Posts: 1,169 Major grins
I'm posting this here cause I figure if I'm so stoked at finding out this is possible, someone else might be too!
So I've been reading the Strobist blog (http://strobist.blogspot.com) and in the process of adding strobe gear to my collection I was looking for a way to get my flash off camera without shelling out 500 bucks for a pair of pocket wizards. I found the OC-E3 cord locally for a bit more money than I wanted to pay for it, but as is typical for me, I shelled out the money cause I really wanted the gear.
This cord is only two feet long though, so it's quite limited and I wanted more.
I've been trying to build an adapter like the one demonstrated on the blog: converting PC to household at the camera and back again at the flash and using a double-female plain old extension cord between the camera and the flash. My flash is a Canon, however, so it only has the hotshoe connection. I'm thinking "Man, if only I could get a hotshoe to household converter," and then this develops into "Man, I could probably MAKE one if I just had any type of device with a hotshoe on it." On my way to the pawn shop to check their selection of photo equipment, I realized I already HAD that in my OC-E3 cable (Duh!) and headed home to destroy my 100 dollar piece of camera equipment.
Just to be on the safe side, I googled it first, and figured out that more than a few others before me have done exactly that, but much smarter than I was thinking of doing it. I found some photos on Flickr of some Cat-5 ethernet ports wired into an OC-E3 cable, and a few other sites confirmed that it did actually work, so I tried it out.
A trip to Radio Shack, a couple bucks, and a few minutes of careful labor later, and I've got this:
Note: If you haven't ever connected a Cat-5 plug, it's not very hard. You can buy a couple and practice on a section of Cat-5 if you'd like, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Google will find you many walkthroughs and how-tos. In my case, I had five wires inside with a bundle of sheathing wires that I also connected all the way through (Just twist them into one wire and connect them like the others).
My first attempt didn't work due to my cheap RJ-45 connectors not cutting through the plastic on the wires, but I tried again, this time manually stripping the wires before punching them in, and everything works now, including ETTL. Using different lengths of Cat-5 cable, I can now get my flash pretty much any distance I want away from my camera (within reasonable cable limits of course - others have reported over 75 feet).
My setup cost me considerably more than it COULD have if I could have found the OC-E3 cable at a decent price here in AK, but it's still several hundred dollars cheaper than a set of pocket wizards, and with my Canon 550EX I can trigger more flashes wirelessly without having to have one directly on the camera. I believe overall this cost me about $110, and 100 of that is the price of the OC-E3 cable in Alaska's finest photo shop. :dunno
So that demonstrates how with a tiny bit of electrical work, you can extend an OC-E3 cable to pretty much any length you'll need. Like I said, I was totally stoked to find this, so I wanted to pass it along!
So I've been reading the Strobist blog (http://strobist.blogspot.com) and in the process of adding strobe gear to my collection I was looking for a way to get my flash off camera without shelling out 500 bucks for a pair of pocket wizards. I found the OC-E3 cord locally for a bit more money than I wanted to pay for it, but as is typical for me, I shelled out the money cause I really wanted the gear.
This cord is only two feet long though, so it's quite limited and I wanted more.I've been trying to build an adapter like the one demonstrated on the blog: converting PC to household at the camera and back again at the flash and using a double-female plain old extension cord between the camera and the flash. My flash is a Canon, however, so it only has the hotshoe connection. I'm thinking "Man, if only I could get a hotshoe to household converter," and then this develops into "Man, I could probably MAKE one if I just had any type of device with a hotshoe on it." On my way to the pawn shop to check their selection of photo equipment, I realized I already HAD that in my OC-E3 cable (Duh!) and headed home to destroy my 100 dollar piece of camera equipment.
Just to be on the safe side, I googled it first, and figured out that more than a few others before me have done exactly that, but much smarter than I was thinking of doing it.
I found some photos on Flickr of some Cat-5 ethernet ports wired into an OC-E3 cable, and a few other sites confirmed that it did actually work, so I tried it out.A trip to Radio Shack, a couple bucks, and a few minutes of careful labor later, and I've got this:
Note: If you haven't ever connected a Cat-5 plug, it's not very hard. You can buy a couple and practice on a section of Cat-5 if you'd like, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Google will find you many walkthroughs and how-tos. In my case, I had five wires inside with a bundle of sheathing wires that I also connected all the way through (Just twist them into one wire and connect them like the others).
My first attempt didn't work due to my cheap RJ-45 connectors not cutting through the plastic on the wires, but I tried again, this time manually stripping the wires before punching them in, and everything works now, including ETTL. Using different lengths of Cat-5 cable, I can now get my flash pretty much any distance I want away from my camera (within reasonable cable limits of course - others have reported over 75 feet).
My setup cost me considerably more than it COULD have if I could have found the OC-E3 cable at a decent price here in AK, but it's still several hundred dollars cheaper than a set of pocket wizards, and with my Canon 550EX I can trigger more flashes wirelessly without having to have one directly on the camera. I believe overall this cost me about $110, and 100 of that is the price of the OC-E3 cable in Alaska's finest photo shop. :dunno
So that demonstrates how with a tiny bit of electrical work, you can extend an OC-E3 cable to pretty much any length you'll need. Like I said, I was totally stoked to find this, so I wanted to pass it along!
John Borland
www.morffed.com
www.morffed.com
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Comments
I was thinking would a similar setup work with multiple flashes. Run all wires to the key and only the camera-to-flash data and center pin to the fill ends...
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
Thanks, I think I'll mod a coulple.
I wish Nikon had a short cord, I had to shorten a couple on my owm, I older now and my hands are not as steady anymore to do that kind crampt soldering.
If you want good cheap wireless check out the RF602 units from evilbay.
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Nikon
http://www.time2smile.smugmug.com
Although this is just until I can get my hands on a set of the pocket wizzards.
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For those who prefer not to roll their own....
Flash Zebra offers these varieties of ETTL cords - http://www.flashzebra.com/ttlcords/index.shtml
Paramount offers these ETTL cords - http://www.paramountcords.com/products.asp?cat=93
I can vouch for both of these vendors. Paramount cords are industrial grade.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Just what I've been looking for. Thanks!!
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
-Tony