Fix plastic hotshoe?
divamum
Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
I managed to bounce my flash and Pixel King trigger down a flight of cement steps during a shoot at the weekend. Both - amazingly! - contnue to work just fine despite the pretty hefty impact, but the plastic hotshoe on the trigger got quite badly cracked, and looks like it will break through all the way without much assistance. It's only used to attach to the coldshoe on the flashstand, so function isn't a problem, I just don't want to risk the trigger-plus-flash combo falling off because the foot snaps off.
Super glue the cracks? Buy a cold shoe and superglue it to that? Replace the foot?
Curious what's the best way to repair to keep everything safe. Thanks in advance!
Super glue the cracks? Buy a cold shoe and superglue it to that? Replace the foot?
Curious what's the best way to repair to keep everything safe. Thanks in advance!
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If it were mine I would carefully super-glue/epoxy temporarily while ordering a replacement part for a more permanent fix later. (As in something similar happened to me in the past and that's how I handled it.)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Thanks, as always, Ziggy!
Contact Pixel King:
For Technical Support Service:
support@pixelhk.com
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
As a backup plan, the foot also has a (female) threaded screw hole - is there way to connect that to an umbrella holder?
"They" may have a US source for the part. Contact them to find out.
If you have an umbrella bracket like this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/298709-REG/Impact_3117_Umbrella_Bracket.html
http://www.adorama.com/LTUSH.html
... they come with a stud with a standard 1/4" thread.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I will also say that I have discovered during this that they have just released a NEW set called the Pros: LCD screen on the transmitter, ratios (yeah!) and internal metal frame. And still much more affordable than PWs! I know people knock the "cheap Chinese stuff", but I have to say, these really are decent items. Yes, the plastic on the foot and locking ring isn't the greatest (they need to replace that with metal for the next round), but the rest of the housing is as solid as Canon, if this experience is anything to go by - they both got scuffed (went down a full set of concrete steps - thankfully the softbox broke their fall a little), but both still working..........
ETA: YES I can screw it onto the umbrella stand. Actually MUCH more secure that way in general, so glad to have figured out that out (duh). And totally gets me through the weekend without worrying!!
The triggers came with a cable, so I thought AHA! I can just hook it to the flash that way, hang the trigger using the lanyard, and then not worry about having to connect the trigger to the stand by the foot anymore. The supplied cable has what looks like a mini-co-axial (it screws on like a coax) at one end, and what looks like a headphones plug at the other end (in two different sizes - I'd say 3/8 or 1/4" if I were talking about audio gear).
Edited to add: according to PK the cables are:
Connecting cable (PC-1/4) PC Screwlock to 6.5 mm phone jack.
Connecting cable (PC-3.5) PC Screwlock to 3.5 mm Mini phone jack.
But the socket on the 580ex is a square, 3-pin kinda dealio, so I'm no closer to connecting them this way. Is there an adapter I can get, or do I need a different cable? Thanks for all advice.
PS I need to be able to use ETTL; not sure if a cable would affect that or not.
EagainTA: if the cable idea won't work, how the devil can I hook this thing to the stand? The unit works just fine, it simply has no foot on the bottom to let me attach it to a coldshoe on an umbrella mount....
I believe that E-TTL requires all of the connections of the hot shoe. Those phone jack cords only provide 2 or 3 lines of connection, so they are probably only for a simple trigger in manual mode. Please contact Pixel King to see if they can elucidate.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
So.... now I have to figure out how to attach the darn trigger to an umbrella mount. There must be a way to do this, just have to figure it out
I've zero experience with this sort of gear (except using a 550ex based macro rig) - but I'd have thought tenacious double-sided tape / nylon cable ties etc + some intermediate bracket (maybe?) might be one way to go ... if stuff's not too heavy.
Can't suggest more without seeing the nature of the beast(s) / situation.
pp
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I'm very glad to read that PK have upped the ante on a metal structure for the Pixel King Pros that have just been released
(PS While yes, of course it's a pain that the foot should break, and yes, the build quality on these is less than some of their more expensive cousins, these little triggers are STILL worth everything you (don't) pay for them - so simple to use and they have been very reliable for me. I usually don't have an assistant, and things DO get blown over - if I'm going to break something, I'd rather it's a $60 trigger than my flash or an expensive PW. I should add that the first fall was down a full flight of cement steps, so it's actually impressive that it still works at all!! )
Sadly, strengthening the hot shoe to a metal structure will just mean that if the transmitter "... stand got blown over again on Sunday" or if you should happen to "... bounce my flash and Pixel King trigger down a flight of cement steps ...", the transmitter will probably just break in a more completely fatal way.
Please do be careful.
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Hope you get it all working well.
Sand bags...............word.
Sam
It's easy to underestimate the amount of weight required to hold a stand in place. Especially when you have something large, like a softbox, on the arm/top of the stand.