Double Flash

[Vinny]

I have trawled the www and can't find an answer to this...…………….

Can I hard-wire two flashes to one camera? Would the software still work? Would that depend on camera and the flash?

The camera is a D3100, I have an SB600. Sync cords with a hot shoe connector on the top of the connector for the camera hot shoe are available. Could I connect another flash/SB600 and the thing work without too much hassle?

I don't really want to spend anything more than the cost of 2 used SB600s on the two flashes (about £150), so the off-the-shelf master and slave systems are not an option, unless you know of a very cheap set.

 

[Paulicus]

Hmmm, I don't know much about flash, but I have daisy chained them in the past, and also operated them on stands with no wires attached. Using the main flash which was attached to the camera to send the signal to the flash acting as the slave on the stand. All worked pretty well.

 

[Cesare]

The usual route for multi-flash is to go wireless. The SB600 can act as a slave, but not a master, and the D3100 can't act as a master either, so annoyingly I think you haven't quite got what you need. Now if you want one of the flashes to be mounted on the camera, you *could* but a nikon flash that can act as a master, which would also trigger your existing SB600 if it was remotely mounted, wirelessly. I think you'd need an SB800 or something like that - look for flash master as the feature.

If you want both flashes to be off camera, you could but a wireless trigger (Su-800 I think) but an alternative would be to use a camera with this feature built in.

As for using wires, yes, I think this is supported, but i'm not sure how this will work in a more sophisticated way than just manual flash mode, I guess it depends on the cabling.

 

[Vinny]

Thanks for the comments.
I did ask elsewhere and Cesare's comments would appear to be spot on.

Perhaps the best option, suggested by someone using the system frequently over a number of years, would be the Yongnuo transmitter/receiver system. One transmitter and two receivers (one for each flash) are going to be £45-70 used from the Bay. For macro lighting, add two ball mounts for £5-10, and a camera/accessory bar for another £10 or so.

 

[Rico]

Using Genuine Nikon flashes to run iTTL, you need a master (as Cesare rightly points out)... your options are SB-700, SB-800, SB-900/910 (ignoring the 5000 as it's crazy-expensive), or the SU-800 Commander. SU-800 is best as it's consistent across all bodies you use it with (rather than the Commander function implemented on many of the nikon bodies, which is menu-levels deep and a pain in the arse), plus runs three groups.

Good news is there's an SU-800 rip-off on ebay or aliexpress for buttons, that is well thought-of. Debao SU-800. I found an SU-800 at reasonable price, haven't looked back.

Alternately buy some wireless triggers (Tx and a couple of Rx) cheap.