Can any non-TTL wireless trigger fire a manual flash from another brand?
Asked 1/26/2017
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I want to buy an inexpensive manual flash for outdoor shoots and use a basic non-TTL wireless trigger. Are manual radio triggers generally cross-brand compatible, or does the flash need a matching trigger brand? I only need the flash to fire in sync, not TTL. Does this change if the flash has a built-in radio receiver instead of using an external receiver on the hot shoe or sync port?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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Provided that all you want a wireless solution to do is tell the flash when to fire, any transmitter/receiver set that are compatible with one another will be able to do that. The easiest way to insure this is to buy a set that includes both a transmitter and a receiver.
This is based on the assumption that the flash, camera, and triggering system in question all have hot shoe connectors with standard center pins. The center pin connector is near universal among most consumer cameras with external hot shoe connectors other than a few Sony/Minolta cameras that do not use the standard center pin arrangement.
All of the following hot shoe arrangements us a center pin for the "fire" command. All you need for the "fire" command is the connection pictured at the lower right. The other connection points in the other connectors are for more sophisticated communication between the camera and flash for a specific, proprietary system. But all of them will signal the "fire" command via the center pin.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Usually yes. If you only need a manual flash to fire, brand generally does not matter as long as the transmitter and receiver are a compatible pair and the camera/flash use the standard hot shoe center pin or a sync port. For simple manual sync, that center-pin “fire” signal is largely universal across brands that follow the ISO hot shoe standard.
The safest option is to buy a trigger set that includes both transmitter and receiver.
Main exception: older Sony/Minolta iISO hot shoes are not the standard center-pin arrangement, so compatibility can differ.
If the flash has a built-in radio receiver, any trigger can still fire it in sync only if you connect through a compatible manual sync method. But to use extra features such as remote power or zoom control, you typically need the matching brand/system transmitter designed for that flash.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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