Why are my studio strobes firing when another photographer uses a flash?
Asked 12/31/2016
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2 answers
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At an event, I was running a photobooth with studio strobes triggered by Godox RT-04 radio triggers. Another photographer nearby was shooting with a Canon 6D and a Speedlite 580EX II. Whenever he took a photo, my studio strobes also fired, which caused timing problems and some black photobooth images. Why would my strobes be triggered by his flash, and how can I stop that from happening?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
27
The Godox RT-04 are radio frequency (RF) based transmitters/receivers. It is unlikely that your friend triggered your studio strobes over RF unless he used a similar transmitter and the same channel setting.
However many studio strobes have a photo cell, which lets them spot a nearby flash. The studio strobe will then fire to synchronize to that particular flash (e.g. from your friend). This is called optical triggering. Depending on your studio strobes, there could be a button or setting to disable optical triggering. You can always disable this behaviour by covering the photo cell, so that no light will reach it. Try this with your friend before the next event, to see if that solves your problem.
Originally by user44829. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user44829
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Your friend’s camera flash is probably triggering your studio strobes optically, not through the Godox RT-04 radio system. The RT-04 uses RF, so unless someone else is using a matching trigger on the same channel, radio interference is unlikely.
Many studio strobes include a built-in photo cell (optical slave). It watches for another flash nearby and fires the strobe when it sees one. That would explain why your strobes fire whenever the Speedlite 580EX II goes off.
To stop it:
- turn off the strobe’s optical slave/photo cell setting, if your strobe has that option
- or physically block/cover the photo cell so it can’t see your friend’s flash
Test it together before the next event. If disabling or covering the optical sensor fixes it, your radio triggers should then fire only when you want them to.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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