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PhotoSpeak: What's
a "Slave
Sensor?" Well, if you had to use a PC Cord for
every strobe, just think what a mess of tangled wires you'd have
if you were using 5 or 6 or more strobes to light your subject
(as many pros do)! So, science came to our rescue with slave
sensors. It's a tiny little sensor built into most good strobes,
that sits & waits for a short, intense burst of light. When it
detects this burst of light (the flash from another strobe),
it automatically sets off the flash tube in the strobe its built
into. Voila! Now, with strobes that have slave sensors (often
just called "slaves"), whenever we want to use a sync
cord, we can connect only one strobe to our cameras (with the
PC or Sync cord), usually the strobe closest to our camera, and
when we press the shutter button, firing the one connected strobe,
that flash will automatically set off all the other strobes we
may be using for that shot! Ah, ain't technology wunnerful (sic)?
Even most of the little flashes built into most modern cameras
can set off most strobes with slaves, so much of the time, we
really don't need to use sync cords or any other connectors at
all! A strobe that has PC socket, or both a PC Socket and a slave
sensor is called a "Master" strobe; a strobe that only
has a slave sensor and no PC socket (usually less expensive units)
is called a "Slave." Whichever strobe you're using
with a PC cord is referred to as your "master" strobe
for purposes of that shot. Most of the better strobes have both
PC sockets and slave sensors, so they're more versatile and useful
to us (however, there are many very good slaves out there today,
and you won't need all your strobes to be masters, so don't hesitate
to buy some decent slaves when the time comes - and, believe
me, if you stick with photography, the time will come).
This SM-1000 comes with BOTH a PC connector (also called a "Sync"
connector) AND a built-in optical slave sensor (of course)! |
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Complete: Each of these SM-1000s comes complete
with Tilt/Swivel Bulb Holder, sync cord, AC cord, Flash Tube,
built-in umbrella holder, and standard light stand connector;
it's ready to plug in and fire away! Since these strobes are
A.C. units, they're ready to rock! No batteries or powerpacks
or light heads or connector cords are needed; just plug 'em in,
and (just like Elvis) you're ready to rock and roll. As
with all quality strobes, these are capable of using many additional
custom accessories, of course (e.g., snoots, barn doors, stands,
unbrellas, honeycombs, etc.). BTW, pros use umbrellas to "bounce"
the strobe's light off of (or sometimes through) to make the
light softer, reduce or eliminate shadows, and help hide the
lines, sags, and wrinkles often found on our older subjects,
and "mellow-out" the picture.
These are brand new, 100% guaranteed,
with the manufacturer's full one year warrantee. These are NOT
seconds, blemishes, or anything other than brand new, absolutely
perfect, current 2002 models! Just 'cause the price is great,
doesn't mean these are in any way less than perfect! Questions?
Requests? just e-mail any questions or requests, to me at
PhotoSource3@pss3.com or check out-my web sites see
links here.-These strobes and other photographic
equipment also come with an "extra" that's not available
anywhere else, at any price whatsoever: FREE photographic education,
advice and training from MyPhotoHome.com (coming soon to a computer near you)!
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Point of Information:
Why, you might be asking yourself, have virtually all photographers
switched to using strobes, when "regular" continuous
lights (photographers call them "hot" lights) are everywhere,
and it's easier for us to see how the lighting will look with
them? Well, the continuous lights, like the ones in our houses
(tungsten lights), or halogen (and similar) are called "hot
lights" for a reason: they get hot. Really hot! And
the special photographic hot lights get twice as hot as household
bulbs! This tends to make certain things, like flowers, foods,
animals, and those darn pesky models, wilt. Especially models.
They get very, very, unhappy when they wilt. Whine, gripe, groan;
you'd think a little melting makeup, and running mascara, limp
hair, and sticky lipstick, and beads of sweat running down their
lovely curvaceous (umm, let's say noses) was a big deal or something,
the way they complain! ;-)
Next, there's a little problem
with the "color temperature" being way off with hot
lights, so we have to use special films (3200K or 3400K) or filters,
or special photographic bulbs, when using them (strobes are perfectly
balanced at 5500K to simulate sunlight, so we can use all the
regular daylight films we've come to love/hate over the years).
You'll notice that most of your pictures taken indoors without
using a flash turn out with a yellowish color cast; that's because
household lights are loaded with yellow and red light. The solution
is to either use special films, or special filters. But why create
more problems for yourself? Using strobes eliminates all these
headaches (and heat!). Also, with continuous lights, they're
always shining; usually right in our subject's eyes, causing
squinting and annoyance (and ugly looking pictures). With strobes,
nothing is shining in their eyes, and the flash is too short
to cause any of this discomfort to our beloved subjects (until
AFTER the flash, when they might be chasing all those little
light blips around the room:). Additionally, with strobes, we
can control the light much better! We can adjust the power output
with the flick of a switch. We can modify the light with umbrellas,
softboxes, softcases, filters, scrims and gobos, doo-dahs, and
thingamajigs, etc., etc. We can direct the light with barn doors,
snoots, honeycombs, and many other accessories. In short, with
strobes, we can play God with our photography; WE CAN CONTROL
THE LIGHT! And we can do it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whenever
we want, no matter what the weather is, and without regard to
daylight or night. There are yet other, more esoteric, as well
as mundane reasons why strobes are the preferred means of photographic
lighting in the modern world, but we'll pass on those things
for now. You've probably had enough information shoved down your
throat already (sorry, but I can't resist trying to educate everyone
about photography).
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