WAKD Loc: Cincinnati

Use a paper clip or anything else metal to short the inner and outer conductors of the sync cable you are using. It should trigger the 300sdi. It is low voltage and won't hurt you (or the strobe). I just did it on mine. Do not be afraid!

WAKD Loc: Cincinnati

NO. That is what I use. No on camera flash at all. Just either sync cord or Yungnao triggers.

Photosmoke

Take a close-up picture of the control panel on your light , it could be very helpful & post it

WAKD Loc: Cincinnati

Does the far left pushbutton have Three state, Red, Blue and None?

irinaescoffery

I am sorry for the delay. Yes. it has blue, red and none light

WAKD Loc: Cincinnati

Looks like you need NO light for wired sync. Is that what you are using?

irinaescoffery

I tried them all. No one works with sync cord on

WAKD Loc: Cincinnati

AND you tried NO light and just shorting the sync contact that usually plugs into the camera. And be shure the cord is plugged all the way into the jack on the strobe, I originally had that problem but after trying everything else the fix was that simple.
I am running out of ideas.

jcboy3

1. The strobe needs some trigger to fire. It has an optical trigger, so will fire with your speed light. It has a pre flash setting, so will skip a pre flash if set to do so. You will need that if you are using TTL with on camera flash. But your camera will not account for the strobe when setting flash exposure, so you will get overexposure. It will also fire with a sync cable; the sync can come from your camera or a radio trigger.

2. If it fires without a sync cable, then the optical trigger is engaged on the strobe. If the strobe doesn't fire occasionally, then that might be because you didn't set the strobe to ignore pre-flash, or you speed light is using more than one pre-flash. Or it is set to ignore pre-flash and then isn't sensing the pre-flash because of incorrect position. As far as simultaneous sync and flash, check your camera user manual to see if sync is enabled or not when using a flash. With my cameras, the sync occurs along with the main flash.

3. Slave trigger means the strobe will fire when it detects another flash.

4. I would think that it means that the strobe will ignore pre-flash, but you should check the manual for your strobe.

My advice; invest in a flash meter, use your speed light in manual mode, learn how to expose with multiple light sources.

irinaescoffery

I think I Did evth but I will try again later. I run of ideas too. I just think that the strobe and my camera don't communicate.

irinaescoffery

I have to learn more about that pre flash thing. May be I miss sth. Thank you all. It helped a lot. I started to understand a little but not enough yet.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

1. The 300sdi will fire with a wireless trigger (recommended), optical slave when it senses another light flash (second choice) and sync cord.

2. In order to activate the slave, the primary light must be bright enough for the slave to trigger. That is why it is a second choice.

3. See above

4. Some speedlights will emit a pre-flash to minimize red eye or to set TTL light readings. Anti-preflash will prevent the 300sdi from firing when the main flash preflashes.

Get yourself a flash meter. If you are overexposed you are using the wrong exposure settings on your camera, your lights are too bright, your lights are too close - any or all of the above.

When using stobe/speedlight lighting as you are attempting, you can use TTL and just turn the 300sdi way down in power. But you are much better off if you use manual exposure settings. Lower your ISO, use a smaller aperture and make sure you are shooting at the max sync speed for your camera, which is usually around 1/200 or 1/250. Set up your lighting one component at a time. In your case you might use the 300sdi as a key light and your speedlight as a fill or some other application. Set up the key light with the flash meter, then turn off the key light, turn on the fill light and dial back the setting (1-3 stops lower for fill). When ready make sure both lights are on and shoot. Your exposure will be perfect.

If you don't have or can't justify a flash meter at this point, if you are using digital, you can do trial and error which is just as effective. Just make sure your histogram shows that your shot will not be overexposed with the key light, and the exposure for the fill is less.

petermerny Loc: Whitby UK

Working out flash is a steep learning curve. You could try setting your strobe heads to slave cell then set your Speedlight to manuel and select the lowest power output. The Speedlight will flash and fire the strobes but the output from the Speedlight will be to low to affect the exposure, I use this technique when the batteries in my radio slaves fail.
The things to remember with flash exposure,
Shutterspeed will not affect the flash exposure so control the flash by apperture, ISO speed or move the flash head closer or farther away. It is a lot easier on digital than it was on film just take a frame and work from there.

wcmoorejr Loc: Birmingham Alabama

Ok,

I have read a lot of comment son this thread but there is a problem. The canon 6D does not have a sync cord plug which is why you cannot use a wired output.

the 430ex flash will fire the optical slave on the strobe. If you don't want the 430ex on the camera, pick up a cowboy trigger from amazon. You plug the transmitter on your hot-shoe and the receiver to the sync cord on the studio light.

Set your ISO to 100-200, SS at 1/160 and f-stop to F8-11 (depending on your strobe output power) and you should get some good shots.

I helped a friend set up her 6D and some einstein studio lights.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Agree on the wireless, but I suggest the Yongnuo RF603 as being more robust and flexible than the Cowboys, and only $30 for a pair. They use a dual purpose transceiver vs a transmitter/receiver configuration.

http://www.simplyness.com/photography-gear-reviews/yongnuo-rf-603-and-pt-04-comparison.html