Integrating Nikon and Canon Flash Units

Tofu Anonymous · 03-16-2010, 04:28 PM

Alright, so our photo club here at Georgia Tech has two Canon 580EX II Speedlights and we can get them working in master/slave mode without a problem. Most of the people shooting one of our events use Nikon (myself included). The Canon flashes can still work together in manual mode with the Nikon cameras. However, this limits our number of speedlights to just one off camera since the master needs to remain on the hot shoe.

We also have a Nikon flash set-up which includes my Nikon SB-800 and two Nikon SB-600s from other people. We can get those three working together off camera without a problem with the built-in commander mode in the pop-up flash unit on the camera.

The Nikon SB-800 has the built-in optical slave mode (SU-4) which can be triggered by the mounted Canon 580EXii. This should give us one mounted flash and two off-camera flash units. However, the off-camera Canon flash does not fire when the SB-800 is on optical slave mode. The only times we have gotten both Nikon and Canon flashes to trigger at the same time are when the Canon Flash can't see the Nikon Flash (or vice versa).

Would someone like to explain to me why this is if they know it and if there is a solution for this phenomenon?

Thanks!

xqsme · 03-17-2010, 03:35 PM

What remote are using Canon or Nikon? Are you using the built in (pop-up) to trigger the flash? Are you sure that both are not flashing or is it just out of sync?

Also check your SB800 settings. It should be in normal "on" not in remote mode.
In Nikon, set your pop up to manual at low power and the rest of the group turned off to prevent "pre-flashes" in TTL mode.

Tony S · 03-21-2010, 01:52 PM

Have you run into a problem of the Nikon flash being triggered by the pre-flash of the 580EXII?
There should be no effect from the Nikon flash units on the 580EXII set up as a slave unit fired by the 580EXII master, that's fired from the infrared signal on the master (although the Nikon flash might be bright enough to effect it like bright sunshine is at times). You would most likely though have the sync issue of the Nikons going off with the Canon pre-fire metering flash.

Best bet would be to set them all on remotes then adjust them manually using a light meter for them all to work. Mixing the infrared with optical always seems to be an issue no matter what system you use.

03-16-2010, 04:28 PM	#1
Tofu Anonymous Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Seattle, WA / Vancouver, WA Posts: 147 My Camera: Nikon D300/Panasonic Lumix ZS-3/iPhone 4	Integrating Nikon and Canon Flash Units Alright, so our photo club here at Georgia Tech has two Canon 580EX II Speedlights and we can get them working in master/slave mode without a problem. Most of the people shooting one of our events use Nikon (myself included). The Canon flashes can still work together in manual mode with the Nikon cameras. However, this limits our number of speedlights to just one off camera since the master needs to remain on the hot shoe. We also have a Nikon flash set-up which includes my Nikon SB-800 and two Nikon SB-600s from other people. We can get those three working together off camera without a problem with the built-in commander mode in the pop-up flash unit on the camera. The Nikon SB-800 has the built-in optical slave mode (SU-4) which can be triggered by the mounted Canon 580EXii. This should give us one mounted flash and two off-camera flash units. However, the off-camera Canon flash does not fire when the SB-800 is on optical slave mode. The only times we have gotten both Nikon and Canon flashes to trigger at the same time are when the Canon Flash can't see the Nikon Flash (or vice versa). Would someone like to explain to me why this is if they know it and if there is a solution for this phenomenon? Thanks! __________________ http://www.timothyniou.com

03-17-2010, 03:35 PM	#2
xqsme Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Portland Posts: 232 My Camera: Nikon D300 / D3	What remote are using Canon or Nikon? Are you using the built in (pop-up) to trigger the flash? Are you sure that both are not flashing or is it just out of sync? Also check your SB800 settings. It should be in normal "on" not in remote mode. In Nikon, set your pop up to manual at low power and the rest of the group turned off to prevent "pre-flashes" in TTL mode. __________________ My Photos:Here Last edited by xqsme; 03-17-2010 at 03:47 PM.

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03-21-2010, 01:52 PM	#3
Tony S Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 140	Have you run into a problem of the Nikon flash being triggered by the pre-flash of the 580EXII? There should be no effect from the Nikon flash units on the 580EXII set up as a slave unit fired by the 580EXII master, that's fired from the infrared signal on the master (although the Nikon flash might be bright enough to effect it like bright sunshine is at times). You would most likely though have the sync issue of the Nikons going off with the Canon pre-fire metering flash. Best bet would be to set them all on remotes then adjust them manually using a light meter for them all to work. Mixing the infrared with optical always seems to be an issue no matter what system you use.