Wired setup for two strobes and one camera

[TerpsForTea]

Hello all, I hope everyone is well,

I would like to have two strobe units wired to one camera with a singular PC sync port, but after researching I have been surprised at the lack of information there is online. The strobes and camera in question are 2x Paul C. Buff 640W Einsteins and a Sony A7R IV. I would like to have a wired setup as I feel it is more reliable. But I would like to hear suggestions and opinions. Here is what I've come across so far:

1. PC Sync splitter cable (1 PC Male to 2 PC Female socket) - Unless I am searching this wrong the only available cable I can find for this is on Amazon, which I have ordered as there are only a couple left now.
This seems like a great option but I am inexperienced with this sort of thing, and I am unsure if it's safe to use a third party cable to connect my strobes and camera together? I have spoken to Sony a few times and they say they can't give me an answer because it's not their kit, but they forward me to my second option.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

2. Sony Multi Interface hot shoe to PC Sync port adapter - If my first option wasn't doable I was hoping this could be a backup and have one strobe connected through this adaptor and the other through the camera's PC sync port, but it was equally hard to research. I could only find two options, one by Sony and another by Pixel. The funny thing is, there is little information on the Sony product and everyone I've spoken to who works there can't tell me if it has a PC sync port or not, which the Pixel does.

Sony link: https://www.sony.co.uk/store/product/ad ... oe-Adapter

Pixel Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... LV8H&psc=1

It would be great to hear if these options are any good or if there is something else I should be looking at.


On a seperate note, I wanted to buy a new Sony Shutter Cable (RM-VPR1) from Cognisys for my Stackshot. But I can't fork out 40 dollars plus around anonther 100 for shipping, for what seems to be just a micro USB to a single RCA connector. I can't seem to find anything else online either. Is everything i'm looking for notoriously difficult to find, or how does everyone else do it? I would be grateful to be led in the right direction for any of my queries.

Thanks to any help.

[UncleChip]

I would use radio triggers, the pc ports are a pain for coming loose, you have cables everywhere, I use Godox but there are many decent ones available

[TerpsForTea]

I would use radio triggers, the pc ports are a pain for coming loose, you have cables everywhere, I use Godox but there are many decent ones available

As nice as that option would be, I just don't trust the reliability of something wireless, even if it did misfire once in a blue moon. It may be something I will use again in the future, but I am more interested in my wired options for the time being, plus I don't mind a little cable management. Thanks anyway!

[UncleChip]

For a wired option the splitter cable and pixel hot shoe adapter should work fine, I have used third party triggers, strobes and cables for years with no issues.

[macrolophus]

The Sony flash adapter ADP-MAA does NOT have a PC port (or any other cable connector socket).
So it's different from the Pixel TF-335 that do have a PC port and connects it to the Sony Multi Interface. With TF-335 you can use a PC sync splitter like Amazon B0078ZCX6Y.

If you want to dive into details, the best info about the Sony (and Minolta) flash system is on www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/flashcomp.php - there is a sub-page dedicated to Sony flash accessories. But Hohners site does not include any third party products. Godox (and similar) have many modern flashes and triggers (and they seems to be very popular for a reason).

There is a knock-off very similar to the Sony remote control with multi-terminal cable RM-VPR1. It is called JJC RM-VPR1. But if you just want to control the shutter, you can find a cheaper wired remote that will do just that (like eBay item 402367787791).

Please note that the Sony Multi Terminal is NOT just a micro USB port. It's a double port, two different ports "stacked" in one connector. On a Sony camera the outer part of the socket is a regular micro USB, but it's the inner part that has the dedicated pin for the remote wired shutter. This means you can use a regular USB cable to access the USB-part, but not the dedicated remote control part. However, there are cheap "S2" cables available if you want to tinker (like ebay item 203486689731).

(If you really are a fan of cable connectors, I'd like to mention that Minolta had dedicated flash cables that for some time was carried over by Sony. Everything are listed on Hohners accessory page. The problem is that you need a Sony FA-CS1M to use them on a Sony camera with Multi Interface, and the FA-CS1M was not cheap and is very hard to find now.)

[dickb]

I may be missing the point here but why do you want to use hot shoe to pc port adapter? The A7riv has a dedicated pc port. Is it to eliminate any chance of damage of high voltage flashes?

[mjkzz]

Though a lot of people do this and claim no harm, I would not go with the Y splitter approach. If you measure voltage of the center pin on your flash, you will see it is "hot", ie, above zero. If you wire them up, essentially, you are wiring two trigger circuits together, strange things can happen.

Modern wireless triggers are very reliable, the only thing is the delay it might cause -- so far, most of transmitters send out trigger radio signal at least THREE times in succession so that if a receiver missed one, it might get later ones. But this might cause out of sync issue if you do high speed photography -- they do not fire at same time, but for stacking, it is really not an issue.

I did one circuit using a CMOS chip that drives 6 (or 8 ) flashes, all isolated from each other, and it isolates camera from flashes, though not optically, too. I posted it on Flickr about 10 years ago. Search for "Look ma, no battery" or something like that.

[TerpsForTea]

The Sony flash adapter ADP-MAA does NOT have a PC port (or any other cable connector socket).
So it's different from the Pixel TF-335 that do have a PC port and connects it to the Sony Multi Interface. With TF-335 you can use a PC sync splitter like Amazon B0078ZCX6Y.

If you want to dive into details, the best info about the Sony (and Minolta) flash system is on www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/flashcomp.php - there is a sub-page dedicated to Sony flash accessories. But Hohners site does not include any third party products. Godox (and similar) have many modern flashes and triggers (and they seems to be very popular for a reason).

There is a knock-off very similar to the Sony remote control with multi-terminal cable RM-VPR1. It is called JJC RM-VPR1. But if you just want to control the shutter, you can find a cheaper wired remote that will do just that (like eBay item 402367787791).

Please note that the Sony Multi Terminal is NOT just a micro USB port. It's a double port, two different ports "stacked" in one connector. On a Sony camera the outer part of the socket is a regular micro USB, but it's the inner part that has the dedicated pin for the remote wired shutter. This means you can use a regular USB cable to access the USB-part, but not the dedicated remote control part. However, there are cheap "S2" cables available if you want to tinker (like ebay item 203486689731).

(If you really are a fan of cable connectors, I'd like to mention that Minolta had dedicated flash cables that for some time was carried over by Sony. Everything are listed on Hohners accessory page. The problem is that you need a Sony FA-CS1M to use them on a Sony camera with Multi Interface, and the FA-CS1M was not cheap and is very hard to find now.)

Thank you for your response, I have found your comments and links provided very interesting and useful! I have already used the JJC RM-VPR1, it does the job just fine, I can't believe Sony's is double the price!

And thanks for helping me understand the difference of the Sony Multi Terminal port, however it is still proving difficult to finding a cable that goes from that to an RCA connection. But you're right, I may need to do some tinkering and it would be a useful lesson for me too. I did come across a workaround that I think might work; it was to use a Sony Multi Terminal to 2.5mm cable, then use a 2.5mm female to RCA male adapter.

[TerpsForTea]

I may be missing the point here but why do you want to use hot shoe to pc port adapter? The A7riv has a dedicated pc port. Is it to eliminate any chance of damage of high voltage flashes?

I was just listing a couple options I had already come across, I haven't used PC Sync Splitters nor Hot Shoe adapters before so I was curious what my best/safest and other options were for two strobes. But from what Iv'e seen the Splitter seems like a safe way to go.

[TerpsForTea]

Though a lot of people do this and claim no harm, I would not go with the Y splitter approach. If you measure voltage of the center pin on your flash, you will see it is "hot", ie, above zero. If you wire them up, essentially, you are wiring two trigger circuits together, strange things can happen.

Modern wireless triggers are very reliable, the only thing is the delay it might cause -- so far, most of transmitters send out trigger radio signal at least THREE times in succession so that if a receiver missed one, it might get later ones. But this might cause out of sync issue if you do high speed photography -- they do not fire at same time, but for stacking, it is really not an issue.

I did one circuit using a CMOS chip that drives 6 (or 8 ) flashes, all isolated from each other, and it isolates camera from flashes, though not optically, too. I posted it on Flickr about 10 years ago. Search for "Look ma, no battery" or something like that.

That is interesting you mention the potential issues for flashes; however, I am using strobes and do not have a centre pin. My power source will be AC and the units operate on power lines from 95 to 265 VAC. I am a novice in this area, so I am unsure if everything I'm saying is completely relevant.

I will probably end up getting new wireless triggers at some point, with reliability improving. But I am just currently interested in the wired options. And I'm also not too fond of having to remember to buy and eventually replace batteries when they suddenly stop working.

That does sound like an interesting idea for a lot of flashes, I did try a quick search to no avail.

[mjkzz]

@TerpsForTea: I lost login to my Flickr account, hard to recover it and I do not use it anymore, so I could not get the link and it was 10 years ago . . . let me see if I can find the circuit on old hard drives.