Focus assist beam using wireless transmitters like pocket wizards etc?

ajax_andy

ajax_andy

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I currently have 2 x Nissin Di866 Mark II flashes and 2 x Yongnou wireless receivers / 1 trigger and am wondering how to get the focus assist beam to work whilst off camera?

I know with my Yongnous that's never going to happen but I wondered if I upgraded to something like pocket wizards if there was any way of enabling the focus assist beam?

I'm asking as when shooting 1st dances at weddings with OCF in very dark rooms my camera sometimes struggles to focus and obviously the assist beam would be a great help.
 
Don't know if you shoot Canon or Nikon, but I used on my 5dmkII the ST-E2, which could sit on top of my pocketwizard, so that the focus assist beam which the ST-E2 emits still aided focus, but the pocketwizards triggered the OCF.

Would be suprised if Yongnou trigger didn't allow passthrough too.

If Canon, you can generally pickup ST-E2s for around £70-90 2nd hand. I've not had an opportunity to test the 5D mkIII focusing in first dance low light situation yet.
 
ajax_andy said:
I currently have 2 x Nissin Di866 Mark II flashes and 2 x Yongnou wireless receivers / 1 trigger and am wondering how to get the focus assist beam to work whilst off camera?

I know with my Yongnous that's never going to happen but I wondered if I upgraded to something like pocket wizards if there was any way of enabling the focus assist beam?

I'm asking as when shooting 1st dances at weddings with OCF in very dark rooms my camera sometimes struggles to focus and obviously the assist beam would be a great help.
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I have thought about that in the past, but you'd have to "aim" the flash at the point on which you want to focus. When the flash is on the camera, it's already on the right axis - if it's on a stand it won't be, and you'll have to wait until the subject is in the right place....
 
Have a look at Yongnuo 622 E-TTL triggers. Not sure they're 100% Nissin compatible (probably, search here for some long threads on it) but the transceivers have an AF-assist light. They're also very cheap!
 
This is a tricky one with the current state of compatibility. The YN triggers allow pass through and offer a focus assist, but I don't think they're compatible with the Nissin's (can't remember where I read that - could be on the YN site).

The PW's offer pass through (so you could use an st e2) and fire the Nissin's, but they cost a lot more than the YN's.

You could sell the Nissin flashes and buy YN flashes instead to go with the YN triggers (cheap and questionable build) or Canon flashes - better build more cash.
 
Phil V said:
This is a tricky one with the current state of compatibility. The YN triggers allow pass through and offer a focus assist, but I don't think they're compatible with the Nissin's (can't remember where I read that - could be on the YN site).

The PW's offer pass through (so you could use an st e2) and fire the Nissin's, but they cost a lot more than the YN's.

You could sell the Nissin flashes and buy YN flashes instead to go with the YN triggers (cheap and questionable build) or Canon flashes - better build more cash.
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Yeah I'll probably upgrade to the Canon flashes at some point but mainly looking for a slightly cheaper alternative in the mean time... PW's + st e2 might be the best solution?
 
Phil V said:
This is a tricky one with the current state of compatibility. The YN triggers allow pass through and offer a focus assist, but I don't think they're compatible with the Nissin's (can't remember where I read that - could be on the YN site).

The PW's offer pass through (so you could use an st e2) and fire the Nissin's, but they cost a lot more than the YN's.

You could sell the Nissin flashes and buy YN flashes instead to go with the YN triggers (cheap and questionable build) or Canon flashes - better build more cash.
Click to expand...

Yongnuo only states compatibility with YN and Canon guns, as you'd expect really, but there are numerous reports of success with Nissins.

Personally, I'd be surprised if they didn't work pretty well with any recent Canon-compatible gun, because they all work in fundamentally the same way, but even 99% compatibility is very annoying if it's that missing 1% you need.

And it's a constantly changing picture. Yongnuo is known to make small changes without telling anyone (including their dealers), flash gun manufacturers do the same to extend their sales potential, and Canon generally drops a spanner in the works with every new camera model.
 
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