Canon shoe cord 2 used with FL-50

[OlyFlyer]

I just received the cable. What can I say? It works as expected. Both the camera and the flash recognizes each other. TTL works as it supposed to. Not a very exciting thread but I decided to start it anyway. Just in case somebody is interested.



I even decided to include a self portrait to show the cord in action.



If you want to see more images and read some more, here is a link.

The summary is that I think it is a good replacement to Oly original cable at half price. I am going to modify this cable to be able to move the flash from the camera and use it from a stand. So it's going to be another DIY project.

[Blu-By-U]

Is that a picture of you? Handsome chap.

[holidaydom]

Awesome! - how much is this and where in Singapore can we get this?

[Blu-By-U]

As I have mentioned before, I think any 3rd party extension cord should be able to work. As long as the pins alignment are there and correct. An extension cord is suppose to be dumb. ie no electronic parts or board inside.

[microcosm]

That is good to know. But I am more interested in wireless ones these days. The spiral cords are really no fun at all.

[Blu-By-U]

that's a different story. You may be able to fire it wirelessly but will the TTL work?

[microcosm]

Yup. I am still waiting for someone who will be able to help in this. It is not difficult. The small packet of data being transmitted over the air. Since there are wireless MIDI transmitters, why not one for flash units? Still waiting, still waiting... I am sure someone is developing it... but only Canon and Nikon will get theirs first definitely... hope a miracle will happen at PMA.

[drakon09]

Don't Nikon have wireless transmitters already?

[Blu-By-U]

Heard that it's built in to the flash and multiple flash can be used together as a slave.

[microcosm]

Originally Posted by drakon09 Don't Nikon have wireless transmitters already?

That is what I am saying... they have it but we don't... sianz... I think it was IR transmitter though, not radio transmitters...

[OlyFlyer]

Blu,
Yes that's me. Thanks for the 'handsome chap' comment. You know, "mirror mirror on the wall..." always shows the most handsome person.

And, yes, you are right, any third party cable would do as long as no electronics are built in to identify the cable. On the other hand this one is also a third party, at least on an Olympus camera. I don't know how prices are in Singapore but this is not very expensive here in Sweden. Another point on the plus side for this Canon one is that I really feel the quality is good. I would not trust to have my expensive FL-50 fixed to this one otherwise. Would not like to see my flash hitting the floor because of the plastic fixing of a third party third party brakes. Never know, but I suspect even Canon has some quality control and if they regard this one as one that can hold their flashes, I guess my FL-50 is safe.

Microcosm,
I agree, a wireless would be the most ideal one if it is not introducing any delay. The 100ms delay introduced with this false TTL we have in our cameras is already too much. Coming from the OM2n world of 1980's it was a chocking experience for me to realize that TTL is just a fake, based on a preflash and then 100ms later the main flash is fired and the image is taken. That is an awful long time in some situations, some people blink just when the main flash fires.

Anyway, in my opinion, for a flash on a grip just a few centimeters from the camera a cable is still the best solution because it is simple, no batteries needed, extremely reliable and definitely without any delay to take into account. For longer distances, yes, radio control would be ideal, IR would be a waste of money. I am in my head working on a DIY solution and in my opinion it is not very difficult to do but needs some time, time that I don't have at the moment. However, to be able to do that, the signals need some analysis and now that I have a connector I can do that analysis and maybe work more seriously on it.

BTW, I agree on the spiral cable comment, I also hate spirals. They do not introduce any flaxibility at all according to me. You can never really stretch a spiral cable, it is just as long as it is in a relaxed form and they always need a lot of extra space when they are stored. So the spiral cable will be replaced soon and then at the same time I will add two connectors to be able to move the flash to a stand while I can move around.

[btfiend]

Thanks for sharing the info! I was put off by Oly's exorbitant price for the cable here. I'll check out the price for the Canon cord and post here again.

[reneson]

Originally Posted by btfiend Thanks for sharing the info! I was put off by Oly's exorbitant price for the cable here. I'll check out the price for the Canon cord and post here again.

just got mine at AP at 98..

[OlyFlyer]

My cable did not survive the weekend. It fell offer for my DIY tools and ideas. Now it is modified so I can use a PS2 cable to extend the distance between my camera and my flash.



You can watch the full story here.

[Blu-By-U]

You are good.

[cjtune]

PS/2 cable?? Interesting!
Time to hone my soldering skills...

[OlyFlyer]

Originally Posted by cjtune PS/2 cable?? Interesting! Time to hone my soldering skills...

Yes, definitely there is some money to save. PS/2 cable is cheap and it has 6 wires. So assuming you connect all, you will be able to use the cable even if you decide to switch to Canon. I guess a long Canon cable is also more expensive than the PS/2 DIY solution.

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer My cable did not survive the weekend.

It must be a really bad cable if it can't survive one weekend's use...whereas my Olympus FL-CB01 cable has survived many uses already including shots outside and portrait shoots...I'm glad I spent more because it isn't worth the aggravation of a defective cable right when it's needed!

[OlyFlyer]

Originally Posted by Mikefellh It must be a really bad cable if it can't survive one weekend's use...whereas my Olympus FL-CB01 cable has survived many uses already including shots outside and portrait shoots...I'm glad I spent more because it isn't worth the aggravation of a defective cable right when it's needed!

Mike, you misunderstood my comment. It did not survive the weekend because I did not want it to survive. I deliberately cut apart to be able to add an extension cord of my choise. I call that DIY product development and upgrade. Now I can use the cable on my camera and having the flash at the side on a grip or 10 meters from me on a tripod. Actually, I wanted to remove the spiral cable completely but I could not find a good way to connect a PS/2 connector at the flash end. That part is just too tiny for that.

In my opinion the cable is of very good quality, even the plastic. Future will tell how long the original parts will hold but in my opinion there is no quality issue on this one. Maybe, as you said earlier, that is why it is Canon version 3.

Actually, the Canon Shoe Cord 2 is not similar to FL-CB01 but to FL-CB05.

[btfiend]

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer My cable did not survive the weekend. It fell offer for my DIY tools and ideas. Now it is modified so I can use a PS2 cable to extend the distance between my camera and my flash.

Thats a Canon Frankencord