Canon Powershot A590 - external flash

[pinholecam]

Does anyone have any idea how I can fire off an external off camera flash from this camera?
I'm not referring to the flash accessory that is sold by canon, rather I'm thinking of using a Vivitar 285HV. Would optical flash triggers work?

Thx

 

[J-Chan]

not really sure if the A590 can set its flash output manually, if not you'll need to find an optical trigger that ignores the E-TTL preflash..

 

[pinholecam]

So I suppose I should set to M mode, with on-camera flash ON. Should I set the on-camera flash to its lowest power so that it is effectively 'ignored' by the camera, thereby allowing proper exposure from the off camera flash?

I'm thinking of cheapo optical triggers, think they cost like ~$20. How do I confirm if they can work? Am I allowed to try before I buy?

 

[J-Chan]

I think most shops would allow you to try.. but I won't recommend a full optical triggered system, just too unreliable and troublesome to get line of sight etc..

what you can do is to make a hybrid optical/radio triggering system.. get a cheap radio trigger and recievers, mount the transmitter on a optical slave, attach it somehow to your cam's flash using tape.. effectively you eliminate any contamination contributed by your built-in flash just to trigger and you get more range, freedom from line-of-sight and reliability..

 

[pinholecam]

I think most shops would allow you to try.. but I won't recommend a full optical triggered system, just too unreliable and troublesome to get line of sight etc..

what you can do is to make a hybrid optical/radio triggering system.. get a cheap radio trigger and recievers, mount the transmitter on a optical slave, attach it somehow to your cam's flash using tape.. effectively you eliminate any contamination contributed by your built-in flash just to trigger and you get more range, freedom from line-of-sight and reliability..

:thumbsup:
Thanks!