FlashCables

The majority of high speed photography is done with flashes. This is because camera shutters add large delays making them unsuitable for photography that requires very fast responses. To put things in perspective most DSLR cameras add a delay of more than 1/20th of a second where most flashes add a delay of less than 1/10,000th of a second.

The typically setup when using flashes is done in a dark room or outside at night. The camera is triggered with a long shutter speed of a few seconds or in bulb mode. Since the room is dark the photo would normally turn out black, but while the shutter is open if a flash is triggered it will light the scene and produce a photo. Generally a flash is set to manual mode and some test photos are taken to figure out where to place the flash so that the scene gets enough light. The lower power settings normally have a shorter duration. For example Canon's 580 EXII at 1/128th power has a flash duration of around 1/40,000th of a second and a trigger lag of nearly zero seconds.

Many studio flashes produce much more light than the small flashes from Canon, Nikon and others; but these studio flashes typically have much longer flash durations. Many studio flashes have a minimum duration of 1/1000th - 1/3000th of a second which will work for some things, but will cause blurry pictures are fast moving objects. To get more light and get really high speed flashes you should use more small flashes instead of studio flashes.

The Camera Axe is designed to handle flashes of 30V and less. Do not use flashes with over 30V. You can measure the voltage of your flash with a dc voltmeter or refer to this list.

=Multi-Flash Board=

[Circuit Diagram] [Eagle Files]

Parts List

 * Custom Circuit Board (see Eagle files)
 * 3.5 mm jacks
 * DIP16 1k resistor
 * Green LED
 * Optoisolator
 * Battery holder
 * On/off switch
 * 0.1 uF capacitor
 * 10 uF capacitor

=Multi-Flash Plus=

[Circuit Diagram] [Eagle Files]

Parts List

 * Circuit Board	(see Eagle Files)
 * Custom Case
 * 3.5 mm jack
 * DIP16 (8) 1k Resistors
 * Red LED
 * Optoisolator
 * On/off switch
 * 0.1 uF Cap
 * 1uF Caps
 * 10 uF Cap
 * 10K Resistor
 * 6x AA holder
 * Lcd
 * Diode
 * 5V Regulator
 * 28P DIP socket
 * N mosfet
 * 3.0 V regulator
 * Break Away Header
 * 2.1 mm power connector
 * 2.1 mm power plug
 * 2 3.5mm Screw Terminal
 * 16 Mhz Resonator
 * ATMega328
 * Stand-offs
 * M3 nut spacer
 * Black Flat Screw
 * Buttons

Below is a list of the flash cables that will work with the camera Axe.

=Hotshoe=

=PC Sync=

=3.5 mm Cable=

Table of Flashes