I am looking for a simple cheap digi camera that will wok with a slave flash.

Two I have tried dont syncronise correctly despite trying all the flash modes.

Any suggestions?

must be cheap, robust and easy to use, I am not keen on faffing around with expensive sofisticated gear underground.

Thanks

I am still intersted if anyone has suggestions to the question above.

However one way round this would seem to be the Firefly slave unit for digital cameras that will fire on the second iR pulse form the digi cameras. A bit pricey at 60 pounds but it would seem to be a solution and allow the use of a inexpensive camera.

getwet - take your slave flash and go into dixons and test every camera they have.

Its fun :twisted:

£60 for a unit when you need multiple remote flashes! You need mutiple flashes to get a decent picture 3 is about right. More if your serious. I have about 6 remote flashes and a Fiji S5000 the S7000 works with standard remotes too.

Not that i know anything about cave photography, but i wouldn't shop in Dixons.

Getwet - Try shopping in Sheffield at Harrison Cameras 01142760002 on London road. Great for second hand gear from flashguns and cameras of all types. They are also good for new stuff too. And whats more the staff know exactly what they are talking about, not that the crap they woffle at you in Dixons. Give them a try.

As for cameras i would have a look at the Ricoh Caplio GX8. It is an awesome little compact digital camera boasting 8.24 million pixels which will mean that you get an 8 megapixel sensor. Big enough for A2 enlargement. It has a acurate 28mm wide angle lens. An external hot shoe so you can use a seperate flashgun. It is primarily an automatic camera but has a maunual function, so you can turn the built in flash off and use your external flashgun maybe on a 1 meter cable to provide some side lighting for your foreground subjects. The size of the camera is small enough to carry without worrying about it, for those off the cuff snap shots.
Not a bad price either!

Leica also make quality compact digital cameras but more money.
Canon IXUS range are all very good too.

Take a look at their website www.ricoh.co.uk/cameras/

Best of British!

Yeah not that you know anything about cave photography!

I use a compact Canon S45 (which is not sold new any more) and it seems that all the Canon S series and the A series have manual exposure controls, manual focus and manual flash mode with only 1 flash (ie will sync with a normal firefly).

Rob - You know me. I just guess!!!!
:wink:

Thanks for the advice and information.

I finally went for a waterproof Pentax optio WP digital compact along with a Firefly 3 slave unit.

I chose this pentax because its robust, easy to use and waterproof ( I do a lot of Kayaking and Kitesurfing so this fearture will be usefull to me)

Unfortunately this camera will not work with a normal slave, due to the double IR pulse which fires a normal flash save prematurely, so I have had to invest in a Firefly 3 slave which copes with this.

The results are good, the firefly unit works every time!

I am happy if slightly lighter in the wallet than I originally intended!

excellent! how much was the fire fly 3 and where did you get it from.
the last time i looked at the web site there was only an un housed model available.
Nobody ever keeps to their budget when buying anything digital

I chose this pentax because its robust, easy to use and waterproof.
Unfortunately this camera will not work with a normal slave,

Click to expand...

Ye, I looked at that one but already had 2 slaves so it didn't make economic sense for me to get it..

how much was the fire fly 3 and where did you get it from.

Click to expand...

I think I was quoted £50 when I enquired earlier this year..

The Firefly 3 unit was 59.95, the web site is as below

http://www.fireflyelectronics.co.uk/

The people there seem very helpfull, and they are cavers so know what will work down a cave!

Hi Sorry for being Stupid, but...dont want to waste money on a Firefly for nothing..
I use a Optio w10.  It sounds like this is what you use.  Does the FF really work with this, and does it do it well?  From the Fire Fly web site it looks like the slave unit physically attaches to the camera, but i cant see how you would do this.  Are the two remote?  And what flash setting do you use?

For about £40 you can buy the i-slave from
http://www.cumbriadesigns.co.uk/i-Slave_Main.htm

(just made the mistake of googling i slave ....imagine the sites i got .......)


Anyhow, I have 2 of these, they work just fine, with the old and new camera.....that is they automatically adjust for a single or a pre flash camera....

Paul.Wheelhouse said:

Hi Sorry for being Stupid, but...dont want to waste money on a Firefly for nothing..
I use a Optio w10.  It sounds like this is what you use.  Does the FF really work with this, and does it do it well?  From the Fire Fly web site it looks like the slave unit physically attaches to the camera, but i cant see how you would do this.  Are the two remote?  And what flash setting do you use?

Click to expand...

The Fire-Fly unit is attached to the flashgun. A filter is taped over your cameras built in flash.
By using the filter over the cameras flash the problem with misting and halo's can be avoided and the slave can still be triggered at range.

Canon IXUS arent much cop underground I've found. They have all the right setting but the screens smash way to easily im on my third screen and I am relativly carefull with it. They also dont like the wet its been back twice due to flooding... Thank god for dixons we'll fix it for free no matter whatever you do to it policy (I think it was £30 for 3 years so ive had my moneys worth).

cucc Paul said:

Thank god for dixons we'll fix it for free no matter whatever you do to it policy (I think it was £30 for 3 years so ive had my moneys worth).

Click to expand...

Eh??? Free???

Paul.Wheelhouse said:

Hi Sorry for being Stupid, but...dont want to waste money on a Firefly for nothing..
I use a Optio w10.  It sounds like this is what you use.  Does the FF really work with this, and does it do it well?  From the Fire Fly web site it looks like the slave unit physically attaches to the camera, but i cant see how you would do this.  Are the two remote?  And what flash setting do you use?

Click to expand...

The Firefly connects to the Flashgun - not to the camera. It is triggered by detecting the pulse of light from the on-camera flashgun (or any other, come to that).  The clever thing about the Firefly 3 is that it can 'count' the number of flash pulses from the camera and it fires the flashgun on the correct pulse. That is: it will cope with the double-pulse issued by some digital cameras. It will also cope with multiple pulses such as are used with 'red-eye reduction'.  The only question of compatibility is "will it work with your flashgun". The answer is that it will work with "most" flashguns and bulb firers but you are advised to test it before going on expedition!