Flash not firing til second frame

[Martin Yelland]

Hi, I'm using a Canon 7d, various lenses set manually, a Camtraptions pir sensor and a nikon sb 28 flash. I've been getting good results, but lately the flash hasn't been firing on wake. I haven't altered any settings, regularly change all batteries and have checked and replaced the cable. Any suggestions? Cheers, Martin

[-jeff]

Does it wake on the first trigger and flash on the second trigger? If it does then it sounds like the wake signal is not getting to the flash. If you have a Nikon camera handy, install the flash. Let it go to sleep and see if it wakes and flashes on the first shutter press. That will tell you if the flash is good and the cable is bad. Check the hot shoe on the Canon body and all cable connections. Make sure they are all clean and not corroded.

[stinky]

It doesn't fix your problem, but all of my strobe problems went away when I started using wireless triggers.

[-jeff]

That does make setup a lot easier. What are you using for wireless triggers?

[stinky]

In the never-ending quest to find better triggers, for now I've setteled on camtraptions with the modified battery pack. I can easily get 4 weeks out of them. I have had a couple of failures, but overall they seem pretty good.

[-jeff]

Now, if only we could find a good replacement for the SB-28. I'm afraid the market is going to dry up someday.