Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I´am looking for a studio flash unit which will work either on Leica S2 and Sony A7r. Considering systems from other manufacturers which work on almost all cams is Profoto D1 + Air remote control.
I like AlienBees for their size and portability for outdoor shooting too. I´d like to ask if Einstein E640 + Cyber commander will work correctly on Leica S2 and Sony A7r. Important point for me is the possibility to control the flash unit from transmitter in camera hot shoe /in this case Cyber commander/.

Yes, Cyber Commander, CyberSync and all of our lights work equally well with all cameras that have a flash trigger interface (PC or hotshoe, etc) since there is no dedication involved (i.e. TTL). The newer Sonys like the A7 series use a standard configuration hotshoe. Some older models will require an inexpensive adapter.

The Cyber Commander can fit in the hotshoe and be used as a trigger, however, given the small nature of the mirrorless cameras, you may want to use a CST (smaller basic trigger) in the hotshoe, and keep the Cyber Commander separate for metering and adjustment.

Thank you for the information, I´ll write you an e-mail with details and some possibilities how to send
your products to Europe (Czech Republic) using freight forwarder,etc. Kind regards,Mark.

My first attempt to use my PCB ring flash with my Sony A7r. I have a CSR+ for this flash but it was over an hour away and I didn't have time to go after it. I went to Radio Shack and got a mini adapter for the CST and connected a ⅛ by ⅛ cable to the CST and the flash. The flash fired and continued to fire every nine seconds. This phenomon occurred with the CST on and off the camera, thus eliminating the camera as the cause. I changed the battery. The problem persisted. I changed the mini adapter and the cable and same problem. The store clerk tested both batteries and found them both at full power.
The timing of this flashing suggested the possibility of some wireless equipment in the store, such as motion detectors or other security equipment. The manager said there was none, but perhaps there was. I went through the channels, with no change. Any suggestions?

It sounds like the trigger circuit of the CST was held closed. Older versions of the CST would do this if the circuit was held open, i.e. shutter speeds of 10s or longer.

If you were using shorter exposure times, and the CST triggered even when not during an exposure, then something held that circuit closed, like a 2.5mm plug not full inserted, or the CST plugged into an all metal cold shoe.

Current CST's do not do this, but depending on what caused the circuit to stay closed, you may not have gotten the results you were looking for, as this should not have happened unless you are using long exposure times.

I will try again and check those items, but the problem occurred without mounting the trigger on the camera, so shutter speed would not matter.