Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Can anyone please tell me how to set up my strobe? I need it to work for tomorrow morning and I am clueless here. I have a B800. I have a Canon Rebel XS. I purchased the speed light foot adapter found here http://www.paulcbuff.com/slfa.php

I have everything plugged in and turned on and my strobe will not fire with my camera. It will fire when I press the test button on the back of the strobe but that's it. Please someone give me some advice. Thanks so much!

The SLFA is designed to attatch to thebottom of a speedlite, like a Canon 430EX. There is no contact on the bottom for the camera's signal. To attach the sync cord to the camera, you will need the HSA/ hot shoe adapter (http://www.paulcbuff.com/hsa.php). If you have a camera store nearby, they may have one. You do not need one that protects the camera from high voltage (ABs are low voltage, and safe).

If you cannot get a hotshoe adapter, you can use a speedlite in M mode and dial the power down. This will trigger the AB's slave eye. If that is not an option, the pop up flash may work, if the Bee is set low enough, or you can use the flash exposure lock function of the camera. This will prevent the preflash from firing the AB too early.

If you try to trigger via the slave eye, be sure the sync cord is not plugged into the light.

Thank you so much for your response. I actually have this hot shoe adapter that I accidentally ordered with my strobe. So I attached the hot shoe adapter to my camera, but I don't see how the sync cord that came with my strobe hooks onto this anywhere? The cord doesn't fit in to any part of it at all....????? What am I doing wrong?

You have the Hot Shoe Adapter (HSA) AND the SLFA? They are similar in appearance but different in function. Again, the SLFA will not work. The HSA will go on the camera, and the end of the sync cord that looks like a headphone jack connects to the light, while the other end will connect to the side of the adapter. That end of the cord will have a circular shield and a center pin. There is a hole for the center pin on the adapter, and the shield will fit around that.

Yes, I purchased both because I wasn't sure which one I needed... I'm so glad I posted here last night. I had my husband monkey around with the hsa and he finally got it plugged in. It was almost impossible to get it plugged in, it was so tight. Thank you so much though, I finally figured it out.