Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I recently purchased the CST and CSRB+. I have them plugged into a pc sync cord adapter connected to a Canon 430exII. What I have discovered is that the recycle time using this setup is significantly longer than if the flash was attached to directly to my 5dmkii, from instant recycle on camera vs 4+ seconds wireless. Can you explain the difference? I believe i was shooting around 800-1600 ISO with the power setting anywhere from 0 to -3 (the lowest) (+3 is the highest, for reference)

I cannot shoot with a 4 second recycle time since I shoot weddings. I chose the pcbuff equipment since I use Einstein lights as well. Any help is appreciated.

It sounds like the 430EX is in TTL mode. While on camera, it is firing at only what they need to fire, which is usually significantly less than full power. When attached to the CyberSync, unless set to manual and dialed down, it will default to full power. Since it is using more power, the recycle times will take longer (also, lower battery charge will affect this), and 4 seconds is a reasonable time for full power.

+3 vs. -3 is a relative scale for how much over or under exposure the flash should provide when in TTL. It does not necessarily reflect full or minimum power. Again, when connected to CyberSync, these settings have zero effect on the amount of power emitted from the flash.

The MODE should be set to "M" and the power is adjusted by setting to Full, 1/2, 1/4, etc. using a combination of the +/- and set buttons.