Mercury messing with my lighting

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/14/2011 03:56:19 PM · #1

Ok, so I had a shoot yesterday, for something that I was hoping to enter into a fashion/beauty contest. Had a MUA, secured some outrageous shoes, got the amazing model. I go to set up, everything is working great. Model and MUA arrive, get done, go to the set. One of the strobes refuses to fire.

These are brand new, Profoto D1 heads, with Pocketwizard radio transcievers. I had used them flawlessly for a 5-hour shoot a few days earlier, and another shoot the week before. I had not touched the set since my successful set up an hour earlier. I turned everything off. Back on. No go. Did that again. No go. Switched the PW from one head to the other. Nope. Changed channels. Uh uh. Played with the slave, IR, moved them closer, pointed them directly at each other. Nothing. I'm freaking out. The model and MUA are looking at me. I decide it might be too contrasty for the white light or whatever the issue is. We set up upstairs. Do some tests. Will not work. Fiddle around, and both heads fire both times. Great!! Get the model in place. Nope - just the one firing again. I even take off the PW and tether directly from the camera. NO GO!!!

Now I'm knowing that the shot I want is impossible with a single strobe, and I'm really pissed and miserable. Rethink, refocus, decide on a shot with one strobe. But the set is better downstairs, so we strike again and set up the lights, hoping against hope. They both fire. Once. Twice. Rush the model in. BANG, just the one!!!!!!! I call Samy's for support. They suggest EVERYTHING I've already tried. CANNOT GET BOTH EFFERS TO FIRE!!!

So, we finish the shoot (these guys were just so amazingly patient), and today I take all my gear back to Samy's today to see WTF???? And you know what's coming, right? CANNOT duplicate the problem. They both fired like champs. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I guess I could have used my two flashes, but... Now what? Thoughts? Ideas? Commiseration?????

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

04/14/2011 04:03:02 PM · #2

Have you been visited by an old Gypsy woman recently?

Cory

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

04/14/2011 04:03:47 PM · #3

What a shame... Having this sort of intermittent failure happen can be really rough, about the only way to actually prove you're not a whacko is to video tape the misbehavior.

Sorry to hear that you had such a rotten shoot. :(

Message edited by author 2011-04-14 16:04:02.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

04/14/2011 04:06:20 PM · #4

No personal experience with radio controls but, besides distance, it seems to me things most like to cause a problem are
-intermittent contact (internal problem)
-shielding between transmitter and receiver
-RF interference (jamming)

so ...
Was it always the same unit which failed?

Was there anything metal (e.g. file cabinet) between the camera and the strobes?

Was one of the strobes near a computer/monitor?

I can relate to your stress -- I went to record a school concert a couple of years ago, and the laptop I was running things from died right there in the auditorium ... fortunately I had an analog (tape) backup system in place as well.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

04/14/2011 04:09:33 PM · #5

Like Paul, I'm wondering about radio interference. Can you take the lighting setup back to the shoot location and try again? If you can, try to do it around the same time of day, so if it's an intermittent source (e.g. during workday) it will be a similar scenario. If it fails again on location, it might be related to RF interference. If you can, hook up directly (wired) and see if the failing strobe fires reliably.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

04/14/2011 05:45:00 PM · #6

Originally posted by kirbic:

If you can, hook up directly (wired) and see if the failing strobe fires reliably.

Note below quote from OP:

Originally posted by tanguera:

I even take off the PW and tether directly from the camera. NO GO!!!

Message edited by author 2011-04-14 17:45:23.

robs

Canon EOS R6 Mk II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/14/2011 06:06:04 PM · #7

pfffttt... I would have said RF interference with the PW's but sounds like you fired with a wire as well..... I have no clue (assuming the usual - on the right channel e.t.c.).

You could have set it to optical slave and have the one that did fire setting it off since sounds like your the only one there but otherwise... Good luck :-/

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/14/2011 06:25:47 PM · #8

I still blame the old Gypsy woman.

04/14/2011 06:50:27 PM · #9

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

I still blame the old Gypsy woman.

Or poltergeists... mean little turds they are.

04/14/2011 06:54:00 PM · #10

Just curious... because you didn't say... is this a location you have shot before? The reason I ask is could it be a wiring problem with the building?

04/14/2011 07:08:58 PM · #11

I'm with Ken on this one - damn Gypsy woman!!!

I have had 3 successful shoots in the 2nd location (upstairs), and 1 successful shoot in the garage. Same time of day. Both are vacant. No computers, or anything anywhere in the vicinity. I switched the PW from one head to the other 3 times. I made sure the jacks were in tight. Seriously, I did EVERYTHING. And zip. Until I got to the store :-)

Oh, one last bit of info: The first time I shot with this model, the same thing happened with my first set of strobes!

Maybe it's the model...

ETA

Nope, not the wiring - plugged into another building entirely.

Message edited by author 2011-04-14 19:09:39.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

04/14/2011 07:27:18 PM · #12

Originally posted by tanguera:

I'm with Ken on this one - damn Gypsy woman!!!

Maybe it's the model...

Probably a witch.... does she float? LOL

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

04/14/2011 07:27:46 PM · #13

Originally posted by tanguera:

Oh, one last bit of info: The first time I shot with this model, the same thing happened with my first set of strobes!

Maybe it's the model...

that's what i was going to suggest. maybe she is a borg or something.

04/14/2011 07:36:58 PM · #14

Or a witch!

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/14/2011 07:48:45 PM · #15

She MAY have been made of wood..

LOL!

chromeydome

Nikon D7000

04/14/2011 09:06:29 PM · #16

I was using some unfamiliar gear once, and it was intermittently firing. Very unpredictable, and nothing I did seemed to matter. Except that when I did almost anything, it got better for a minute. It was an active event, no time to debug, no way to reschedule. I blundered thru it, subjects were patient, and I got a shot of each one even though I had to fuss with the light most times to get it to fire.

The end result, I discovered AFTER the event was a bad power cord--it was barely connecting at the strobe end. Anytime I tried anything on the strobe, it moved it just enough to get a contact and I could get the shot. Then it would lose contact again after a couple or five successful fires, I would mess with the strobe, check the flash tube seating, etc.

It may have been a bad cord (unlikely since all the gear is new) or it may have been bad outlets. Or it may have been something else entirely. Were your lights plugged into different outlets? If you can see any black or "scorch" marks on your power cord plug ends, you may have had a loose contact in the socket, some arcing, and intermittent problems.

Another option--go back to the store with the lights AND the model..... :-)

ambaker

Google Glass Google Glass

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

04/14/2011 09:12:46 PM · #17

Originally posted by karmat:

Originally posted by tanguera:

Oh, one last bit of info: The first time I shot with this model, the same thing happened with my first set of strobes!

Maybe it's the model...

that's what i was going to suggest. maybe she is a borg or something.

Have you checked to see if you can see her reflection in a mirror?

alfresco

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/14/2011 09:12:55 PM · #18

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by tanguera:
I'm with Ken on this one - damn Gypsy woman!!!

Maybe it's the model...

Probably a witch.... does she float? LOL

Bread! Apples! Very small rocks!

ace flyman

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

04/14/2011 09:37:26 PM · #19

I had same problem once with one of my TT-5 PW. I had to reset the PW back to the factory specks. Haven't had a problem with it since.....Good Luck.