P3D Re: Peanut slave

["David W. Kesner" <drdave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would have responded sooner but I just got back from a trip to 
Indianapolis. Five days walking around with my Realist and not one 
question or other stereo sighting. No luck at any of the camera or 
antique stores either (only one even knew what I was talking about).

Back to the question. The Wein Peanut slave does plug directly into 
the Vivitar 283/5 the same place as the pc cord (right above the 
external battery connect). Although I have not personally used it I 
have been with a fellow caver who is using it on a 283 with his 
Realist. It is working great for him. The side attachment is actually 
nice because it can get a trigger light from over a 180 degree 
range. Cavers have a tendency to "hide" the slave flash behind a rock 
or formation to keep it out of the picture, so a backward facing unit 
is often obscured. The Peanut is limited in range (haven't tried its 
total range), but it is well within what a "normal" stereo range 
would be (who needs a slave that will trigger at a 1/4 mile).

At $13.95 this slave is a very good value and when mated to the 
Vivitar 283/5 would make a perfect fill flash or primary off camera 
flash for most any stereo shot.

If you are looking for the near perfect slave, then the Firefly II 
might be what you are looking for. Last time I checked it was going 
for about $50.00. It is triggered by the sudden cut-off of infra red 
so you can do neat thing like set up flashes and trigger them from 
a camera mounted flash with exposed film covering it. The film blocks 
out visible light but allows infra red through to trigger the slaves. 
This way you can get action shots with multiple flashes without any 
direct light.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me.

David W. Kesner
Boise, Idaho, USA
drdave@xxxxxxxxxx


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