Bolt VC-310C, User Manual

Page 1: ...Inspiration strikes Inspiration strikes VC 310C COMPACT ON CAMERA TTL FLASH User s Manual ...

Page 2: ...2 Copyright 2016 Gradus Group Bolt and other names of Bolt products are trademarks of Gradus Group Other product and corporate names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders ...

Page 3: ... and a wireless slave flash Among the benefits you ll enjoy Full compatibility with Canon s E TTL metering system Wireless TTL control with multiple flash units and groups Eight manual flash levels full to 1 128 power plus fine tuning by 1 3 increments Multi stroboscopic mode Tilt and swivel head 7 down 90 up 90 right and 60 left Backlit LCD Autofocus assist for low light photography Rear curtain ...

Page 4: ...ash and Firing a Test Shot 12 13 Extended Interface 14 Automatic E TTL Flash Mode 15 16 Using Flash Exposure Compensation 16 17 Flash Exposure Bracketing 17 Manual Flash Mode 18 19 Diffusing the Flash 19 Bouncing Your Flash 20 Multi Stroboscopic Mode 21 22 Advanced Features 23 Second Curtain Synchronization 23 ...

Page 5: ...ess TTL Slave 28 29 Using the VC 310C as a Wireless Manual Master 29 30 Manual Optical Slave Modes S1 S2 30 31 Positioning the Slave and Remote Flash Units 32 Using the VC 310C as a Master in the Wireless Multi Stroboscopic Mode 33 34 Specifications 35 Troubleshooting 36 37 FCC Compliance 37 Stroboscopic Reference 38 One Year Limited Warranty 39 ...

Page 6: ...6 Overview 1 2 3 4 13 9 10 11 12 5 14 6 15 16 16 17 7 8 ...

Page 7: ...arrow 6 Set button 7 Right arrow 8 F1 function button 9 F2 function button 10 Power button 11 LCD panel 12 Flash head position indicator tilt 13 Micro USB port 14 Mounting foot 15 Locking wheel 16 Optical sensor 17 Battery compartment with cover 18 Flash stand 19 Diffuser 20 Carrying pouch 18 19 20 ...

Page 8: ...ttempt to repair this product yourself There are high voltage components inside that can produce a hazardous electric shock Keep this product and its batteries out of the reach of children Use only the power sources specified in this manual Always switch the flash off before changing the batteries Always install AA batteries of the same type brand and age Do not combine different types or brands o...

Page 9: ...ter for repair If you detect excessive heat smoke or a burning smell coming from the flash immediately stop operation and remove the batteries to prevent the product from igniting or melting Take the product to an authorized service center for repair Do not drop or otherwise cause a strong physical impact to the VC 310C For long term storage remove all batteries from the VC 310C Do not store or us...

Page 10: ...utton on the battery compartment cover so the cover flips open 3 Insert two AA batteries not included according to the diagrams inside the battery compartment 4 Close the battery compartment cover until it clicks When the battery power is low the battery indicator will flash on the LCD Important Replace both batteries at the same time Do not mix battery types or brands or use old and new batteries...

Page 11: ...lash from your camera make sure the VC 310C is turned off and follow these steps 1 Rotate the locking wheel counterclockwise to release the flash 2 Slide the mounting foot out of your camera s hot shoe Mounting the VC 310C on the included stand adapter You can mount the VC 310C on the included stand adapter in the same way you would mount it on your camera This allows you to set the flash up on a ...

Page 12: ...ear in the viewfinder when the VC 310C is mounted on your camera Sleep mode After approximately two minutes of inactivity the flash will automatically enter sleep mode to conserve the battery life by turning off the LCD and flash ready light To reactivate the VC 310C press the power button on the flash unit or press your camera s shutter release button halfway During long periods of inactivity use...

Page 13: ...he flash to its original settings To do this first make sure the flash is off Press and hold the Set and Power buttons for 3 seconds then release LED preview and focusing There are three LEDs built into the flash head that can be used as a preview light to illuminate the subject for reference or as an autofocus assist light To use the LEDs as a preview light press the power button while the flash ...

Page 14: ...side of the flash In order to ensure compatibility with future cameras the VC 310C s firmware may be updated This can be done to ensure proper communication with new cameras or to add new features Visit www boltflashes com firmware to check if a new firmware version has been released Follow the online instructions to upgrade ...

Page 15: ...t the flash on the camera and follow these steps 1 Turn the flash on and press the Mode button repeatedly to cycle through the flash modes until the E TTL mode indicator appears on the LCD 2 Make sure your camera is set to a programmed or automatic mode or on a priority mode such as aperture priority ETTL 1 7 SYNC FEB 2 7 1 2 3 Overview 1 E TTL flash mode 2 Flash exposure compensation value 3 High...

Page 16: ...posure Compensation Flash exposure compensation allows you to adjust and optimize your flash s automated setting by increasing or decreasing its light output without affecting the exposure as a whole In automatic TTL mode you can use flash exposure compensation to incrementally alter the VC 310C s flash output just as you would change exposure with the exposure compensation function on your camera...

Page 17: ...ntinuous pictures while automatically changing the flash exposure compensation between 3 and 3 stops in increments of one third FEB is useful for shooting in situations in which it is difficult to determine the appropriate flash exposure To apply flash exposure bracketing follow these steps 1 Press the F2 function button repeatedly until the FEB indicator appears at the top of the LCD 2 Use the le...

Page 18: ... output all the way down to 1 128 You can also fine tune the flash output in 1 3 increments To use the manual mode turn the flash and camera on and follow these steps 1 Press the Mode button repeatedly to cycle through the flash modes until the manual mode icon M and the flash output level appear on the LCD 2 Set the exposure settings you want to use on your camera Overview 1 Manual flash mode 2 M...

Page 19: ...re 7 Adjust your camera s exposure settings and the light output level of the flash as needed When setting exposure settings on your camera the highest shutter speed available will be your camera s flash sync speed Tip For best results when shooting in manual flash mode use a handheld light meter Diffusing the Flash Use the included diffuser to soften the light from the flash To attach the diffuse...

Page 20: ...ject to provide softer more natural illumination In addition the flash can tilt down by seven degrees in order to fully illuminate your subject when shooting close up photography When bouncing your flash you may need to adjust your exposure settings since there will be less light falling on your subject The farther away the bounce surface and your subject are the less illumination there will be Ti...

Page 21: ...appear multiple times in the frame It is also useful when capturing fast moving objects Important Set your camera s shutter speed to one second or slower To enable stroboscopic mode turn on the flash and camera and follow these steps 1 Press the Mode Selection button repeatedly until MULTI appears on the LCD 2 Press the Set button to highlight the flash output power level and adjust with the right...

Page 22: ...onfirm your settings press the F2 function button repeatedly until nothing is highlighted on the LCD 8 Press the shutter button to fire a test shot You should see several bursts of light Tip To calculate the appropriate shutter speed divide the number of flashes per frame by the frequency of the flash For example if the number of flashes per frame is 10 and the frequency of the flash is 5 Hz then ...

Page 23: ...n sync synchronizes the flash to fire near the end of the exposure Since second curtain sync causes motion blur and light trails to appear behind moving subjects it creates a more realistic impression of movement Use your camera s shutter priority or manual mode to control the amount of blurring and light trails you capture by varying the shutter speed The VC 310C supports second curtain sync mode...

Page 24: ...ter or slave with selectable communication channels 1 2 3 and 4 as well as 3 slave groups A B and C In addition there is the capability to set specific exposure compensation or power level values Important terms Here are the terms you ll need to be familiar with in order to learn how to work with multiple wireless flash units Master The master sends information to the slave flashes and controls ea...

Page 25: ...ps With the VC 310C s wireless system you can assign slave flash units to any one of three groups A B or C and set the operating mode and power for each group separately Channels Master and slave flash units exchange data through channels On the VC 310C four channels 1 2 3 and 4 are available in the optical system You can use this feature to prevent your slave units from being triggered by the mas...

Page 26: ...ow repeatedly until the Master icon appears on the right hand side of the LCD Setting up the groups A B and channels 1 4 You can set up to three different wireless slave groups Groups A and B are set as a ratio of each other 1 Press the F1 function button GROUP so groups A and B appear on the LCD Now you can set the ratio between these groups from 8 1 through 1 8 ETTL 0 7 1 3 A B C SYNC FEB 0 CH1 ...

Page 27: ...he F1 function button repeatedly until group C appears on the LCD 2 Press the Set button repeatedly until the group C compensation value is highlighted 3 Use the right and left arrows to adjust the compensation value 3 4 Press the Set button repeatedly to your confirm settings until there is nothing highlighted on the LCD Important These settings will be saved when you power the unit off and on Wh...

Page 28: ... 3 Press the right arrow repeatedly until the TTL slave mode indicator appears on the LCD 4 Press the Set button to confirm 5 Press the F1 function button repeatedly to cycle through the three groups until you set the desired group for your slave flash unit 6 Press the F2 function button repeatedly to cycle through the four channels available between the master and groups 7 Press the Set button to...

Page 29: ... light position For example if you are using three VC 310C units you might want to set one as a main light 1A the second as a fill light 1B and the third as a hair light 1C With this setup you have the option of setting each group to a different output level via the master flash Using the VC 310C as a Wireless Manual Master The VC 310C can be used as a manual master allowing you to set the output ...

Page 30: ... setting 6 Use the left and right arrows to adjust each group s output power and the desired master channel 7 Press the Set button to confirm your settings Manual Optical Slave Modes S1 S2 Using the manual optical slave feature the VC 310C can be set to fire whenever it detects a light signal from any flash This works optically when the VC 310C sees another flash firing it will instantaneously fir...

Page 31: ...D 2 Press the right arrow repeatedly until S1 or S2 shows up on the display Press the Set button to confirm 3 Press the Set button to highlight the output level 4 Press the left and right arrows to adjust the output level from 1 1 to 1 128 5 Press the Set button to confirm Note Some cameras when set to red eye reduction will emit a series of quick flashes lasting a second or more This may not work...

Page 32: ...ately 33 feet 10 m for outdoor use and up to 49 feet 15 m when using the flash indoors These ranges may vary depending on the ambient light for the optical communication The flash head should not be aimed directly into the camera lens The wireless optical TTL sensor is located on the front of the VC 310C Make sure that the sensor is facing the master flash and that there are no obstructions betwee...

Page 33: ...et your VC 310C as a wireless stroboscopic master follow these steps 1 Turn the flash and camera on Make sure the camera is set to manual mode or shutter priority mode and the shutter speed is set to 1 second or slower 2 Set the VC 310C to stroboscopic mode by pressing the Mode button repeatedly until Multi appears in the upper left corner of the display 3 Press and hold the Mode button to until t...

Page 34: ...to set the Stroboscopic count number 5 Press the Set button to confirm your settings Access the slave groups and slave group settings 1 Press the F1 function button to cycle through group settings A AB and ABC The default view in this mode displays the power output level of group A 2 Press the Set button to cycle through the power output levels for each group followed by the channel setting Use th...

Page 35: ...ds AA NiMH Manual mode power output 1 1 1 2 1 4 1 8 1 16 1 32 1 64 1 128 fine tuning in increments of 1 3 Wireless transmission range Optical up to 33 10 m outdoor and 49 15 m indoor Wireless channels 4 Controllable wireless slave groups 3 Power source 2 AA lithium NiMH or alkaline batteries Tilt positions 7 0 45 60 75 and 90 Swivel range Right 0 90 Left 0 60 4 47 2 53 1 38 11 4 6 4 3 5 cm Weight ...

Page 36: ...ecurely attached to the camera Page 11 Make sure that the electrical contacts on the foot of the flash are not dirty Clean them and try again The flash has entered overheating protection mode Turn the unit off for 2 5 minutes to let it cool down page 13 There s a whining sound coming from the flash This is normal and does not indicate a malfunction When the flash heats up from continuous use vibra...

Page 37: ...t may be too high page 32 The edges of the images look dark Make sure that the flash output power setting corresponds to the focal length of your lens The bottoms of the images look dark Your camera s shutter speed is higher than the flash s maximum sync speed in manual mode FCC Compliance This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 Thi...

Page 38: ...ble for any given frequency flash output combination Flash Output Hz 1 4 1 8 1 16 1 32 1 64 1 128 1 3 14 30 60 90 90 2 3 14 30 60 90 90 3 3 12 30 60 90 90 4 3 10 20 50 80 80 5 3 8 20 40 70 70 6 3 6 20 32 56 56 7 3 6 20 28 44 44 8 3 5 10 24 36 36 9 3 5 10 22 32 32 10 2 4 8 20 28 28 20 100 2 4 8 12 24 24 ...

Page 39: ...s not cover damage or defect caused by misuse neglect accident alteration abuse improper installation or maintenance EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN THE WARRANTY PROVIDER MAKES NEITHER ANY EXPRESS WARRANTIES NOR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE This warranty provides you with specific legal rights and you may ...

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