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off camera flash

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
is pretty cool. i took advantage of my rained-out vacation to start to learn some of this stuff. i need to order another lightstand and a flash unit.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
Off camera flash, huh?

Is that the tool you use to get people in your pics to smile or something?
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
is pretty cool. i took advantage of my rained-out vacation to start to learn some of this stuff. i need to order another lightstand and a flash unit.
Get a full manual strobe. They can be had very cheap.


I had a Sunpak 333 off ebay for $9.00.

strobistkit1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1386/1388113616_633c6ae37d_m.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@1388113616@@AMEPARAM@@633c6ae37d

It broke and I scored this:
http://ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219885

I also added a cheapo radio trigger. Works most of the time.
 
Mar 4, 2003
145
0
Somewhere in Alabama
The easiest way to get into off camera flash photography without going fully manual is to buy one of your camera manufacturers' own flash unit and use their form of wireless connectivity. It's more expensive, but works well for most people who don't do flash photography on a regular basis (like me). Here's a picture I took last week in Keystone using a Nikon SB-600 fired via CLS:

 

Damo

Short One Marshmallow
Sep 7, 2006
4,603
27
French Alps
I also added a cheapo radio trigger. Works most of the time.
Don't go cheap ebay triggers. You need dependency and these will not cut it.

You don't however, need to go the PocketWizard route either. I have CyberSyncs and they work every time. You can buy a transmitter and 2x receivers for the same price as a single PW unit. They don't cover the same distance, but I'm never that far away from them.

If you are using your flashes off camera, it doesn't matter what brand they are. Nikon's SB 60/80s are good, with the ability to adjust the power output (and therefor the flash duration) and they are cheap off ebay.

Experimenting is huge amounts of fun. This is the stage I'm at now too. Playing around with off camera flash.

These links will help get you started:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
Off Camera Flash:



Nikon D300, Wireless commander mode w/ Slave Nikon SB-600.... Using the camera flash to trigger it, had the camera flash set up to -4 power.... :-)

But i normally shoot with Alien Bees CyberSync, and a Sunpack Pro 622 Flash/Nikon SB-600 flashes.



 
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H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
I use the cheapo trigger and it works 90% of the time, which is fine for hobby work. It gets your feet wet and lets you practice the techniques with very little investment.

A set is $10 from dealextreme.com

Go China.
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
do Cybersyncs allow for E/I-TTL? or just manual only?
no, the new Cyber Commander will not do ETTL or ITTL. i think the only ones that do that are the Radio Poppers and one other model.

theyve been delaying the release of the Cyber Commander for some time now, and from the info i got from talking with them, it wont even adjust the flash's power, unless its the Alien Bees strobes.
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
no, the new Cyber Commander will not do ETTL or ITTL. i think the only ones that do that are the Radio Poppers and one other model.

theyve been delaying the release of the Cyber Commander for some time now, and from the info i got from talking with them, it wont even adjust the flash's power, unless its the Alien Bees strobes.
Nice thanks for this information... i was really counting on the Commander having e/i-ttl, but the Poppers look awesome....
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
Nice thanks for this information... i was really counting on the Commander having e/i-ttl, but the Poppers look awesome....
yeah i was too, but in the end i prefer manual control especially in dynamic situations like shooting riders.

it took them forever to post info on the Cyber Commander so i had to call and pick their brain about it.

my buddy and I went with the Cyber Syncs since it does basically everything we need at a fraction of the price of the PW's.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
i shot a show on Monday w/ flash (via off-camera cord, handheld) and i'd been struggling w/ the inconsistencies of ETTL and having manual way too powerful. another shooter who uses flash a LOT (albeit Nikon, which tends to be better worked out) gave me some good starting points...f/4, ISO 1600 or so to soak up some ambient, flash power @ 1/32 or so...this was a solid foundation to make small tweaks from.