The indoor studio begins..

[Geoff]

Well I just got back from Dragon Images in Artarmon where I visted with forum member Wocka. We were in the shop for about 45 minutes all up and the guy there, Peter was really helpful.

On that note, I've now purchased (via ebay) a backdrop stand. When that comes through I will be getting some material (from Dragon Images) and then a stand for the SB800 and a cheap umbrella (to start with). I thought I'd see what kind of results I got first with a cheap setup (i.e the SB800 in remote mode with the umbrella on a stand etc) first before outlaying money on softboxes and strobes etc.

Once I get these bits and pieces together and working, I'd be more than happy to have 2 or 3 people over to give it a go in the garage (or possibly in the dining room ).

Will keep u updated when the necessary bits come to me.

[Reschsmooth]

Once I get these bits and pieces together and working, I'd be more than happy to have 2 or 3 people over to give it a go in the garage (or possibly in the dining room ).

Will keep u updated when the necessary bits come to me.

That sounds like a great idea, Geoff, and if you want to borrow an additional SB800 (or a Metz), let me know!

P

[BBJ]

Geoff, i hope it work out for you with this setup. I have email Dragon Images before on some prices for there lights and have found them to be a bit on the pricey side compared to a lot of other lights for example Elinchrom. I am still looking into the lights and well it is so bloody hard to decide what to get as have looked at the Elinchrom D-Lite 4 which seem to be ok but dont have a fan inbuilt but also dont get all the stuff that say you get with chinese made lights and a couple of hundred bucks cheaper for same power.

I too am wanting to exeriment with lights but also dont want to spend big amounts of bucks on them just to play with and learn a bit more.

Ok my photo sales are paying it anyhow so this is why i want to get some as this is how i get my gear what ever i make goes into my gear.

There so many options around to choose from which makes it hard, i know the lights i am looking as well Robw25 has a set of and seem to be ok.

So then it come to do i get a DS= digital model or a Kseries which doesnt have a digital control but cheaper so therefore could go up in power say like instead of 400w maybe 500 or 600w.

Anyhow have fun and look forward to seeing results.
John

[Geoff]

Thanks guys I'm pretty excited about this! If I move the car out of the garage I have a temporary studio setup. The ceiling isn't that high but there's enough room for a simple setup.

Pat - the idea of the 2nd SB800 sounds great!

[Reschsmooth]

Well, I can tell you that both Alicia & I are very keen to learn more about different lighting techniques!

P

[byrt_001]

Hi Geoff

May I ask what ebay store did you buy the stands? Im looking for some cheap stands.

Regards

christian

[Geoff]

Hi Geoff

May I ask what ebay store did you buy the stands? Im looking for some cheap stands.

Regards

christian

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Ozplaza-Shop

[Yi-P]

Geoff, great stuff!!

I'm also very interested in this as I'm planning to get my stuffs as well. If you ever need a 3rd SB800 to test full potential of Nikon CLS on D200, let me know

[byrt_001]

Thanks Geoff

[Oz_Beachside]

Hi Geoff

May I ask what ebay store did you buy the stands? Im looking for some cheap stands.

Regards

christian

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Ozplaza-Shop

Has anyone used thier softboxes? What sthe fabric like (they are really cheap)!

[gooseberry]

Good stuff Geoff, look forward to seeing the results of your setup.

[Yi-P]

Hi Geoff

May I ask what ebay store did you buy the stands? Im looking for some cheap stands.

Regards

christian

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Ozplaza-Shop

Has anyone used thier softboxes? What sthe fabric like (they are really cheap)!

Im interested in this too, as from my previous post, I was referring to them for the studio purchase.

[mR_CaESaR]

I've got the same 300W package from ozplaza (however i got mine from Envisage IT and Photo, so far the strobes do enough for what i need.

I odn't mind the softbox, however i'm no expert on softboxes, so i wouldn't know whats good and whats not. I prefer my catchlights really white, and for some reason i can't get the ebay ones to produce pure white softboxes like the ones i've seen from photoflex or what not.

The background stand from ozplaza looks good, the one with the 3 background poles, might look into getting one.

[blackD200]

(i.e the SB800 in remote mode with the umbrella on a stand etc)

Hey Geoff,

What sort of adapters did you buy to fit the SB800 on the stand umbrella.
I've just received my stand and am very happy with it. - quality wise its worth the $$$ am loking now on how to use umbrella with sb800 ona stand. Links to items would be good =)

How did you go with materials @ Dragon Images -- what sort of pricing are they going for ???

like you am currently putting together a stuio setup that wont cost an arm and a leg..

=)
thanks..

[mR_CaESaR]

What sort of adapters did you buy to fit the SB800 on the stand umbrella

I'm not geoff, but something like this will work when mounting your speedlite on to a light stand.

that's what i've used for the same type of setup

[Reschsmooth]

Well, I went and ordered the same backdrop kit as Geoff did (just haggling over the postage rate!) Actually, I was encouraged by Mrs Reschsmooth to order it (gotta love that).

I plan to buy a lightstand and brolly (convertable reflector and diffusor, perhaps). The only question I have - does anyone know what kind of attachment one would need to set up a Metz flash with stand and brolly?

P

[Geoff]

Excellent stuff Pat!
If I get the time (sadly not likely) next week, we should see if we can go to Dragon Image and get a discount for two backdrop materials

[Yi-P]

I plan to buy a lightstand and brolly (convertable reflector and diffusor, perhaps). The only question I have - does anyone know what kind of attachment one would need to set up a Metz flash with stand and brolly?

P

I got those stands and brolly, you will only need a standard flash/brolly mount, sort of like this.
Or these, not sure where to get them in syd, but shouldn't be too hard hopefully!

Im not familiar with the Metz, but if they have a hotshoe adapter, it should fit nicely into the SB800's stand and fix on a normal tripod screw.

[gstark]

Yip,

The big Metz guns don't have a hotshoe adaptor, but any adaptor with a tripod screw will work with a 45 or 60.

But Patrick, why not look at the sort of small studio light setup similar to what Chris has? For about the same cost as a pair of stands, brollies and brackets, you'll get the stands, brollies, and a pair of flash heads with modelling lights.

[Reschsmooth]

Gary, is there a link to a thread where Chris shows us what he has?

Cheers

P

[aussichef]

Id be interested in seeing this setup & the cost as this is my next step in my evolution in this very expensive hobby of ours lol
i always have expensive interests i have my photography & sail trailersalers & i also have a 4x4 & campertrailer i belong to a 4x4 club & exploreoz online all 3 are expensive interests hahahahah
i love spending my childrens inheritance
warren

[sirhc55]

The set up



Ebay purchase

[gstark]

Thanx Chris.

To clarify a little ... Chris does a lot of product shots, hence the light tent.

For a small/home studio steup, for shooting portraits, the light tent would not be needed. That said, they're a sub-$50 investment, and very worthwhile.

For the purposes of this thread though, we're really looking at the two light stand setup that Chris has shown us here: two stands, two brollies, and two heads, all for around Au$300 from eBay.

Go to Vanbar, and the lightstands, brollies and adapters (to let you mount the brollies on the stands) will cost about the same. I don't know what that would cost as Dragon, but I wouldn't expect it to be too different.

My point is that by careful purchasing, Chris got the two heads effectively for free.

Now to take this thread slightly off topic. Chris, am I seeing a small reflector brhind the light tent? In looking at the lights' positions, the one on the right seems to be aimed to provide a backlighting effect, and I presume the reflector is to bounce that light back into the rear of the subject?

I'm also looking under the light tent: am I simply seeing a means of raising the bench height to a more reasonable working height for yourself (I suspect I am - the supports seem to be a couple of plastic storage containers) or is there something else afoot here, to provide some lighting from below the subject?

[sirhc55]

The ever observant Gary

Due to my medical problems I had to raise the light tent to a non back bending position - hence the containers.

The reflector at the back of the tent is translucent and my SB800 is placed behind it to wirelessly connect with the strobes for controlled backlight.

On the floor you can see two Bowens Trilites which are now connected to the light stands on each side and aimed at the base of the tent. This allows me to place light into the tent when I require light at a low level.

A wonderful mix of strobe and fluoro

Example of all four lights - stobes and Trilites

[gstark]

Chris,

The reflector at the back of the tent is translucent and my SB800 is placed behind it to wirelessly connect with the strobes for controlled backlight.

Controlled by ??? D2H doesn't have a Commander Mode, does it?

On the floor you can see two Bowens Trilites which are now connected to the light stands on each side and aimed at the base of the tent. This allows me to place light into the tent when I require light at a low level.

They had me wondering.

I noticed them, but although the one on image left appeared to be plugged in, it seemed to be resting on the floor, and therefore not actually in use.

Thnk you for the futher clarification of this.

Example of all four lights - stobes and Trilites

Four?

Or five? Two heads, two trilites, plus the SB800?

Cheers.

[sirhc55]

The D2Hs does not have any control for wireless but the SU800 does

The SB800 was not used with this shot. . .

[gstark]

That answers all of my questions, Chris.

Thank you.

[Reschsmooth]

Thanks Gary & Chris,

A couple of questions:

1. Compared to normal flash (Metz/SB800), are these lights easy enough for a financial planner to use? (ie. are they more difficult to use?)
2. Can you confirm (reasonably obvious from Chris' picture) that the lights require mains power?

My original idea was to get 1 stand and brolly (a convertible one that reflects or diffuses) plus appropriate connector for use with the Metz and retain the SB800 (for which I have a Lumiquest soft box attachment, albeit small) which would be more manoeuvrable than a second stand/brolly/light, particularly if I wanted to place it lower to the ground.

A lesser reason for this is that the Metz makes a good companion for the Bronica, of which the hotshoe does not seem to accept the SB800, thereby avoiding the expense of additional but less flexible lighting (what I mean by that is that if we wanted to just use the Bronica with the Metz for fill, we can).

I don't know if my ramblings make sense....but thanks for listening

Patrick BTW, is this what you are referring to as the ebay option?

P

[gstark]

1. Compared to normal flash (Metz/SB800), are these lights easy enough for a financial planner to use? (ie. are they more difficult to use?)

Let me answer this question in two parts.

Compared with the SB800 - these are far easier to use. I consider the SB800 to be an overly complexgun for most prposes. it's very good, but to use it to its full extent requires a Masters Degree in Arcane Engineering and Terminolgy, with a special emphasis in Deciphering Unintelligble User Manuals.

Compared with the Metz, a bit different, but no more difficult.

On the Metz, you'll need to set two settings - ISO and aperture, and you're done, presuming the Metz is set to auto.

On a head like these, for exposure, you'll simply set a power setting, shoot, chimp, and adjust the power to suit. If you have a handheld lightmeter, use that in flash mode to get a recommended EV and thus set your aperture. That's what you'd do when using the Bronica.

Stand where the subject is, and use an incident reading on the meter.

The only other settings would be the power of the modelling lights; set those to match the power setting you have on the flash, so that the modelling light ratios will approximate those you're using for exposure.

Bottom line is that you should have no issues using one of these kits.

2. Can you confirm (reasonably obvious from Chris' picture) that the lights require mains power?

Yes I can, and they do.

I recognise that if you're wanting to use them in an outdoor setting, this might be problematic. I would not see that as a reason to not purchase these though ...

My original idea was to get 1 stand and brolly (a convertible one that reflects or diffuses) plus appropriate connector for use with the Metz and retain the SB800 (for which I have a Lumiquest soft box attachment, albeit small) which would be more manoeuvrable than a second stand/brolly/light, particularly if I wanted to place it lower to the ground.

My point is that for very little extra expenditure, you are not precluded from executing your original concept. There is no reason that these stands and brollies could not be used with your Metz (and/or SB800) in the manner that you suggest.

The fact that they come with the heads doesn't mean that the heads must always be used with them: this is all standard plug'n'play stuff, and what I'm saying is that instead of buying just the stands and brollies, why not find a deal where you have the heads thrown in for just a few bucks more?

My further advice is that at some point in the future you will probably be wanting to get some heads anyway, and here you have a simple and inexpensive kit that will, I think satisfy your immediate, and maybe many of your future, needs, for very little expenditure.

My only caveat is that I have not yet had a personal play with the lights that Chris has. That said, I have been most impressed with the similar kits that I have had access to over the last few months, to the point where I will probably consider buying one myself at a future time.

A lesser reason for this is that the Metz makes a good companion for the Bronica, of which the hotshoe does not seem to accept the SB800, thereby avoiding the expense of additional but less flexible lighting (what I mean by that is that if we wanted to just use the Bronica with the Metz for fill, we can).

As noted above, there is nothing in what I'm suggesting that prevents you from pursuing this line of usage. What I'm suggesting adds extra flexibility and options to that line of thought, that's all.

BTW, is this what you are referring to as the ebay option?

Exactly the one, and it actually comes with four, not two, brollies.

[Reschsmooth]

Thank you for the considered response, Gary, and for not, actually, encouraging me to spend even more money! (notwithstanding I just completed an order from Poon for something different).

I think you have answered all my concerns and questions (for now), except for one - how would I synchronise both lights to the camera (obviously, I think, you could synch 1 head to the camera via the synch socket, but 2?).

Again, many thanks.

(Incidentally, Alicia is very keen for the idea of 2 stands/brollies/flash heads - and she was the one who encouraged me to get the backdrop stand. If only she felt the necessity to get the 85 1.4!)

P

[sirhc55]

Simple Patrick - one head via a pc sync cord and the other head fires in sync via the IR cell on the other head

[gstark]

I think you have answered all my concerns and questions (for now), except for one - how would I synchronise both lights to the camera (obviously, I think, you could synch 1 head to the camera via the synch socket, but 2?).

Actually, I think that Chris's response isn't quite correct. These will fire via the built-in light trigger on each head, rather than IR, my point being that these heads have a light trigger, rather than an IR trigger. Chris ?

The SB800 will certainly use IR for a wireless trigger though, and certainly, connecting just one of these lights using the x-sync socket on your camera (D200 or Bronica) will be sufficient to get the other unit to fire in sync using its light activated trigger.

Or you can throw the D70/D200 into Commander mode, which kills the pre-flash, dial the power down to the minimum, and both of the heads will then fire based upon the firing of the built-in flash on the body. That's how I do it, anyway.

I think that this will also work if you set the in-camera flash to A mode.

(Incidentally, Alicia is very keen for the idea of 2 stands/brollies/flash heads - and she was the one who encouraged me to get the backdrop stand. If only she felt the necessity to get the 85 1.4!)

All in good time. Just give her a nudge about how much more beautiful the images of the baby will be when shot with that lens.

Of course, as the baby grows and starts to achieve mobility, you'll then need the 24-70 f/2.8 as well.

[Reschsmooth]

Thanks for all the info, Gary & Chris, much appreciated and looks like I am going shopping!

All in good time. Just give her a nudge about how much more beautiful the images of the baby will be when shot with that lens.

Of course, as the baby grows and starts to achieve mobility, you'll then need the 24-70 f/2.8 as well.

Furthermore, as the child will undoubtedly be able to run faster than me, I will need the 70-200 VR!

I will need to come to an arrangement with Oscar, Yi-P or Geoff (they don't need to know about it) to use their 85s to show Alicia how good it is!

P

[sirhc55]

Absolutely correct Gary - having an anal day

[Reschsmooth]

Absolutely correct Gary - having an anal day

Dare anyone ask?

[Reschsmooth]

Excellent stuff Pat!
If I get the time (sadly not likely) next week, we should see if we can go to Dragon Image and get a discount for two backdrop materials

Geoff, sounds good, although it would be difficult for me to get there during the week (shame they ain't on the northern beaches). I will see if I can find a day where I can work from home or something, and perhaps meet up with you there.

Cheers

P

[avkomp]

Resches: I have 2 old metz 60 flashes and recently set up a brutal, quick and dirty brolly arrangement for the cost of the brolly only.

basically I press my old/spare tripod into use as a light stand, the metz has a thread on the bottom to accept a tripod.

so then I turn the flash head away from the subject (but the front of the column of the flash is still pointing at the subject, for exposure control)
then I just got a stout rubber band and used that to fasten the brolly to the top of the flash head. Brutal I know, but works well nonetheless

I hook one up to the camera via pc cable and fire the other with a cheap slave trigger
or
put the sb800 on camera in manual mode with the power dialled way down and use it to fire both metz ) 2 slave triggers are needed for this.

I made 2 of these the other day:
http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/kits/k060.html
and they are $9 each and work very well for slave triggers but are fooled by preflash so you need to disable preflash if using say sb800 to trigger the slaves.

I am looking at some studio lighting also, but I have the metz anyhow and an assortment of older tripods so was just messing with what I already have.

[Reschsmooth]

Thanks Avkomp - so, does Poon sell rubber bands .

Immaterial, but the Metz 45s have the exposure control dial on top of the head. But that would be a cheap setup - get a simple brolly, cheapy tripod and away I go.

Including the 2 flash heads I ordered of ebay today, plus the SB800 - that's 4 potential light sources if I want them.

Now, I wonder where I can buy some skill from!

P