Off camera flash
Discussion
I've been thinking about trying some off camera flash stuff - on a budget. What do I need to set this up?
What flashes are good but cheaper than the 430EX? For example leighton (and others), what is the vivitar like and have you sorted any off camera stuff? Any other cheap flashguns recommended?
Also been trying to work out the equipment to get the flash off and think this seems to be the right thing: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Phottix-PT-04-4-Channel-Flas...
Has anybody got any experience with this kind of thing? Potentially hoping to be able to make shots similar to AndWhyNot's recent photo in the "random photos" thread.
Sorry if this is a bit garbled and thanks in advance for any info.
What flashes are good but cheaper than the 430EX? For example leighton (and others), what is the vivitar like and have you sorted any off camera stuff? Any other cheap flashguns recommended?
Also been trying to work out the equipment to get the flash off and think this seems to be the right thing: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Phottix-PT-04-4-Channel-Flas...
Has anybody got any experience with this kind of thing? Potentially hoping to be able to make shots similar to AndWhyNot's recent photo in the "random photos" thread.
Sorry if this is a bit garbled and thanks in advance for any info.
Hi mate, the vivitar is fantastic! Just trying to get to grips with it really. I ordered some radio triggers off of ebay and im sorted. Can't wait to show some of my results 
I would recommend you purchase the vivitar 285HV and some type of radio trigger, ignore the optical ones completely! Other than that i don't really have enough knowledge to give you more advice!
I would recommend you purchase the vivitar 285HV and some type of radio trigger, ignore the optical ones completely! Other than that i don't really have enough knowledge to give you more advice!
arej said:
Thanks for the advice leighton, do you mind me asking where you got the vivtar from, they seem a bit hard to track down!
Looking forward to seeing some results...
Not at all,Looking forward to seeing some results...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vivitar-285HV-Flash-for-Cano...
This was my first attempt at off camera flash. Vivitars on light stands, one to the left and one to the right, Canon 580ex on an old tripod in the van. ebay poverty triggers. Had to shoot and adjust the exposure until I got it right as I don't have a light meter yet. Was going for a "Carnivale" look.
Unedited:
Unedited:
A few threads on this recently!
I ordered my 285s from B&H in New York but that was a year or so ago before sterling took a pounding (pardon the pun). For off camera work it doesn't matter what you use - the Vivitars have a good reputation as they are cheap but anything should work.
I use the same PT-04 triggers you've listed in your post there - they are ok, but not amazing, and not that reliable.
As with any of this photography work, familiarity with your equipment pays dividends and so it's worth spending a lot of time exploring the capabilities and limitations of whatever set-up you end up with.
Good luck, and do share your results here!
I ordered my 285s from B&H in New York but that was a year or so ago before sterling took a pounding (pardon the pun). For off camera work it doesn't matter what you use - the Vivitars have a good reputation as they are cheap but anything should work.
I use the same PT-04 triggers you've listed in your post there - they are ok, but not amazing, and not that reliable.
As with any of this photography work, familiarity with your equipment pays dividends and so it's worth spending a lot of time exploring the capabilities and limitations of whatever set-up you end up with.
Good luck, and do share your results here!
Nice shot nick, impressed with the addition of the writing too!
I think I will go for the aforementioned kit so thanks for the feedback and advice. I have been reading up on strobist stuff on the interweb to understand what to do.
Unfortunately, it is to be a christmas present so no results for a while, however I will get some up here once I have had a play.
Thanks
I think I will go for the aforementioned kit so thanks for the feedback and advice. I have been reading up on strobist stuff on the interweb to understand what to do.
Unfortunately, it is to be a christmas present so no results for a while, however I will get some up here once I have had a play.
Thanks
The budget flash a lot of my friends use is the Sigma EF500 Super, which has now been superceeded by the EF530. Relatively cheap, good power output, and only really a slightly fiddly-er interface than the Canon flashes. Warehouseexpress.com are currently doing them for £189.
The easiest/cheapest way to get started with off-camera flash is through either a TTL cord, or PC cords. TTL cords are great as they take the flash off the hotshoe and retain full automatic function. You are limited however to a radius the length of the cord. PC cords will only tell a flash to fire, and remove most automatic functions. They can be easily extended to quite long distances (with enough wire!) and you can build a cord from off the shelf bits fairly cheaply as you're not buying into Canon/Nikon/Sony etc... Some cameras have PC sockets. If you don't, then you'll need a little adapter that sits in the hotshoe. To have a flash in your hand instead of on the hotshoe can give a different effect, and move shadows to where you don't want them!
If you want to go wireless, then the eBay remotes are a decent enough way to start for little outlay, but they have the same restrictions as a PC cord - they can only trigger. You have to set up the flash as you need. The range isn't great, but they're cheap.
Don't forget that some flashes come with a wireless system built in. I've got a pair of Canon 550EXs, so I can use one to trigger the other. They need line of sight as it's IR based rather than radio, so it's less reliable, but it's effectively free with the flashes, so fun to try out. This was shot with the 550EXs. One on a stand to one side attached via an TTL-cord, the other to the other side to light the background.
If you want to know more, *the* resource for flashgun-based photo lighting is Strobist.
The easiest/cheapest way to get started with off-camera flash is through either a TTL cord, or PC cords. TTL cords are great as they take the flash off the hotshoe and retain full automatic function. You are limited however to a radius the length of the cord. PC cords will only tell a flash to fire, and remove most automatic functions. They can be easily extended to quite long distances (with enough wire!) and you can build a cord from off the shelf bits fairly cheaply as you're not buying into Canon/Nikon/Sony etc... Some cameras have PC sockets. If you don't, then you'll need a little adapter that sits in the hotshoe. To have a flash in your hand instead of on the hotshoe can give a different effect, and move shadows to where you don't want them!
If you want to go wireless, then the eBay remotes are a decent enough way to start for little outlay, but they have the same restrictions as a PC cord - they can only trigger. You have to set up the flash as you need. The range isn't great, but they're cheap.
Don't forget that some flashes come with a wireless system built in. I've got a pair of Canon 550EXs, so I can use one to trigger the other. They need line of sight as it's IR based rather than radio, so it's less reliable, but it's effectively free with the flashes, so fun to try out. This was shot with the 550EXs. One on a stand to one side attached via an TTL-cord, the other to the other side to light the background.
If you want to know more, *the* resource for flashgun-based photo lighting is Strobist.
Edited by F-Stop Junkie on Tuesday 18th November 10:41
I've ordered some of these poverty wizards from ebay. I'm hearing mixed reports of their reliability, some say they work perfectly well and very reliably even over distance, and others say they're hit and miss. One guy on the strobist forum says he walked quite a distance away from a bloke holding one of his flashguns and fired it 47 times at increasing distances and it fired every time, much to the astonishment of the sceptical bloke left holding the flashgun (who then bought some).
So my question to those that have them, let's say you shot 20 frames using them, how many times out of 20 do they tend to fail in one way or another? (assuming the flashguns are allowed to recharge properly and haven't gone into sleep mode in between shots)
So my question to those that have them, let's say you shot 20 frames using them, how many times out of 20 do they tend to fail in one way or another? (assuming the flashguns are allowed to recharge properly and haven't gone into sleep mode in between shots)
That's kinda where I'm up to. If the range is rubbish I'll mod them. For non-commercial work I suspect they're fine, but I'm trying to validate the negativity I've heard with actual evidence and that's proving tricky!
Oh well, mine should be here in a week or so and once I've fiddled about with them I'll post my findings.
Oh well, mine should be here in a week or so and once I've fiddled about with them I'll post my findings.
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