Flashy bits

[etherial]

I'm looking at setting up a rig similar to this thread (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?88348-Portrait-strobist-setup-setup-amp-some-tips.) as I will need to do similar shoots from time to time. Currently I have a 7D that has wireless trigger using the onboard flash and a 580EXII. To date I have had some success with having my 580 off camera and triggering remotely, it seems very reliable and the light ratios and groups etc are pretty easy to use. So I'm thinking I need to take it up a notch but I'm unsure of a couple of things...

I've considered continuous lighting from this new site advertiser (http://www.hypop.com/continuous-lighting/photography-rectangle-soft-box-lighting-set/triple-rectangle-softbox-boom-arm-lighting-set.html) but it seems to maximise flexibility and get more power, strobe seems the way to go?

Should I buy another 580EXII or would something cheaper be an option, would it work with the 7D wireless system for lighting ratios etc? I think I like being able to control it all on camera, if I run into issues with firing I would consider adding some remote triggers.

Umbrellas vs softbox, is this a ford vs holden thing or can someone fill me in on the pros and cons of each??

I've been looking at site advertisers...something like this...any thoughts?? http://protog.com.au/strobist-starter-kit-flash-holder-stand-umbrella-p-293.html

Not looking to spend big dollars (a few hundred would be ok), just something to have a play around with that I can maybe build on. Happy for any advice on setting myself up.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day etheral

Lots of things to consider - but looking at the 3-up option for the price it's spot on, and although it might not be full-week-professional kit, I imagine that for a once-a-week kit it'll probably go okay for many years

As to flashguns, for 3 units to work with the 3 reflectors / softboxes, I would suggest you chase up Yongnuo-460's - only available on the internet, but you should get the 3 delivered to your door for well under $200. These 460's are slave activated via flash trigger, and if you are operating in a small area, this should trigger quite okay. However, all visual-triggers seem to fail in daylight, so if you are going to do outdoor stuff, you may need wireless triggers. You can also chase up Yongnuo wireless triggers from the same source as the flashguns. I suggest that you google for them & see what comes to the surface

Umbrellas [used as shown in the referred post] vs softbox - bit of a 50/50 thing here
However silvered umbrellas used via shooting into the umbrella give a quite different result to a soft box - and here it depends upon the subject & the treatment you are out to achieve

Hope this helps a bit
Regards, Phil

[reaction]

agree with Phil to look at YN, you can get ETTL ones like the 462 if u love the 7D wireless system but it'll cost more

start with a double layer umbrella cuz they're cheap, then u'll know how big a softbox you want.

[walterm]

You might like to look at LED panels, while they do not have the power of the Flash or continuous lights they are very portable, you can add coloured filters to warm the light, and they are very quick to set up

Regards

Walter

[n00g33]

+1 for the YN 460 IIs or the YN 560s. Radio triggers are the way to go and the rf602s have worked well for the last year or so for me. Thats all done fairly cheaply from ebay.

Flashes and umbrellas are the way to go for portability. If you're just doign studio stuff then you may want to look into strobes but flashes (esp the YN ones are mcuh cheaper) Small softboxes are ok for portability but bigger ones are better but too much to lug around.

In terms of umbrella vs softbox argument it really depends what effect you want. Google it. But I keep goin back to this debate and am constantly trying to ask myself if I really need a softbox. Softboxes of the same size give a softer light and less shadow. It's very subtle though and you probably couldn't tell in a lot of cases. Softboxes cost more (a lot more for bigger ones) regardless where you get them so you can see why I keep questioning myself.

So the main deciding factor for me is light spill. Umbrella spill goes all over the room - which doesn't matter if you do outdoor photography, but studio/indoor - most definately yes (ie. if you got red walls, say hello to red faces!)
Softbox spill can be controlled to an extent and allows you to isolate the light/shadows and colours (if you use gels).

Umbrellas are the cheaper way to go if you don't know what you want. Ebay umbrellas can cost under $20.

[BLWNHR]

To date I have had some success with having my 580 off camera and triggering remotely, it seems very reliable and the light ratios and groups etc are pretty easy to use.

If you are using this gear for paying clients then you want 100% success, zero failures/missfires. I have had great success with the Nikon CLS system in the past, triggering my SB-900's from the built-in flash in my D700. However 1 in every 50-100 would missfire and that was an unacceptable percentage for me. For that function you referenced I had to turn over 100 couples in a very short amount of time, if I had missfires then it isn't only a hold up, but makes me look unprofessional. This is accentuated on group shots when someone may do something silly and you want to capture it but one, or both, flashes don't fire and you miss it. You can get people to do things a second time, but repeating something spontaneous will always look wooden.

It depends on what you hope to do with the gear, but I would never go back to optical triggering for gigs like this.