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gearfag thread Anonymous
Getting some studio lights tomorrow, decided upon the Bowens Gemini 200 kit.

Two 200w heads, two stands, two umbrellas.

I looked around but admittedly not too much, played around with the lights in the store and I liked them, but anyone have a better suggestion?
>> Anonymous
Alien Bees?
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
The geminis are great, i got the 500s (i shoot outdoors alot), well worth the money.

The extra money you pay over the AB400 is well worth it.
>> Anonymous
>>293727
what do you get for the extra money?
>> Anonymous
alien bees!
>> Anonymous
>>293727(i shoot outdoors alot)

what kind of portable power are you usin
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
LOL good job linking it from the other, forgot about this one and the linking saved me a hassle :D

Right, i wished i could have afforded the Bowens Ranger series, cause by all accounts they're effing awesome.

I use this baby,

http://www.innovatronix.com/detailpage.asp?productid=366&categoryid=42

Obviously if you're use 110v-120v then grab that version.

Oh I forgot to say, check out elinchroms too, they were on the top of my list till the distributors of Bowens in Australia offered me a student discount (25%), i'm such a jew i couldnt resist it.
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
>>294053
the only problem i have found so far with the XT is that it's not really weather proof... though i don't think anyone makes anything electrical that's rain proof.

But you should be shooting with an assistant or a friend, they need to keep a check on your shit when outdoors.
>> Anonymous
so do you just charge it from a wall outlet or what

and how many full power flashes will it do
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
>>294061
Yaaarrrrrh.

All the info is there on the webpage.

It's got two sockets, also rated at around 1000 full power shots @ 300ws

I haven't shot that much but i have around 500 shots @ 500w/s or below, usually around 250ws
>> Anonymous
>>294074got two sockets

so it's only for 2 heads?
>> Anonymous
OP here, I ended up with a pair of opus 250w lights.

Was about $500 cheaper than the bowens 200w lights, and with bigger umbrellas. But honestly, the opus lights seem more cheaply made and the stands seem kinda flimsy.

Oh well, good enough I suppose.
>> Anonymous
Bowens are generally a good brand to go with. I don't hear many complaints about them compared to other brands.
>> Anonymous
Is Bowens generally the best ones to buy into then?
>> Anonymous
ABs seem to have an almost cultish following. It's weird.
>> Anonymous
>>295469
I read some industry numbers, and more than half of all new strobe sales are Paul C Buff.

The numbers are skewed though, because a higher percentage of AB users own their strobes, whereas a higher number of broncolor, hensel, profoto, etc users rent their strobes.

Similar to the way a large percentage of the 1D/5D users own their camera, and a large percentage of the Phase One users rent.
>> Anonymous
>>295630

Half? Wow. He's done well for himself.
>> Anonymous
>>295640
He has captured the strobist crowd because ABs are cheaper than a 580EX or SB800.

He is also getting lots of pros that are replacing old equipment because the Zeus system is compatible with Dynalites and can use the Vagabond.

No big secret. He just found a segment of the market that was underserved, and built a product that fits well into that market.
>> Anonymous
>>295643

Gobbling up half the sales in the market seems to be quite an achievement. If there isn't any great secret to it it is a wonder that no one else did it before him.
>> Anonymous
Nikon calls these Speedlights (SB-800, SB-600), and Canon calls them Speedlites (580EX, 430EX),
>> Anonymous
what's the alien bees vagabond?

is that a portable power for the flashes?
>> Anonymous
>>295687
Basically it is a battery and an inverter.

The important part of a vagabond is the inverter system. It lets you plug ABs into car batteries, generators, or any other source of 'dirty' power.
>> Anonymous
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there's only one plug though

do you need one for every light you have?
>> Anonymous
>>295698
Most people just use an outdoor extension cord with a three way or four way split.
>> Anonymous
>>295703

wait, like a power bar? is that safe to use with these flashes and power unit?
>> Anonymous
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>>294105
bah, my only subject so far.
>> Anonymous
you don't need the reflectors with umbrellas
>> Anonymous
>>295719
Depends on how choked up the umbrellas are, and how much spill the bare bulb generates.
>> Anonymous
>>295713
How much was that light setup total again?
>> Anonymous
>> umbrellas
>> spill

i lold
>> Anonymous
>>295724
light kit was $800, wireless kit dealy was $150.

i'm debating whether I should take the wireless kit back, I just trigger 'em optically with my camera flash but I suppose having a radio setup would help if I'm outdoors or something.
>> Anonymous
>>295738
A shoot thru w/reflector acts more like a brolly box than bare bulb with a shoot thru.

A large reflector choked up on a small umbrella acts like a beauty dish.

someone doesn't have much experience with different types and combinations of light modifiers
>> Anonymous
Does anyone have any comparison pics or a site that shows the differences between beauty dishes, different sizes of umbrellas and different softbox sizes?
>> Anonymous
>>295758A shoot thru w/reflector acts more like a brolly box than bare bulb with a shoot thru.

uh no, it will look exactly the same unless you have a fucking wall right behind your flash to bounce back the spill

>>295758A large reflector choked up on a small umbrella acts like a beauty dish.

no, it doesn't. maybe if you're a poorfag and can't afford a real one

>> someone doesn't have much experience with different types and combinations of light modifiers

someone's being butthurt about being wrong and states stupid examples to try and hide the fact this has nothing to do with what>>295713has posted
>> Anonymous
>>295758
you best be trollin'
>> Anonymous
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>>295768
the size of the reflector and the distance of the umbrella to the bulb controls the amount of feathering the light throws to the side

important to know if you are side-lighting with bounce umbrellas
>> Anonymous
>>295779

the umbrella touches the fucking ceiling in the first one, genius...
>> Anonymous
>>295783
and the bare bulb is a foot away from the rim of the umbrella, whereas the one with the reflector has the rim of the reflector next to the rim of the umbrella

bring the umbrella closer to the bare bulb and you change where the non-feathered light will land

same thing with a reflector, except the light will be feathered

you can try this with your /p/ro setup to verify
>> Anonymous
www.myspace.com/uncensoredandunsupervised
>> SAGE GOES IN EVERY FIELD sage rage !3I4SJbCh8M
>>295794
>> Anonymous
>>295789

and you still missed the fucking point that your awesome drawing on the left saying NO FEATHERING has the ceiling right next to the fucking umbrella where there is no way for the light to get diffused at all

have a higher ceiling or move it the fuck down and i guaran fucking tee you the light will be feathered regardless if it's bare or reflector
>> Anonymous
>>295906
don't tell us...

SHOW US

otherwise stfu
>> Anonymous
>>295908

it's simple fucking physics? christ, i hope you're trolling
>> Anonymous
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i will just leave this here
>> Anonymous
wat
>> Anonymous
Anyone who is old enough and from the UK will probably know why I find some of Paul's pro lighting funny.
>> Anonymous
>>295974
fuck yeah, turtwig!
>> Anonymous
Is Bowens the brand recommended then?
>> Anonymous
>>295974

dial down the power accordingly with the bare bulb, fucking hell..

elaborate troll is elaborate
>> Anonymous
>>296119
look at the slider on the back, the strobe is at minimum power in both photos
>> Anonymous
>>296119
not everyone that proves you wrong is a troll

faggot
>> Anonymous
>>296137
>>296129

then you'd have to move the bare one away from the subject, christ, retards
>> Anonymous
>>296158
lrn2 light
>> Anonymous
>>296158
What the fuck are you not understanding?

That turtwig setup is the basic textbook one light headshot.

It is basically the first thing you learn in the Strobist workshop, the OneLight workshop, the Lighting Essentials workshop or any studio lighting classes in photography school.

One strobe directly next to the subject and a reflector on the other side. You adjust the look of the backdrop by moving the backdrop closer and further away from the subject.

When you take the reflector off the strobe, the backdrop ends up getting direct, bare-bulb lighting, and the camera is prone to lens flare or chromab from the bare bulb. When you have the reflector on the strobe, the backdrop only gets indirect light that is *gasp* feathered. You want a darker backdrop, move the backdrop, but you don't move the strobe dumbass.

http://flickr.com/groups/one_strobe_pony/

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04/lighting-101-headshot-in-corner.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xQmWPAcaKU

FYI, I leave my reflectors on, but not because of any of the reasons in this thread, rather, because it protects the bulb on location.
>> Anonymous
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>>296181
>> Anonymous
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trolling or not I decided to make a comparison example for myself and everyone else
>> Anonymous
>>296216
I like the no reflector shots better because of the lens flare artifacts.

As we all know, lens flare makes photos better.
>> Anonymous
also jpeg artifacts lol

strobe is set to minimum power btw
>> Anonymous
>>296216

no reflector looks better here
>> Anonymous
>>296224
i probably could've slowed down the shutter a third stop or so to compensate for the "softer" light of the reflected strobe, but I chose instead to leave the camera at 1/200s and f/8 for all the shots.

other than the exposure they look the same to me

also I just realized I forgot to change the WB from cloudy for these pics lol
>> Anonymous
>>296224
On the xbox controllers, yes. The extra spill from the bare bulb creates more light wrap.

If I were setting someone up in front of a backdrop using the set up from the bottom example, I would prefer the reflector because the lighting in the background would be softer.
>> Anonymous
>>296227i probably could've slowed down the shutter a third stop or so to compensate for the "softer" light of the reflected strobe, but I chose instead to leave the camera at 1/200s and f/8 for all the shots.

how would slowing down a third of a stop change anything?

with my 3 cheapo monolights i can shoot at sync (1/200) and slow down to like.. 1/50 and still have the exact same light output/same image pixel for pixel

not sure how many stops difference it is between 1/50 and 1/200 though
>> Anonymous
>>296243not sure how many stops difference it is >between 1/50 and 1/200 though

Arr?
1/200 X 2 = 1/100 ::: One stop
1/100 X 2 = 1/50 ::: One stop

One stop + One stop = 2 stops. All stops are in simple base-2.
>> Anonymous
>>296243
lrn2balanceambient
>> Anonymous
>>296249lrn2balanceambient

...?

slowing down 1/3 stop from 1/200 would still give a pitch black frame at f/8 unless you've got some large, large amount of light in the room.

the flash is doing the heavy lifting in that photo, changing the shutter speed would accomplish nothing.
>> Anonymous
>>296251
What are you getting mad at? it's your own fault coming to /p/ and thinking anyone can give you any kind of advice at getting a better photo.
>> Anonymous
>>296256

wat
>> Anonymous
>>296216

Is that a Clapton signature Strat?
>> Anonymous
why the fuck does everything i post cause an argument?

>>296265
it's a fender standard. changed the pickup covers, knobs, and there's a hotrails pickup in the bridge.
>> Anonymous
>>296251
slowing down from 1/200 would put me at 1/160, bro.

y'know cause the strobes don't sync with TTL and slowing down the shutter with the same light gives you a brighter exposure?
>> Anonymous
>>296267
peeping pixels is serious business
>> Anonymous
>>296270
lol

the strobe only fires for about a 1/2000th of a second

any time more than your sync that your shutter stays open doesn't matter as far as the flash is concerned

strobes only care about f/stop. they don't care about shutter speed
>> Anonymous
>>296272
damnit i'm a faggot
>> Anonymous
>>296274
>>296270

i fucking owned you, ownnnnnnned
>> Anonymous
>>296272
Unless your strobe is really really slow. I have a cheapo studio strobe that gives much less light at 1/400 than 1/200. I can't even sync it at 1/640 (which is possible with my speedlights).
>> Anonymous
>>296292

uhhh that's because it's exceeding your sync speed if you're using a camera with an electronic shutter. it will let you go past 1/200 but you will get light loss, that's not avoidable

and speedlights use a trick to sync at any given shutter speed but again, there's light loss
>> Anonymous
>>296293
Yes, I understand that, but at 1/640, the studio strobe doesn't even fire.
>> Anonymous
>>296299
if your strobe isn't firing, you have other problems.
>> Anonymous
>>296299

what kind of trigger are you using

they're supposed to fire regardless of your camera's sync speed, you'll just get a half/not exposed frame
>> Einta !!MWv3ICYobCM
Uh...people, look up the burn times on full studio strobes. Some of them are _brutal_. There are a few that won't sync giving full power faster than ~1/60th.
>> Anonymous
>>296344There are a few that won't sync giving full power faster than ~1/60th.

stop using shitty flashes? lol at your attempt to say "full studio strobes" and then say how they won't give full output at anything faster than 1/60
>> Einta !!MWv3ICYobCM
>>296351
Elinchrom's are brutal. I'm sure some others are similarly slow. The set I used would lose power at anything faster than 1/125th.
>> Anonymous
i don't even know what the hell you're talking about "brutal"

please find the model number and look it up, flash duration is rated at 1/1 and any non shitty one will be at least 1/200 for full output

so unless you're using your "brutal" "full studio strobes" from 80s, they'll spit out full power faster than 1/60
>> Einta !!MWv3ICYobCM
No, the actual flash duration will be better than 1/60. But once you could in the other elements of syncing, some of them get pretty bad. By bad I just mean anything that won't sync for full power @ 1/200th.
>> Anonymous
and by stop using shitty flashes

i meant stop using shitty flashes that won't give you consistent output in power and quality
>> Anonymous
>>296217
What is worse than lens flare?! PHOTOSHOP LENS FLARE!!
>> Anonymous
>>296284
nice comeback faggot
>> Anonymous
>>296327
Like what?
>>296328
Cactus v2s.
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
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5. Shit bricks.
>> Anonymous
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