I've just got myself a set of D-Lite's to have a play about with and will be using them solely indoors or only in outdoor spaces such as a roof terrace or garden where i will have access to power. I have thought about getting a set of pocket wizards or a set of skyports but i am having trouble seeing where i would use them if I'm shooting in such small spaces and near my models? I can't see any benefit of having them over a cable and the slave mode? I know I'm being fairly vague but can anyone suggest why the use of wireless triggers would be beneficial in the sort of situations I've mentioned?
The primary benefit of wireless is just that (wireless). No sync cords to trip over, go bad, etc. The other benefit is that you can fire your strobes from greater distances and multiple strobes close in if the slave might be blocked, as in the case of a back light. I have both Pocketwizards and El-Skyports. Both are excellent tools but I prefer the size and features of the Skyports (the price is better too). However, I have RX-600's so that's where the RX systems really shines. But I have D-lite 2's also and the Universal Skyport is very hand also.
The thing I hate about sync cables is that fact I was often tripping over them, or getting distracted simply by knowing I had to avoid them when moving about.
You don't need radio triggers in your situation through - a simple (and much cheaper) IR trigger should do fine.
Having said that I used my PWs all the time with the Elinchrom gear
Cheers for the replies so far. Yeah the thought of tripping on the cables had crossed my mind, but i figured that for now the £150-200 would probably be better spent on a couple of soft boxes? I would definitely get a set of triggers at some point as like you said they make things a hell of a lot simpler and hassle free, however i think they would only really be worth it if i was shooting on location with outdoor lights and a power pack and such.
When using a light behind a model to give a rimlight i guess that would be a good time to use the triggers? Or does a light in that position fire fine using only the slave mode?
Provided there are some walls to bounce off, this should have no problem triggering your rimlight. I used one in a studio 25' wide, 15' ceilings and was about 15' from the model and had no problems. you 'may' have problems outside in bright sunlight, but then you are really in to 'Radio Trigger' territory, and perhaps can use a sync cable in those circumstances until you want to pay up for the more expensive gear.
This one should also work, but I have not personally used one, so can't guarantee it Interfit
When using a light behind a model to give a rimlight i guess that would be a good time to use the triggers? Or does a light in that position fire fine using only the slave mode?
Even if you use a sync cable, you are only going to trigger a single strobe, and have all the others in slave mode. If you use an IR trigger then all the strobes are running in slave mode, and in reality, as long as the IR trigger triggers one of them, the others will fire because they see the light from the other strobes.
Cheers for that Dave, i'll take a look at those and maybe pick one of them up.
I asked a question about light meters in the alternative forum and didnt get much response, maybe one of you guys can advise. I'm after a light meter for use with my Lights and also my Hassy and Gandolphi as the one i had i now don't.
My options are the Sekonic L358, Gossen Digipro F and the Kenko KFM-2100. Can any of you give me any direction in which one to go with?
I am leanding towards the L358 as i've tried it before and used the 308 a lot. I also like it can take a pocketwizard module if i go down the radio trigger route eventually like i mentioned. However the other meters seem to offer a lot more within them for the same amount of money. I would probably be buying it from Robert White as they seem competitive on price and very reliable.
The Sekonic is the best in it's class, especially with the Pocketwizard module. Very accurate and very easy to use. However, even if you go the with the Skyports you can just plug one of their transmitters into it and use it that way too.
I'm using Cybersyncs. Im never going wired ever again! EVER. EVAR. I won't even bother with optical slave any more because it's just too convenient. Bite the bullet, get some wireless trigers, all your pain will go away! Cables suck!
Yep, you just take the miniplug/pc sync cord the universal set comes with and plug it into the pc socket on the 358. This will allow you to trigger your Skyport receiver with the 358.
There is a setting on my sekonic where it will wait for a flash and then show the metering, no need for anything to be connected, I hold the trigger in my hand (or on the hotshoe) and just press the test button. On my Sekonic 308S all you need to do is press the main button for a few seconds till the flash symbol starts blinking then fire your strobes.
Sekonic L358 is what I am using. I have never found I needed anything else.
I've used in it three different modes:
1) Sync Cable
2) Slave Flash Mode
3) Pocket Wizard Mode (with the optional adapter - which I bought at the same time)
There is another mode but I can't remember what it is off the top of my head. It's a good meter. Look no further unless you have a specific need that this meter take care of, or it's out of your budget. I am sure other meters have come along since that work as well, but I am not familiar with them. The L358 has been so good to me that if it went missing I would go right out and buy another one. Other people may have more experience with different models, so you may want to post model numbers of the ones you are considering, and get responses for them directly.
