john Paul
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drflash wrote:
I find it interesting that Rolando would go out of his way to document his perceived shortcomings of the AB ringflash. Especially when his target audience is "Garage Glamour" shooters. I'm sure having a sponsor like Hensel who probably gave him $10k worth of equipment had nothing to do with it.
When I needed a ringflash, I bought a used Profoto head and had it modified to work on my 4000 w/s Norman pack. Total cost less than $500 including the modification, pack and head. It doesn't have acuracy to .1 f-stop but when shooting with a ringflash, unless you are using a zoom or you and the model are staying in one place, your exposure is constantly changing anyway.
It's far more about knowing how to use what you have than spending alot of money.
This was shot with the Profoto Head/Norman pack mentioned.
Model Holley D., Makeup Sylvia Smith
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http://www.rich.org/holly_ring.jpg |
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That's a great point! I'm wondering why I didn't think of that...?
I shoot most of my work hand held, because I don't like to be restricted by a tripod, or a monopod... Action happens too quickly to be stuck in one spot much of the time by more legs that I already have..
When I shot this: (warning, contains artistic nudity)
http://www.pbase.com/john_paul/nikkiriomikep
I was using my Norman 400b, DC powered pack, with a Calumet ringflash head..
(I ended up selling it because it was too quirky for my needs)..
I had the pack set to 200 WS so I could get faster recycle times, and more flashs out of it.. & had my iso set to 200..(less contrast, I could work from further away) and I was using a 20D, with my (old)28-70 L lens.. Oh, and I had to have a strong modeling light on next to me, so I could reduce the red-eye effect which is common with RF's.. I only wished my dinky little ringflash was equipped like Paul Buff's innovative design..
I was moving up and down a little here,...a little there....... moving in,...moving out... and with every single movement I made, changed the effects of the light..and probably by a good 1/10th of a stop, or more....So,....unless the Great Rolando Gomez has an assistant accurately clicking the power output, on his nifty "high-brow" Made in GermAnY ;-) lights,...then,...in order to remain within a 1/10th os a stop,...he would have to stop what he is doing, and slow down the shoot,... & have the model wait for him to dink around with his equipment....Ooooh,...very professional I might add... I'd like to know how he shoots with RF, because he never got into that.. Does he have it mounted to a tripod, and has the model pose within very restricted boundries..because he can't move with the model..?
Honestly,...most of his pictures don't look to me like he is within a 1/10th of a stop... I've seen many of his pictures over the years,...and most of them appear to be at least 1/2 stop UNDER exposed,....so.....or slightly over exposed.. I've seen what appears to be areas of prominence on the subject, painted in in an apparent attempt to cover up nuked out skin.. I have seen what appears to be heavy amounts of color noise in shaded areas...which could mean that a picture was under exposed, and brought back up using curves, or levels.. (poorly)..
So, if that is true,.....what is he making such a big deal regarding his magnific 10ths click stop power output settings IF he doesn't take know how to meter it..?
Regarding infinite adjustments,...vs click stops,... Has anyone ever complained that their zoom lenses don't have click stops from ..lets say,...70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200..? Would you like to be certain that you are exactly in a specific focal length setting..? I sure wouldn't buy a P.O.S. lens like that! I don't like being limited by what the tool offers me.. In some ways it can be helpful,...and that is what you pay for IF you really absolutely NEED to be that accurate,... but then again,....ART is subjective to Opinion... what appears to be exposed properly to one person, may be incorrectly exposed to the another.. and maybe that exposure is 1/3rd, to 1/2 a stop.. Heck, I've seen art directors get all excited about a light test shot that was 1 whole stop over exposed! I even had a model select an image where the flashes didn't fire! The only thing that provided light was the modeling lamps in my studio,... which was very faint! (no joke)
There is one more thing I wanted to touch on,...and that is Mr. Gomez's knock on the Alien Bee ringflash.. He calls it a "Novelty". I think that anyone who listens to the suggestions of his consumers, and designs a product around those things, and can make it work very well, for as low as he charges for it, could be considered a genius!
Instead, you have Mr. Gomez knocking a ring type flash head that has a built in,...on axis modeling light that helps in focusing, reduces redeye and seeing exactly what your light will be looking like, cooling fans allowing extended shooting times, accessories that limit the amount of ring halo among other things, light weight, sturdy built, fast recycle times, a fair amount of power for indoor use, that doesn't have to be mounted to a camera, but also to a light stand to work,....that is powered by both AC & DC,.. and costs $400 bucks, and basically calls it a "toy".. & suggests that it is an unprofessional tool, a waste of money, when his expensive GermAnY ;-) made light doesn't offer half that!!
It sounds to me like Rolando is a total buffoon! BTW, doesn't his sponsors give him those lights for free..? Heck,...if he didn't have the backing of his sponsors, I wonder what he would be shooting with..? .....some "junk" probably.. ;-)
Well,...some people define what they are by what they have, over what they can do with what they've got..regardless if it costs a little or a lot.
JP
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