I've been using 2-3 SB800s outside for a couple of years now, and have come to realize that even in mid-winter at 45 degrees North, I cannot balance full sunlight. Particularly not when using bounce or umbrellas.
What would be a reasonably light and portable (and preferably fast cycling) 1-2 head set-up that I could reasonably carry to skiing locations?
Maybe I should ask this elsewhere....
Timm,
Most of the newer pack heads are pretty light (AB's, Elinchrom, Dyna-Lite, etc.). Even most monolights aren't very heavy. In fact, many sports shooters rave about the lightweight Dyna-Lite heads. But the battery packs weigh far more than a gaggle of heads, so that's you're main logistical constraint if you need to haul the gear up steep slopes in your backpack.
If you don't need several hundred full power pops on the slope, then you can build your own pack with fewer cells to save weight. Otherwise, look at the Vagabond (Paul Buff), Ranger RX (Elinchrom - expensive), Tronix Explorer (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7883-7908) for ideas.
I think McNally's desert shoot is a good example of the point of diminishing returns when investing in speedlights. He's using 7 speedlights as one big source of fill in broad daylight. He's using multiple clamps and is shown fiddling with the position and aim of each speedlight in this complex array of "CLS Gone Wild". He's using two assistants to hold one diffusion panel. That panel is creating soft light for the model. The panel is also reflecting about half of the light backwards and away from the shot. What's the efficiency ratio between the panel and something like a Deep Octa?
He's triggering the remotes with a hotshoe mounted SU-800. So, that's about $2,500 (USD) in lights and triggers.
Now, consider the cost, weight, and efficiency of a more traditional location strobe kit. You can get two 500 w/s Elinchrom heads (each has more power than all of McNally's speedlights combined) with built-in Skyports, one Skyport transmitter for the camera (these are radio triggers, not optical - huge advantage), a couple of stands, and a couple of softboxes for around $1,000. A D-Lite 4 kit is even cheaper. Now, you need to add a 20 lb. battery pack (Vagabond or Tronix <$400). One assistant can carry the battery. Yes, a Ranger RS kit would be even better and about the same price as all of the speedlights.
Speedlights, CLS, iTTL: yes, great technology and useful on location for fill and accent lighting. But the 7-light array (one light source) set-up with two assistants is weird. I just don't get it. I think one strobe, one stand, one foldable light modifier, and one battery is probably more portable -- and cheaper.
Now, to give McNally some credit, using two speedlights in one umbrella and having an assistant get in close to the model is a good technique. You can change positions quickly this way too.
turnert wrote:
Speedlights, CLS, iTTL: yes, great technology and useful on location for fill and accent lighting. But the 7-light array (one light source) set-up with two assistants is weird. I just don't get it. I think one strobe, one stand, one foldable light modifier, and one battery is probably more portable -- and cheaper.
Ted, I agree with you, this is an extreme case. For most of what I do outside, it can easily be achieved with one, two or maybe three speedlights. The price of this is less than half that of a decent one head Elinchrom Ranger kit, and it weights less too.
If I lived in the sunny climates (like LA) then I would probably go for the proper heads as you suggest.
DaveEP wrote:
Ted, I agree with you, this is an extreme case. For most of what I do outside, it can easily be achieved with one, two or maybe three speedlights. The price of this is less than half that of a decent one head Elinchrom Ranger kit, and it weights less too.
If I lived in the sunny climates (like LA) then I would probably go for the proper heads as you suggest.
Yes, my issue is really with the gaggle of speedlights, or speedlight "tree". I have 5 speedlights and I never use all of them at once. But one, two, or even three works well for me too outdoors for subtle fill. I have to admit, McNally's results from that shoot were very nice, particularly the shots from the umbrella and Lastolite gold reflector.
turnert wrote:
Yes, my issue is really with the gaggle of speedlights, or speedlight "tree". I have 5 speedlights and I never use all of them at once. But one, two, or even three works well for me too outdoors for subtle fill. I have to admit, McNally's results from that shoot were very nice, particularly the shots from the umbrella and Lastolite gold reflector.
~Ted
One thing that makes me wonder about all the speedlights - and diminishing returns is the fact that you can't guarantee that *all* fire at the same time. So instead of additional light, you could end up with less light than you were expecting - but for a longer period of time (because they could fire with a slight time offset instead of together).
When using multiple speedlights from several angles to fill in shadows, this is not so much of a problem. But using them in parallel to try to multiply a single light seems like it could be less than perfect.
I believe maybe one advantage to using speedlights is the ability to use high speed sync up to max shutter speed (1/8000 on most prosumer DSLRs). This is something that is not possible with studio strobes. However, utilizing high speed sync kills flash efficiency, so many more would be necessary to still generate the desired output.
