Yup, different philosophies. I've had some amazing accidents at my weddings (photo-wise) where something happened that I didn't plan on. I welcome that. Ignoring serendipity at a wedding is just not in my books. And a flash that goes off at 80% power (You'd be spraying w/ a 1D speed demon to get 50% power with these quick recycles) is absolutely better than missing a moment, because the winning moments at weddings can happen when you least expect it. So, I'll take a crap pop at 80% because that's by far enough to get a usable image in CS3 vs. losing an irreplaceable moment.
Now, in the commercial world, I'll agree with you 100%. But your moments are mostly replaceable here.
OK, maybe not the 1600+ shots , the 3200 ws pack or the 220 .
Thanks!
The high power comes from the (old) days whem there were still automotive studios here in Detroit. Or auto makers for that matter.
The high exposure count is from fashion. It is easier to pop a pic to get the model to move insread of saying "no" and derailing the shoots momentum. At least with digital - 6x7 film was $1 a frame!
bacilonur wrote:
When a pack is triggered, your camera's gonna take the shot whether or not the lights fire. You're still going to have to wait for the other packs that did fire, so you've basically got a "free" shot that may end up being the best as far as the subject is concerned.
I don't get that at all, sorry. They should all recycle in about the same time. Now you have to wait for the next full recycle, and lose the next shot - for which you just substituted an inferior one - etc.
The question is this: are you shooting a $300 wedding, or a $3,000, or a $10,000 one? Close might be OK for $300 and 2 hours of work ....
There are at least 15 engineering solutions to amy lighting problem. Pick the one that gets you to 100% power faster than the other setup gets you 10% there. Always!
Shooting from 20+ feet at full power? Switch to a PAR reflector to gain 3 stops. Go to 1/8 power at .4 secs instead of 1.8 secs. Etc.
Quality is always the primary concern (except when I was an undergrad and would "experiment", then spend hours trying to get a usable print.)
Photoshop time is expensive, and inferior images will usually get culled in the end anyway if you value your reputation.
........... maybe just a little too proud of it too.
Yeah, you are right! I am 50 and just about ready for the nursing home now.
It does not help that I got a 6 Sigma Quality (Black Belt) certification while at the auto makers. The whole point is to eliminate variation, which always has a cost, so ...
Of course, we used to have actual budgets for photography. And we could not chimp and see results. Slide film really leads to a certain discipline.
Good luck on that bailout.
There could be a lot of photographers looking for one shortly and I don't just mean in Detroit either.
It is going to be an absolute hell here. Even the best case scenarios are something like a nuclear winter.
We have lost 600,000 high paying jobs since 2000. We will probbaly lose at least 300,000 more over the next year or two. More than 50% of home sales are short sales, etc.
I was going to open another studio, put that on hold in September.
Funny, there is an automotive group in Ann Arbor that predicts the loss of at least 2.5 million automotive jobs in the US. Same amount Obama wants to create:
In a report released Wednesday, the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., outlined what would happen in two separate scenarios if General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC were forced to scale back or shut entirely.
If all three Detroit manufacturers were to cease operations, the U.S. economy would lose 2.95 million direct and indirect jobs in the first year. Governments would lose at least US$156.4-billion in taxes over the first three years.
If Detroit cut output and employment by 50% to meet ever-shrinking market share, which would mean contraction by two of the automakers, 2.46 million jobs would be lost initially. Governments would lose US$108-billion in revenue over three years, according to the analysis.
"The circumstances are such that either of these scenarios is possible, and indeed one or the other is probable, within the next 12 months," the non-profit think-tank said. *******************************************************************************
shoebox9 wrote:
What a brilliant idea- everyone would be happy!
It should be pretty easy to bypass the flash inhibition circuit. I have not seen any of the high end equipment that allows that though. Not much real world need?
PS While we're building wish lists: I wish there was a ping-pong option in the skyport controller.
Ping-pong is a way cool option! It really is the ultimate solution. It lets you set up 2, 3, or 4 packs to fire in "rotation." So you always have a pack ready to fire while the previous one is charging.
If you use bi-tube heads, you can hook one pack to one side of the head, and a second pack to the opposite side. Then you have the same head in the same fixture for both pops. Exact same setup!
I have always intended to do some dance shots using that and some other features (delays that you can set on the pack, stroboscopic flashes up to 50+ times at .03 second intervals, etc.) Haven't had the chance yet.
Chimera also makes a speed ring adapter that lets you stack heads in a softbox, etc.
mmurph wrote:
Chimera also makes a speed ring adapter that lets you stack heads in a softbox, etc.
I've seen that before, but do you know how it works with setting up the rods and fabric? All SBs I've seen have a very limited amount of space in the back. Unless Chimera sells equally expensive custom SBs to fit that speedring, but I've never seen any.
bacilonur wrote:
I've seen that before, but do you know how it works with setting up the rods and fabric? All SBs I've seen have a very limited amount of space in the back.
I have only 1 Chimera, mostly Photoflex.
The Photoflex have cuts in each side that velcro shut. So there is quite a bit of extra room. I have not looked closely at the Chimera to see how they close.
Extra rods for the Photoflex are $5 to $8. I would just buy an extra set of rods and trim as needed. One reason I standardized on Photoflex was because their spare parts - extra faces, etc. - were quite reasonable. I stock extra pieces for my standard size softboxes.
If you are going to use multiple heads at the same time, especially with modelling lights, you might be better off with an "open" arrangement. Bounce them off of a "V flat", or shoot through a panel. Then you can just mount the Chimera speedring holder directly to a stand and stack the heads.
Many larger "boxes" have provisions for multiple heads, usually more spread out than the Chimera design.
It is always fun when someone else is paying the bills and you can buy equipment and experiment.
, the 3200 ws pack 
