 Kristie M. Conte |
Bare bulb vs traditional flash units I'm currently shooting weddings with a Nikon D70 along with an SB800 flash unit(and an SB600 as slave when needed.) While these flash units are doing the trick (but can be somewhat unreliable as far as exposure is concerned), I'm now wondering if I should be upgrading to a bare bulb flash unit. Will a bare bulb provide more even lighting? I'd like to know from all of you if it's worth the $500 to $600 investment. Also, is there anything better than a Quantum flash unit?
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Mark Feldstein |
Howdy Kristie: I'm wondering why your SB800 rig is "somewhat unreliable as far as exposure is concerned", especially when used with the D-70. So what exactly is the problem? Over / under exposure and if so, when or under what circumstances? It may be operator error as opposed to equipment problem. Operator error as in perhaps not giving your flash enough time to recycle back to full power = underexposure??? ;>) As far as portable flash units, I think the Quantum T-2 along with a Quantum Turbo battery that I use is top shelf although I shoot news, not weddings. The T-2 puts out about 200 W/S of power and even at full power, the recycling times with the Turbo are fast enough to let me use a motor drive at about 1 frame every two seconds. Faster of course at less power. It's extremely handy on locations and for doing portaiture attached to a lightstand with a small softbox and Pocket Wizard radio slave set-up. The power settings on the flash itself are very very adjustable down to about 1/16th of a stop. Over the past few years, I've found it's never failed me. I do, however recommend Paramount sync cords over any others and the option of a UV coated flash tube. There's also a set of color correction filters you can purchase from Quantum that fit in the gasket over the reflector. Or, you can make your own of any flavor from like Rosco Cinegels. While the older T-2 sells at B&H for a bit less than $500 bucks, the newer, 400 W/s units sell for $658 plus battery and PC cord. The heavier duty Turbo battery is almost the same cost as the T-2 flash head. (Yikes) but all-in-all, I think, well worth it, especially if you earn a living with your equipment. BTW, with the right power to strobe cord, the Turbo will work with your SB800 and also the Vivitar 285HV units. They're not quite as bright as the Quantum T-2 but a lot cheaper and great for back-ups if you need them. AndWith another adapter accessory (naturally) they work TTL with many medium format cameras set up for TTL like some of the Hasselblads. You can get the newer models with a less powerful Mini-Turbo battery for about $1,100 from B&H. And...just for kicks here's a link http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=7037. You might also once in awhile find the T-2's available used at places like http://www.KEH.com I am SUCH a shopping enabler. LOL !!
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Mark Feldstein |
Sorry, I forgot...the bare bulb question. My question is why bare bulb at a wedding unless you're just trying to signal your position in a crowd to an assistant. I find bare bulb to be useful in a studio where I can at least control where some of the spill goes, although I don't use it very often. Some might disagree, but if you're trying to simulate natural light at a wedding, use a modifier like a small softbox with your flash or even think about going to a battery powered monolight with a softbox or umbrella, like a Bowens 750 - 1000 w/s unit.
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robert G. Fately |
Kristie, I'll not debate the merits of bare bulb-ery - but I can recommend that you check out a diffuser for the SB800 called the Photojournalist II Lightsphere (a mouthful, I know) from Gary Fong. He's a successsful LA based wedding shooter, and he's invented this fairly inexpensive unit (about $50) that does an awesome job of softening and spreading the light from the SB800 and similar flashes. You can Google to find his site - I have no relation to the company but I am very impressed with this unit's cacpability to make almost any lighting situation very simple. I've got the StoFen and Lumiquest stuff, and this PJII is a thousand percent betterer. Meaning perhaps you won't need to mess with barebulb at all.
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Kerry L. Walker |
I'm with Mark. Why do you consider the SB800 unreliable? If you give us an idea what the problem is, maybe we can help. I also second the use of a mini-softbox. You want something to diffuse the light, not to create even more hotspots. Can't really comment on the Lightspehre since I have never used one.
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Kerry L. Walker |
I would like to add that lighting a wedding is possibly one of the most difficult projects you will shoot. Combine the dark venue, dark tux and white gown and you have a lighting nightmare that challenges the latitude of most films, much less digital. I'm not saying it can't be done, just saying it is not easy.
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Kristie M. Conte |
Thanks everyone for your responses. I suppose I've been reading too many wedding photo books lately. They seem to stress the use of bare bulb. My issue with the SB800 is that sometime I feel that I cannot get even lighting...perhaps it's user error. I figured that maybe a bare bulb unit would provide more even lighting over the subject. Don't get me wrong, the SB800 is very powerful and does provide great lighting - I constantly change my EV +/- 1/3 to provide the correct exposure. I always use a mini softbox as well. I've been reading about the lightsphere. Maybe I'll give it a try. Thanks again everyone.
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Bret Tate |
Kristie: I shoot many weddings and as Kerry said, getting the lighting correct is a challenge. Digitial is more of a challenge than film because of the latitude that films such as Kodak Portra give you. The set-up that I use for the church formals is: I hope that this helps.
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Mark Feldstein |
You know Kristie, if you're already using a diffuser, I don't think dropping $40 bucks or so on Gary Fong's diffuser is going to help you out much, if any. Also, remember that your diffuser is going to decrease the actual light output, so maybe 1/3 of a stop isn't enough, but you may need to go up to a full stop or get a more powerful strobe. As I mentioned, you do need to make sure you're strobe is fully charged before shooting the next frame. That's a common mistake when working in the heat of battle, so-to-speak. Also, check your position including distance to the subject. If your lighting is uneven, you may need to back off to allow the light to diffuse itself or spread out a bit. I can't recall if the SB800 has a wide-angle setting, but you might try that if you haven't already. Practice practice and practice. Do some set-up shots, perhaps get a flash meter and take some readings at either side of the set-ups to check for even illumination. And of course, as Kerry said, you may be shooting multiple subjects at opposite ends of the zone scale, the black or dark tuxes and white dresses. (Do brides really still wear white?? Lastly, upload a few problem images so we can take a look and really get into specifics. Now, about that shopping trip we're going to take to B&H.....
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robert G. Fately |
Mark, as hard as it may be to believe, Fong's lightsphere is worlds better than the Stofens and Lumiquests, etc. out there. And note that in her original posting Kristie asks if bare bulb will get her more even lighting - meaning that's the problem (exposure aside - but that's not a factor of enclosed versus bare bulb style units). All I'm saying is it's worth checking out that Lightsphere.
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Kristie M. Conte |
Thanks everyone for your responses. Mark, the SB800 does have a wide-angle setting. Also, about the shopping trip to B&H....not a pleasant place to visit in my opinion. I only go there if I know exactly what I want. Not the kind of place to browse for equipment! I'll stick to purchasing online :)
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