 Mary Quite Contrary |
Strobe, modeling light and umbrella question Hi! I am looking to invest in a strobe with a modeling light and a white reflective umbrella. I have a Sony camera, nothing professional. My question is how can I fire the umbrella using a regular camera? Can this be done or must I get a camera which has a connector to connect it to the camera? Can it be fired without a direct connection? Thanks so much for your help and interest in my inquiry!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
W. |
"Can it be fired without a direct connection?" Yes, Mary, it can. If your off-camera flashgun has a US$ 10 slave eye, an on-cam ('peanut') flash can be used to trigger it. HOWEVER, *pre-flashes are usually so fast that the human eye cannot distinguish them from the main flash. You think you see 1 flash, while there are at least 2. Have fun!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
John H. Siskin |
Hi Mary, W is quite correct. If you have a hot shoe on your camera you can use the shot to connect to the strobe, either with a wire or with a radio. I prefer not to use the built in strobe, first because of the reason Mr. Smith mentions, but also because the recycle on built in strobes is often several seconds long. This means you miss shots you would have made with a cord or a radio slave. This link (www.siskinphoto.com/magazine4c.html ) goes to an article on sync that appeared in Photo Techniques. Thanks, John Siskin
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Pete H |
Mary, All the answers above are correct. Which Sony do you have? Personally I no longer use a sync cord. John; your opinion on using the onboard flash to trigger the studio strobes omits a truth. You probablt meant to say "with P&S cameras" I use my Nikon DSLR on cam flash all the time; BUT I use it at 1/64th output. A radio slave is only one option. There is no way I would be tied to a sync cord. I don't shoot from a tripod when doing portraits, so the cord is wayyyy to restrictive and dragging a cord around is dangerous in my shooting method. Pre flashes?..Usually only true if red eye reduction is turned on. W.S "your on-cam flashgun will also illuminate the scene and reflect in every mirroring surface, and you might even get (keep) red-eye." True with a P&S..NOT true with a DSLR with variable output.
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
W. |
"True with a P&S..NOT true with a DSLR with variable output." You can have one guess what camera type the OP wants this remote flash firing for:
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Mary Quite Contrary |
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Pete H |
Ok..I looked up your camera model. No hotshoe..The Metz MZ 52822D 28 CS-2 is worfully underpowered for any serious work as far as calling it "studio" work.. Get the outboard strobes, softbox, umbrella..whatever. Looking at your original question..."Hi! I am looking to invest in a strobe with a modeling light and a white reflective umbrella"..you will have spent in the area of DOUBLE what your camera is worth on a starter strobe/umbrella setup. Best bet?.Get a better camera. (i.e) a DSLR Using outboard strobes with light modifiers with your camera is akin to installing bias ply tires on a Ferrari! LOL
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Mary Quite Contrary |
Thanks for your input. I am looking into a DSLR but thought I could make some use of this camera. So would getting a DSLR alleviate my need for a strobe/umbrella setup or will they just be easier to fire but still be a necessity? thanks!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Pete H |
UNCLE!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Mary Quite Contrary |
sorry, I don't mean to be a bother. please don't worry about my question
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
John H. Siskin |
Hi Mary, High quality lighting is a joy to create no matter what camera you use to record it. If you start with poor light even the finest camera will give poor results. So you will need good strobes if you want to create fine portraits, or good architectural studies or even good product shots. As a friend of mine once said there is no problem in photography you can't solve by throwing money at it. I teach a class her called Understanding the Tools of Photography Lighting. You may want to take it after you get that DSLR. Thanks, John Siskin
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
W. |
Mary, always use appropriate tools for a job. Don't try to hammer nails in with a screwdriver. A Sony DSC-N1 is a snapshot camera to fit your pocket. It doesn't even have a viewfinder. Take snaps with it. That's what it was designed for. Forget making posed portrait photos with it. It was NOT designed for that. Good luck!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||||||||