 Ron Evans |
Speedlights vs. Strobes? I'm by no means a professional but I enjoy doing portraits and have begun to get additional inquiries from family, friends and co-workers. I am very critical of the product I provide and understand how important such images are for the families involved. I've experimented with 2 sets of worklights from a home improvement store but find they are very cumbersome,adjusting becomes extremely tedious, and they are just too hot to use in small indoor settings. Thus, I am seeking expert advice on what lighting may be best for my specific situation. I shoot a lot in the homes of the subject or outdoors. I do not have a studio of my own (unless I move around the dining room for a day). I currently have one 580exII and find it very reliable and easy to experiment with manual settings. For approximately $500 I can purchase another 580exII and the wireless transmitter. I also know you can purchase stands and umbrellas and this setup would then be very similar to wireless strobes. I'm curious about the pros/cons of using the dual-speedlight setup versus a true strobe lighting. Cost is a factor as I am no where near a point where my sales can justify any expenditures (according to my wife :) ). Thank you for your time.
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Pete H |
Ron, You ask some good questions. Too many for me to cover them all; so I'll stick to a couple only. "I'm curious about the pros/cons of using the dual-speedlight setup versus a true strobe lighting." Well, they are both technically strobes. 1)Speedlight's are in my opinion NOT intended for studio use. That is not to say you can't press them into service; you can within very limited range. Speedlight's are woefully under powered for serious studio work. Worse is when you try to bounce them into a umbrella or even shoot thru the umbrella. The lack of power is their #1 downfall in studio applications. 2) Re-cycle time. Not sure about what you are shooting Ron, but I can't wait one full second or more for my strobe to re-cycle. Far too many missed opportunities. 3) No modeling lamps. I use this feature all the time. I suppose you could always shine a flash light from the position of each speedlight. LOL I'm not sure what other advice you might receive here, but I'd rather have ONE 1,600 w/s strobe with a 48" umbrella than two speedlights. This may not be the answer you hoped for, but it remains the truth.
Pete
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Andy |
Ron, Peter H. had given you very good suggestions. I agree with Peter that if you own your studio, strobes would be the best solution. If you do a lot of location shots, maybe an extra speedlite(s) and/or a wireless transmitter is your best solution. Personally, I use a wireless controller (ST-E2) and three speedlites because I always want to go light for location shots. Usually I don't need to worry about fast recycling time. In case I do, I can always get the Compact Battery Pact (CP-E4) or the Quantum battery charger for the EX 5XX series speedlites. I also don't need to worry about where to plug in to get the power or having wires running around the house. If I really really want to go "lighter", I will use those mini Omni Bounce or Gary Fong Light Sphere instead of umbrellas. So bouncing light is not a problem here. Operating range is quite reliable at below 30 feet, INDOOR. Although I have not used the set up outdoor, the effective range may be cut down to about 15 feet and you have to make sure that the slave speedlites' sensor are facing the master unit. Another thing regarding modeling light, both the EX 4XX and 5XX series have modeling light capability. Just press the depth-of-field preview button on your camera and you will see a series of low flashes fire from the speedlite. Hope this helps.
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John H. Siskin |
Hi All, One thing I want to add to the already useful discussion. The quality of light is important. So if I want a large light source, which will give me soft light over a face or a product, I need to use a soft box, umbrella or light panel to make the light larger. Think of it as if you were shooting on a sunny day vs. an overcast day. The sunny day has a small light source, which throws hard shadows and the overcast day has light coming from the entire sky, and no shadows! In order to make a large light source you use a lot of power, which means studio lights do a better job. Monolights can be plugged into any electrical outlet, and also into batter packs. They recycle quicker and if you compare prices, monolights are often cheaper. Thanks, John Siskin
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Debby A. Tabb |
good day Ron, Personally if you have 500.00 to invest now,I would start be buying even one light at a time of a quality brand. I am going to add a couple of links from ebay (i've done quite well buying lights for my own business and when I help others set up thier studios) also try reading the "STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY" threads. It has everything from choosing lights to posing,getting expression and doing business. you will also see several studios develop on the thread. Studio Photography Thread: http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=17534
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253414-REG/Photogenic__StudioMax_II_3.html Photogenis 1250: Photogenic w/soft box:
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Tareq M. Alhamrani |
I have 2 Canon speedlights and 5 studio monolights, working with monolights and wireless and light color and power and control all going winners with monolights over the speedlights, in fact in many many websites people saying that the only advantage of speedlights over monolights will be the portability or versatility as they are smaller sizes, but something else as power and control then Monolights are clear winners.
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Ron Evans |
Thank you all so much for taking the time to provide your feedback. Looks like I'll now have to thoroughly research monolights and strobes... :)
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