advice on off camera flash

<p>can any of you pro's help me on this, im getting into off camera flash portraits in a big way but the only thing letting me down is my flash units, they are old and not reliable. So the gear that im using is canon 50d with a tamron 17-50 2.8 and canon 50mm 1.8 and waiting on my canon 70-200 2.8 IS. Ive got the stands and umbrellas and westcott 28inch softbox and a 24 inch one, and waiting delivery off my pocket wizards trancivers x2. Now i was going to get the canon 580 ex ii but ive spent so much money and i want to buy 2 flashes its going to cost to much, has anyone used the Nissin Di866 as they got a canon compatible one, r they any good?? ive also got to keep in mind that ill be using the flashes for a wedding coming up to. I just think that there must be a different flash i can use for my needs which is a little cheaper as i need 2 of them, any info would be great<br>

thanx</p>

<p>hello geraint, alright butt? you seem to be at an advanced already if you have been thinking of off camera flashes and for that matter two flash setup, pocket wizards and softboxes. what makes you think that your flash units are letting you down? have you already experienced problems?<br>

please try either setup at home or outside first and ensure that they work throughly. if they are firing at home or on your test shoot, then go into the event with spare batterries or at least provisions for charging spare batteries as you work. is this a paid wedding or would you be helping someone out. if it is the former, of course, a little more caution is to be exercised.</p>

<p>hi, the flash unit i have at the moment is a really old nissin one and even with full batterys it still keeps on shutting down after each fire, and i have to go over and turn it back on again !!!! , yes its a a paid wedding shoot, im led to belive that if i was just doing off camera flash work then the flash type dont matter as much but what ever i get has to be compatable for my other photography work also. Theres so many flash units out there that i was hoping that there was a unit that someone had used that did the job and not as expensive as the canon 580ex ii</p>

<p>geraint,</p>

 

<p>Once you move the flash off the camera, there’s really no reason to stick with the brand,

since you’ll be setting the flashes manually. Well, you <em>can</em> spend ridiculous

amounts of money on Canon flashes and controllers for wireless E-TTL and what-not, but I personally don’t

see the big advantage…and I can’t think of anybody off the top of my head (except for

Canon’s marketing department, of course) who does.</p>

 

<p>If you’ll have a power outlet available for the flashes, you’ll get <em>much</em>

more bang for your buck by getting studio flashes instead of camera-mounted flashes. I have a set

of Alien Bees and I’m just thrilled with them. You can also get a battery pack to power

strobes in the field; it’s basically a car battery with all kinds of electronics to keep from

blowing things up. I haven’t checked prices in a long time, but I’d guess that a pair of

Alien Bees and a battery pack will cost about as much as a pair of 580exIIs, and be much more

powerful, versatile, have better recharge, <i>etc.</i>…and also be a <em>lot</em> bulkier

and heavier. Still, you’re carrying all the rest of the crap, so why not a bit more? (Without the battery pack, the Alien Bees will be much cheaper.)</p>

 

<p>I do also have a 580exII, and it really is a wonderful on-camera flash. If the goal is a lightweight,

versatile, small kit, it’d be hard to beat the 580exII with a small stand and small umbrella. So

long as you can leave the stand and umbrella set up, you can swap the flash from camera to stand

and back in just a second or two, and go back and forth from bounce flashing candids to formal

shots with umbrellas with no hassle whatsoever.</p>

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p>b&</p>

<p>Check out Quantams and Elinchrom Quadras. Battery opperated and decently powerful. You can run a radio system to trigger them, or you can even bracket mount them if need be. All their battery backs are small enough for you to carry the whole time, vs a system like the Alien Bees. Just a thought.</p>