Strobo for sports continuous shooting

[j.kivekas]

Does anyone know a portable flash system, perhaps a slave, that could support a

5-8.5 fps shooting up to say 5 frames, or at least 3 frames. <p>This would be

for sports shooting to fill-balance the subject and backgound. Say you are

shooting a marathon and you've found a nice scenic place but a difficult light

situ: runners in shadows or in pointy sunset light and background that is

bathing in gold.

[j.kivekas]

OK, marathon wasn't probably the best example but, say, downhill biking, inline skating - something where you need continuous shooting for timing or for statistical reasons.

[kin_lau]

Get multiple flashes that you can set in manual mode, say 1/32 to 1/128 power, and use a remote trigger for them. The only reason why I say multiple flashes, is that their combined power would be required for fill-flash in the kind of light described.

 

On my 20D + 580EX, at 1/32 power, I can shoot continously @ 5fps for at least 10 frames, at 1/16, it's good for about 3 to 4 frames. I also have 2300mah batteries in them. An external powerpack would likely give you a few more frames in 1/16 power as long as you don't melt the flash.

[j._scott_schrader]

In my experience 1/32 power would have absolutely no effect in an outdoor setting as the

original poster describes. He is shooting action...so he cannot be in their face...he will

have to be shooting from a distance... to balance the light of a strobe fired into a shaded

area with the light of a sunlit (even if the light is low) area you are going to need a

relatively high GN and a relatively long recycle time. Without using mutiple cameras with

strobes for each one and an automatic trigger that basically lets the athlete take

his own picture when he crosses an infrared beam, I suspect that what you are wanting to

do can't be done with ordinary gear. The closer you can get to your subject, ...the better

the chance of having your fill flash be effective at a lower power and the less recycle time

it will need.

 

If this is a set up...shoot late in the day or early in the day in an area where the light is the

same on your subject as it is in the background....or the background a stop or two darker

than your subject then you will not need strobes at all. There is not a strobe out there that

is capable of the kind of power that you are talking about coupled with the almost

instant recycle times that you will need.

[j.kivekas]

Yes, I too believe that 1/32 or even 1/8 has very little function left in the situations I was referring to. I think there is room in the spots photography markets for a flash product that could do:<br>

- up to 5 frames at 10 fps<br>

- load up time less tan 15 secs<br>

- nominal flash figure >40<br>

- Capacity more than 100 flashes<p>

 

I wonder could this be built from the old magnesium bulps ... a receiver and a microcontroller to multiplex the trigger signal to the next bulp.... are these bulps still available ... the circuit is not necesasrily very complex ...

[j._scott_schrader]

Now I could be wrong ...and it wouldn't be the 1st time...but my guess is that the

technology doesn't exist to create something like you are talking about.

 

Over the last couple of decades they should have been pouring money into R&D of battery

technology to make our country less oil dependent. Of course this did not happen and we

are paying the price (gas prices) today. Of course the oil companies don't want any

significant breakthroughs with battery technology...and it seems what the oil companies

want, the oil companies get. Battery technology is way behind the times... and will

continue to be as long as the oil companies have anything to say about the funding of

such an endeavor that would ultimately cut into their profits.