Strobes vs flash

[simon_t1]

<p>Hi, Would you recommend 580 ex flash units with umbrellas over 150w Stobe flash heads with umbrellas for studio portraits please. Thanks, Simon</p>

[steve_crist]

<p>For studio portraits I prefer strobes since they have modeling lights, which eases placement and the ability to see the effect. The smaller flashes are great for field work where portability is important and having less power is not a problem.</p>

[nathan_meador]

<p>Just about any flash that you are able to trigger off-camera can do the trick (I use vivitar 285hvs) and they are great for their portability, but as Steve said, they are not as powerful as a studio strobe, though I'm not sure that a 150w will really offer much advantage. Most of the recommendations are for you to get at least a 400w or 800w. The addition of the modeling light is an added bonus. Your solution depends on where you think you'll shoot, indoors in a studio setting, or outdoors at remote locations where there are no outlets. Granted, there are battery packs for strobes, typicaly heavy and pricey, which do give you some flexibility.</p>

[nathan_meador]

<p>Just about any flash that you are able to trigger off-camera can do the trick (I use vivitar 285hvs) and they are great for their portability, but as Steve said, they are not as powerful as a studio strobe, though I'm not sure that a 150w will really offer much advantage. Most of the recommendations are for you to get at least a 400w or 800w. The addition of the modeling light is an added bonus. Your solution depends on where you think you'll shoot, indoors in a studio setting, or outdoors at remote locations where there are no outlets. Granted, there are battery packs for strobes, typicaly heavy and pricey, which do give you some flexibility.</p>

[simon_t1]

<p>They are intended for indoor, as for flash I was intended to use two 580ex's, one on each side and an ST-E2 on the body. The umbrellas white and reflective type.</p>

[buffdr_rasouliyan]

<p>I use the setup you mentioned all the time. Mostly outside though. I don't use the ST-E2, rather I trigger them with PW or if I'm close enough I use my 3 580 to trigger the 2 for cross lighting. In a studio I would get strobes, main reason...I hate to tear it all down when I go out to do a shoot. My strobes are adjusted at f-8 to F-10 and I leave it there. If you have the funds, keep it separated. v/r Buffdr</p>

[bob_osullivan]

<p>There are many advantages to strobes over flash.</p>

<p>As already mentioned there's the modeling light.</p>

<p>Much more power... "though I'm not sure that a 150w will really offer much advantage. Most of the recommendations are for you to get at least a 400w or 800w." I can't really agree with Nathan though, 150ws is plenty of power. I have 160, 320 and 660ws lights. I do plenty of work with the 160s set at 1/4 or 1/2 power. A 150ws strobe still has way more power than a shoe mount flash.</p>

<p>The speed of recycling is also an advantage of the strobes.</p>

<p>But mostly it's the quality of light you get, and the ability to use numerous modifyers. There's more to it than just umbrellas.</p>

 

[marknagel]

<p>Simon,</p>

<p>I started with the setup you are thinking about. I ended up swapping to interfit stellar strobes then to alien bees. I wish I would have skipped the multiple 580's and st-e2. They ended up cost more than the strobes and weren't even close in power, ease of use, or flexibility. I have 4-alien bees and trigger them off the RF units you can buy on Ebay for around $25. Start one or two and work you way up to more strobes and modifiers.</p>

<p>Depending on the size of your studio, a 150 w/s should be fine. I disagree with "buy as powerful as you can afford". I have a 18x30 home studio. My 160w/s (AB400) is rarely turned above 1/2 power and my 320w/s (AB800s) are rarely above 1/4 power and my 640 w/s (AB1600) is too powerful for MOST of my work. I typically shoot f/4 @ ISO100, adjusting the ISO to 50 or 200 to get f/2.8 or 5.6. Shutter doesn't matter, just keep it below your strobe sync (1/120 is canon's pro strobe recommendation)</p>

<p>If you plan to do studio work, you can't beat the strobes. Avoid the cheap Ebay crap. You'll end up buying them twice (a good set after you throw away the junk).</p>

<p>m</p>

[dansutton]

<p>mark, a question. why do you try to keep your aperture so wide? wouldn't you want to pop some f/8 or f/11 sometimes. this being the sharpest lenses tend to be?</p>

[nathan_meador]

<p>If it is always indoors at your home studio, then I'd agree the studio strobes might be your best bet. As for the power, I don't have them so can't speak from experience...just going by some other posts I've read and a guy I know locally that has the Alien Bees 400 who said he wishes he bought the 800s instead, though he does big group shots and probably needs the extra power more than you would for small groups/individuals.</p>

[marknagel]

<p>Dan, I prefer the lower depth of field. I think it gives a more pleasing look to have a blurred background, or as much as possible. I typically shoot a Canon 24-70L, 70-200L and 85/1.8 in studio. All are extremely sharp at f/4. For groups i will go f/8 to f/11 to get everyone in focus, but even with 3-4 people, I rarely find myself going above f/5.6.</p>

<p>My recent shots with 2 - 3 strobes:</p>

<p>www.nagelhome.com/sidney&ryan/halloween09</p>

<p>www.nagelhome.com/sidney&ryan/ryan 1mo</p>

<p>m</p>

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>I don't think you are doing an apple to apples comparison here. I would rather have a Canon 580EX over a 150W studio strobe. However, a 580 EX new cost about $395+ for that amount of money you could get an Alien bee AB1600 which is like 600+ WS. So yes I would much rather have an AB800 or AB1600 which has a LOT more power and options over an e-ttl flash. No comparison. </p>