michaelseto

<p>Ken, I use both an SU 800 and PW II Transceivers to control up to 4 remotely placed SB-800s when I shoot events. Both have the place and uses as everyone above has mentioned. The SU is great indoors for portraits and the like6where I like to control the output and make adjustments on the fly. Outdoors, especially in any strong sunlight and the SU is much less reliable, that's where the PW's come in, as well as anything that exceeds the SU range and line-of-sight limits (I've found anything over 60 feet to be iffy.)</p>

<p>I have a bunch of PWs, and I'm waiting anxiously for their new version that control Nikon TTL via radio signal, due out later this year...so they say.</p>

<p>The Lastolite tri-grip is pretty good, comes with a fabric for diffusing as well as a reflective surface. <br>

Frankly, I've done some of the DIY strobist stuff (I use 4 SB-800s) and over the long term have found that even though they cost more, you get much high quality stuff when you buy something like Lastolite vs going the Home Depot route. In the end, the gear lasts longer, and can work with other things like clamps, stands, etc that have lots of design commonalities.<br>

Think a bit more about what you want to shoot and what style of lighting you like. I use my speedlights on stands with umbrellas about 80% of the time and a small softbox the other fifth of the time. I found that I didn't need to jury rig a diffuser like a Lastolite or Scrim Jim, even though I own both now.<br>

What do you photograph? People/things? Do you want more of a portable studio solution or are you just trying to be creative?<br>

strobist is a great site, also check out Joe McNally and Dave Black, both are great photogs and users of the Nikon CLS system, their websites/blogs have some great tutorials.</p>

<p>I shoot a lot of events (many at night) and agree with Nadine. With just one speedlight, you're best trying not to do something too complicated. Just keep the light on your hotshoe, use Canon's TTL system, but you'll probably want to dial down the flash exposure compensation a little so it does not overpower the sunset. Maybe a orange gel to kep the light consistent and warm like the sunset. Keep it simple.</p>

<p>As well, if you're using LR2, it has the ability to read the NEFs from the latest Nikons, the D700 and D3 - so you don't need to shoot JPEG and NEF. I shoot all NEF with my D700 and use LR2 for mass processing of images and then NX2/CS2 for detailed work on particular images.</p>

 

Jake,

 

I shoot a lot of events as a freelance pro here in New York City. I used to use the D2x till I acquired the D700.

 

I'm going to take all the above advice and hopefully synthesize it for you.

 

First, I suggest shooting at 400 ISO - you'll want that speed indoors and the images are still fairly clean on

the D2x at that setting. Remember the rule of thumb that shutter speed controls ambient light and f-stop

controls flash exposure generally.

 

Throw the SB-800 on the hotshoe and get a bounce card (a index card and rubber band work just fine) though I

really like the Demb Flip-it. Bounce whenever the ceiling is low enough for it. Set it for TTL (not TTL-BL) and

I dial in a exposure comp of between - 1 1/3 and -1 2/3.

 

Set the camera for REAR curtain sync, this fires the flash at the end of the exposure and let's the ambient

contribute more to the exposure.

 

I like to drag the shutter - use a slower speed so that you get more ambient light in the exposure - usually

1/30-1/40 depending on the movement of my subjects, sometimes as slow as 1/20 if people are standing still and

posing for me.

 

I always shoot Manual at events, using f5.6-6.3 - this usually gives you decent depth of field (depends on your

focal length) without making the SB-800 work too hard. You won't need a meter - the flash will ultimately

generate enough light to expose the scene properly.

 

So if you're reading 1/60 at f4 for your light, then I say go 1/30 f5.6, rear curtain, TTL -1 1/3 FV and you

should be pretty happy with the pics - they'll have a nice mix of ambient and flash. These settings will tend to

give you a slightly darker image in a indoors party/cocktail situation under dim lighting...I like that kind of

atmosphere to my party shots. If the lighting is bright, then you'll get a pretty well exposed image.

 

Also - probably best to set the WB on Flash - the D2x is horrible IMHO at Auto WB.

 

And finally, chimp away till you feel comfortable with those settings and make adjustments to the flash

comp/shutter/f-stop as you need to based on the images.

 

Michael

Ritz is having a nice sale on Sandisk III Extreme 4GB cards. They sell three in a package for $60 and there is a $60 rebate with that - so it's basically free. Shipping is like $7. Check out Ritz Camera.

First off, fantastic review Shun.

 

I did notice one thing - I'm not 100% sure on this...

 

Does the D700 have a 5x4 mode - I own one and never have seen it. The review alludes that it does have one and

references the fact that the non-usable area is 'grayed out' on the D3 and just 'lined out' on the D700 - isn't

this referring to the DX mode?

My 70-200 has this play in it as well, on my D700, D2x and D200. I've been looking at a lot of comments about this play in this particular lens. Unfortunately, mine is having some intermittent contact issues that Nikon and my local NYC based tech continue to try and correct. Frustrating.

Miklos,

 

You can switch the Standby mode to off - it is one of the menu functions; it gives you Auto, 40 80 ... a few choices on the number of seconds for the flash to wait. At the bottom is "---" and this turns off the Standby function, which you will see in the status display as "STBY---" Usually this reads "STBY AUTO." Should solve that issue.

As well, try to clean the contacts on both the lens and the camera - I think most people recommend 100% alcohol on the tip of a q-tip.

Michael, hi, I shoot a lot of events, but not weddings, I think the same principles I picked up might apply.

 

1) I think the best approach is to slowly escalate your gear incrementally as you find you need additional capabilities and try to build up as flexible a gear bag as possible. I bring several SB800's, and Quantum T2s, Turbo batteries and even a couple Alien Bee monolights as required by the space, light, and shooting.

 

2) A couple of SB 800s on stands with Pocket Wizards is a good first step (you can use CLS sometimes if the space is small but the PW's are uber reliable). If shooting lower output and slower recycle I find adding the 5th battery pack often is fine. If I need more power or fast recycling, then I will use a Quantum Turbo's or Turbo Z battery into the SB for faster recycle and longer battery life.

 

3) If you need more light output, then you can throw the Quantum T2 up on the stand, I think the GN is about 150 vs the 125 of the SB 800, plus with bare bulb on the Quantum you get a nice spread of light. This is used with a PW trigger and the Quantum battery.

 

4) Finally, if you need a lot of light and or power, nothing beats an AC monolight, I use the Alien Bees with a PW trigger again, sometimes bare bulb, sometimes with a umbrella, or reflector if I'm say lighting a podium from above or from the back of the room.

 

So I wouldn't recommend going out and buying say 3 Quantums and batteries until you tried a few SB800s and they come up short. As others have indicated, there are a lot of great and flexible approaches to getting additional light - it's situation specific and having a flexible and versatile set of gear you can draw on is key. Plus this way, you can spend money incrementally as you find you need the gear, and avoid ponying up a few grand for stuff you may use only occasionally.

 

The one thing I think is critical here is at minimum 3-4 Pocket Wizards to reliably remote trigger your strobes; one for each strobe and since I shoot with 2 cameras, one for each. CLS is fine for about 30 feet and in line of sight, then things get a bit dicey. With PWs you can put the lights ANYWHERE and they'll fire every time. Not the cheapest, but the gold standard.

 

Good luck.

I picked up a 70-200 VR last year refurbished and saved about $150 off the list price of a new lens - plus the new ones were (are) still tough to obtain.

 

I will NEVER do that again. The lens has been plagued with with connectivity problems to the camera. I've returned it to Nikon and another NYC based tech and both cannot find anything out of 'spec.' Maybe bad luck, but it soured me on refurbs going forward. Still fails 10% of the time, I need to tweak it a bit on the mount to get it to connect and miss shots in the meantime. Was thinking of selling it and just buying another.

 

Michael

I know the OP asked about seamless or other materials but lighting is also a key issue here; sorry if too far off topic.

 

 

If you want to get a pure white background you typically have to throw a lot more light on the background, 2-3 stops above your exposure for the subject. Using 1-2 additional strobes, 2 a bit more ideal since you can put one on each side, on the background helps. Use umbrellas or softboxes to even the lighting.

 

The issue with that is you need some physical separation between subject and background and this is tough in small spaces. I use two pieces of white plexi, on on a table, one propped against the wall behind the subject. Hit the back piece with two additional lights.

 

To prevent the b/g lights from spilling onto the subject, use v-flaps or some other flag / go between to cut down light that falls back on subject or worse, your lens. It takes a trip or two to the hardware or art store to get what you need but once you have a basic three light setup with flags it can be used for most 'silo' type shots - or product on a white b/g.

 

Trying to use one light to light the subject and b/g is problematic due to exposure issues, proper subject = underlit b/g, properly lit b/g = blown out highlights on subject. More than one light is key to getting the b/g pure white.

 

Also, use the blinking highlight feature when chiimping - this will show you when you've got the b/g nice and blown out and thus white.

I use the AB's as well, both 800 and 400 models and they provide plenty of power. Another approach that I take if I need a little more juice is gaff tape or bungee two SB-800's together for use with an umbrella or softbox. You can get a lot more power if required and/or dial down the power on each strobe - giving you quicker recycle times, e.g. use 1/4 power on each and you get the equivalent of 1/2 on one SB-800.

Hi Ana, yes the camera flip is a Stroboframe model.

 

Check out their website: http://www.tiffen.com/products.html?tablename=stroboframe

 

The CB Jr Lex mentioned is great as well - I use a lot when I'm running around and want something simple and less

fragile. The CB Jr mounts the flash on the side of the camera - so it's optimized for shooting portrait but a

bit quirky for landscape orientation. I find it best for outdoor fill flash but it's a bit harsh and casts

strange shadows in landscape.

 

On the Stroboframe site, look at #2: Your Pro Digital is a flash flipping model - you can see in the diagram

that when you flip to portrait with the camera - the flash get's flipped as well and is now at a 90 angle from

where it was - lying on it's side. While the camera flip leaves the flash and bracket positions unchanged.

 

This way, if you're using a bounce card that's already set up - you don't need to fuss with it. And the bounce

card won't really help if the flash is lying on it's side - like on the Pro Digital. The camera flip just

requires one quick move with the hand to move the camera and the flash stays right in place.

 

As far as bounce card and diffuser, I LOVE Joe Demb's Flip-It and diffuser: http://www.dembflashproducts.com/

I'm currently using a D700 with battery pack and a D2x as a backup now.

 

The D2x was my mainstay for years till just this past July when I got the D700. It's still a robust camera for

certain situations - mainly daytime or great lighting conditions (and I mean a lot of light). I love the feel of

the body, even compared to the bulked up D700. The ergonomics are fabulous IMHO.

 

As great a camera as the D2x was back in it's day - it's severely handicapped in low light situations. I only

use it for daylight or studio use at ISO 400 or lower.

 

I shoot sports with it and it's been a great performer - especially with the crop mode - giving extra reach and

additional FPS. Throw the superb 70-200 on there and you're getting some great action shots. But I only use

this IN GREAT LIGHT conditions. Night - forget about it. And remember you're not getting that much distance on

the SB-800, the light falls of quickly. If you're shooting soccer and the action is not right in front of you -

well you're likely to be disappointed.

 

Finally, now that I have the 700 with MB-D10, I get 8 FPS at full-frame FX; and it makes the D2x near obsolete

for low light sports use. While I miss the additional 'reach' of a DX lens + the add on of the High-Speed Crop;

the ability to shoot at 3200+ with little noise to worry about...well, it's a whole new world out there.

 

In sum - I think you'd be throwing money away if you pick up the D2x for low-light sports; the newer D300/D700/D3

are just light years ahead in terms of high-ISO performance.

 

M

Hi Bob, well the 285 is a bit more powerful than my SB-800's, I think a GN of about 150 vs mine of 125 or so. Again it depends on 'proper' - you can always move the light closer and shoot with a larger aperture to get more bang for the buck from a flash; and of course bump up the ISO a touch.

 

Yes, shooting thru the umbrella or a softbox like I do eats up a stop or so.

 

I found with my softbox about 4' away from my one subject I could shoot at 1/2 power at ISO 250, 1/250 at f4.0 to f6.3. Similar with the umbrella. So for me that's plenty of power.

The key factors IMHO are ease of use, height of flash above camera, and then camera flip vs flash flip. Higher above the camera tends to give more flattering shadows - where the shadow is behind and below the subject.

 

I use two Stroboframe models, the VH 2000 which mounts the flash pretty close to the camera and you move the flash around from portrait to landscape orientation. Small and easy to move around but not a lot of flash height.

 

The other one I use is larger and more cumbersome but adds a lot of height. It's the Camera Flip. For a smaller camera like the D300 without battery pack - it's fast and keeps the flash oriented in the same place above the lens. Intuitive to use and if you have a bounce card on the flash it keeps the orientation.

 

This Camera Flip is a pretty big piece of gear with flash mounted and cumbersome if you're carrying more than one camera.

 

I've played with the Pro Digital Flip and felt it was a bit cumbersome personally.

 

As far as cords - I use an older SC-17 which does not have the focus assist of the SC-29. They're pretty cheap secondhand and do the job just fine.

 

I actually don't use any of the anti-twist plates - the cork board of the Strobos seem to hold my camera and flash just fine - just make sure you tighten things down before you shoot.

Hi Bob, I do a lot of portable studio work with SB-800's - first off, I suggest taking a look at strobist.com -

they are a wealth of info on shooting with speedlights.

 

I like this approach when you want to be able to move around quickly, get decent studio lighting for portraits,

and not have to lug a bunch of monolights and packs around.

 

With the 285 you can use any of these items for standard hot-shoe flashes.

 

The key items I suggest you pick up are:

 

1) light stand. Get one of the smaller Manfrottos, they make a great portable one that goes to 6'. I don't

think you need 10'. An 8' like the 3333 is a good compromise in size and portability.

 

2) Umbrella - get one with that's white where you can remove the black outer and covert it to a shoot through.

36" size is portable and lightweight and fine for single person portrait work.

 

3) Umbrella swivel adapter - allows you to mount a speedlight and use an umbrella. With this you can bounce or

shoot through.

 

http://www.adorama.com/BG2905.html?searchinfo=umbrella%20swivel&item_no=2

 

4) Optional - small softbox and adapter. This adapter from Photoflex allows the use of a hot-shoe flash and a

small softbox - I use a XS Chimera.

 

http://www.photoflex.com/Photoflex_Products/LiteDome_xs_Accessory_Hardware___Adjustable_Shoe_Mount/index.html

 

This kit is very portable - all fits in a small 3-foot stand bag and offers a couple good options for lighting

single portraits.

 

I bring 3 speedlights with a Honl speedlight grid and snoot - both velcro to your flashes and allow you to use

them as a rim or hairlight. It's a nice portable and flexible solution.

 

Hope this helps.

Hi Daniel,

 

I use AB's for a lot of studio work with Chimera softboxes. I've found the 800 has plenty of power for me to shoot single portraits with a softbox. I typically end up using 1/2 power on the 800 which gives me f5.6-f8 depending on how far the strobe is from the subject. Based on my experience, the 1600 would be more power than you need for a single person portrait.

 

A 800 is usually enough power to light the background as well, usually with an umbrella. And finally, I use the 400 for a hair or rim light.

 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the answers everyone. I think Henry's comment is what I was looking for - that the VR will work for a

few frames shot continuously in high FPS. I was just wondering if the fast frame rate prevented the VR from

reacquiring in between shots.

 

Mauricio, sorry, I phrased that a bit poorly. I meant ask two questions; does the VR work quick enough in

between fast FPS shots at slower speeds like 1/60, and 2) does it add much value at 1/500 and faster.

 

The latter question, I assume that if I'm shooting sports at 1/500-1/1000, enough to freeze that

action...conventional wisdom suggests that all other things being equal (good hand holding technique) using the

1/focal length - that the high shutter speed should nullify any instability, thus rendering VR less of an issue.

So if you're shooting at 1/500+, do you need VR?

 

I guess the bottom line is to go out and see for myself - but just wanted others' input.

 

Thanks again.

Hi,

 

I can't find an answer in the OM or on this forum.

 

Shooting with a 70-200 VR, using a D2x or a D700 (w MB-D10) at a high-frame rate, say 8 frames per second.

 

How effective is VR? Does it have time to stabilize the image with such a fast frame rate. Let's assume I'm in

lighting conditions that require 1/60 or lower in shutter speed. If I'm shooting 1/500 or faster, I usually turn

the VR off since I feel the shutter speed will nullify the need for VR. If you have comments on that theory, I'd

be interested as well.

 

I guess I worry about 'wearing out' some of those moving parts if I leave VR on all the time, especially when it

is not required. Plus I don't have to worry about turning the camera off with the VR still on.

 

So say under 1/60 with 8 FPS - is VR effective? And does it add any value if you're shooting at a fast shutter

speed (1/500+)?

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

Jean-Marc, I shoot a lot of events and use three brackets, two Stroboframes and the Custom Bracket Jr. I always

bounce indoors and generally use Honl's reflector; I find it better than anything out there.

 

As far as placement, I like centered over the lens, though the CB Jr is off to the side on landscapes and over

the lens for portrait work. I prefer a bit higher off the camera and centered to reduce shadows if there's a

wall behind the person. The problem with high off the lens is the cumbersome nature of your gear - it's big and

clumsy - try hanging a large SLR with a Stroboframe off you neck while grappling for your second camera and

you'll know what I mean.

 

As well, I prefer rotating, which is why I use the Strobos - one is the Camera Rotating version which I like

since the flash stays in a consistent place and you don't have to fiddle with readjusting the bounce.

 

The CB is close to the lens - which I mainly use for outdoor fill. Indoors I use the Honl bounce card if there's

no ceiling to bounce off of.

 

Bottom line is it's a matter of personal pref. Good luck.

Thanks for all your help everyone. Sounds like using Nikon's MC-30 or 36 is not necessary.

 

Carl,

 

I like your thinking...saving $74. To clarify is that STEREO mini jack or a MONO mini jack. I thought the PW+2's were a mono-mini plug?

 

Sounds like from the soldering instructions there are three connections - so the MONO is two connections, the STEREO is three?

Hi, I want to set up a remote camera to shoot a speaker at the podium while I roam the audience snapping candids.

 

Couldn't find the exact answer to two questions:

 

Q1: Is there an inexpensive way to remote fire a D700 or D2x using a Pocket Wizard II (not the Multi-max).

 

My understanding is this: I use the PW with a PW pre-trigger cable - the N90M3-P (Nikon Pre-Trigger) which goes

from the mono-mini to Nikon Ten-Pin (this should be compatible with both cameras). Then you just set the PW II

to camera/flash and can fire by pressing the Test button on the other PW. This seems like the easiest most

robust solution.

 

But is there another cable solution I can engineer that saves me the $90 for the PW N90M3-P?

 

Q2: If I own an MC-36 Multi-Function Remote - is there a way to link that to the PW? Does the MC-36 have a

mono-mini plug?

 

And if anyone knows a better way to trigger a remote Nikon from across the room (other than have my asst stand

next to it) I'll all ears.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael