michael_madio

The Vivitar 285 is a good cheap and powerful flash. You would have to bump up the ISO and use a fast lens to get good exposure. For something a bit bigger, you can get a Metz 60 CT-1 on eBay for pretty cheap. It's about about 1.5 stops more powerful than the Vivitar. If you have access to AC power, you can get a monolight.

If you want something inexpensive, reliable, and powerful, get a used shoe-mount auto flash like the Vivitar 283/285 or the Sunpak 383. If you want something more powerful, get a used Metz 45 CL-1 or 60 CT-1.

 

Even though these are non-TTL auto flashes, they will yield consistent results and external power packs are available for all of them.

I disagree with Mike's statement of "do not, under any circumstances, use your flash mounted on your camera unless you want really bad pictures" in this scenario. While this does generally hold true if using the flash as your key light, on camera is probably the best position for a fill light in this situation.

Provided you are not shooting in the dark, use high ISO, large aperture, a reflector, flash for fill, and use a tripod.

Your best bet is to go to a photo store and get photo floods. They are blue and corrected for daylight. Another option is gels to do the same thing. If you are limited to your local hardware store, try some of the daylight bulbs - the compact fluorescent daylights seem pretty blue and might work. You can also use a flash if you have one available.

Yes, the capacitors charging is that sound that comes from the flash that increases in frequency as you wait for the ready light. That means that there is a problem before the capacitors. As others have suggested, try cleaning the contacts, and do as much inspection as you dare, but be careful as capacitors can hold a lethal charge for a long time.

Bill,

 

One more thing, you may want a modelling light so you can see what the final lighting pattern will look like. Just get a simple spring-clamp light socket and 100W light bulb from the hardware store and clamp it beside your flash. It's definitely not high-tech, but it works!

Bill,

 

To get your flash on an umbrella, you need the following:

 

- Umbrella

 

- Umbrella Clamp

 

- Light Stand

 

- PC to Hot Shoe Adapter - http://www.adorama.com/FAPCHSA.html?searchinfo=hot%20shoe%20pc&item_no=3

 

- PC Sync Cord Extension (male on one end, female on the other)

 

- Hot Shoe to PC adapter if your camera doesn't have a PC sync connection - http://www.adorama.com/FAHSPCA.html?searchinfo=hot%20shoe%20pc&item_no=4

 

To save time, you can get a kit with umbrella, light stand, and clamp like the following: http://www.adorama.com/PFUK45R.html?searchinfo=umbrella%20kit&item_no=8

 

Regarding umbrellas, you have 3 main varieties - shoot-through, white reflector, and silver reflector. Frankly, they will all work. Which one you use is a matter of personal preference. I find that shoot-through umbrellas reflect as much light as they pass which makes it difficult to control. Reflected umbrellas act much like a typical parabolic reflector, with white having more diffuse light than silver. Regarding size, anything from 32" to 45" will work well.

 

I hope this helps.

Can you hear the capacitors charging? If not and you are so inclined, open the flash and check the electrical connections. I had an issue with an older 285 where I had to re-form the capacitor ... set the flash to manual and fire off 20 flashes. If you can't get it going, it's probably not worth the repair bill so just find another on eBay.

I recently acquired a Wein Safe-Sync HSHSB to connect the hot-shoe of

a Digital Rebel to a high sync voltage flash. I have used other Wein

Safe-Sync products in the past without problems. What perplexes me

here is that when I place the safe-sync on the hot-shoe then release

the shutter, I get an "Err 99". I read about this and it seems that

this is common if the flash sync polarity is incorrect (Canon expects

+ at the centre terminal). I checked the safe-sync with a volt-meter

and sure enough, the centre contact shows -3V. Are there differences

in the Wein Safe-Sync products that reverse the polarity like this?

Since you are just starting out, I suggest you keep it simple. Use a single flash reflected into an umbrella and a reflector. You will be surprised at the results you can get with such a modest setup.

Use an external flash (inexpensive Vivitar 283/285 or Sunpak 383 Auto works well), ISO setting of at least 400, manual mode with a shutter speed of 1/200 and the largest aperture available for your lens.

You have the basis for a surprisingly effective portable studio.

 

Use good ISO 400 film, a 36" reflector umbrella at approximately 45 degrees off camera, a reflector opposite the umbrella, and either a TTL extension cord (probably expensive) or a normal sync cord, manual flash control, and a basic flash meter (used Wein 500 will work - available on eBay for cheap) to determine correct exposure. My personal preference is to use manual flash control and the light meter as you will generally get more consistent results.

As others have mentioned, it looks like you have an exposure issue.

 

Regarding shutter speed, studio-type shots are typically best at the camera sync speed as this will minimize the impact of ambient light.

 

Regarding ISO, always use the lowest available as this will generally have less noise.

 

Regarding aperture, an extremely simple and effective way of determining correct exposure is to use a grey card with the camera's histogram. Simply take a frame-filling shot of the grey card in your desired lighting configuration. A correct exposure will yield a sharp spike in the middle of the histogram. If the spike is to the right (over-exposed), you can reduce the lens aperture, reduce the power of the flash, or move the flash further from the subject. If the spike is to the left (under-exposed), you can increase the lens aperture, move the flash closer to the subject, or increase the ISO setting.