blackriverimages

<p>Another vote for MPIX with an unbeatable combination of choice, speed, and cost.</p>

I'm a Canon shooter and have had myYongnuos for over a year and they have been rock solid. Great combo of

price,features, and build.

When you order from eBay buy from one of the dealers in HK and also tell them which type of cable triggering options

you want and they will include them from the get go.

 

usually they ship for free and takes less than two weeks....I advise against deal extreme due to slow shipping.......

BTW I used a mod for my old 580 EX from flash zebra that let me add a mini plug synch option to this old flash when

using my Yongnuos.

 

 

Remember these triggers are manual only so each time you change power you will need to mess with the flash....BTW

they can also function as camera triggers and at the same time you can remotely fire camera and flash.

<p>Thanks everyone for all the help with this issue. I think I will go with regular checked baggage and cross my fingers.</p>

<p>I am planning a big trip to Oregon in April. I am concerned that I might make it to my destination but some of my gear might not. Specifically my tripod. I am pretty sure I will not be able to carry it on with me and putting in my bag leaves me risking arriving at my destination without the most important piece of my equipment except my bodies.<br>

Any experiences along this line out there or ideas? I had thought of shipping to the guide I will be using but am willing to explore other options.</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt</p>

 

<p>I would second the Strobist site as a good place to start. IF funding is any kind of issue with your new set-up I would urge you to consider the Yongnuo Rf-602 radio trigger/rec/shutter releases.</p>

<p>These are the latest from Hong Kong and have a range of about 100 yards(which is all you really need) radio-controlled so no need to worry about line of sight, and most importantly you spend about $50 and get one transmitter and two receivers, so for less than $100 you could have an entire back up system.</p>

<p>They use batteries that are not proprietary. I think AAA and one of the CR2 lithium that is a bit pricey at about 7-10 dollars. These provide trigger only and you can not adjust output of the flash-but neither does the Pocket Wizard.</p>

<p>If you are a Canon shooter you might check into the flashzebra site- they have a hot-shoe replacement for Canon flashes for about 50 bucks that is any easy switch out that gives you a standard plug at the base of the flash for connectivity.</p>

<p>Shipping from Hong Kong takes about 2-3 weeks. At the very least this would be a much more affordable way to try this out and if you do not like it you can sell those things easy on ebay and you will not have a great deal of money invested. Do a search on ebay for Yongnuo RF-602 and you will get lots of options. Most of us buy from the seller that has Youngnuo in their name. DealExtreme also sells but seems to take longer to ship. BTW shipping is FREE!</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt</p>

<p>Per the strobist site I suggest the Lumapro flash from Midwest Photo Exchange if you want a new flash for a good price. Somewhere around 130 dollars with a lot of power and easily adjustable manual mode. If you want used I would sugget any of the older Nikon flashes or Canon flashes. If you are in a large city you could also visit the pawn shops and perhaps get a deal there. With the advent of Strobist the older flashes are selling for higher prices these days as the demand is up. For wireless triggers I suggest the Yongnuo 602 for Canon or Nikon. About 30 dollars gets you a transmitter and receiver with a good build quality and high reliability.</p>

<p>As an aside I would suggest that ANYONE who wants to be a paid photographer read this thread and the recent thread by MissyKay expounding on the inherent problems dealing with the business side of things.<br>

I want to be paid well for my work in the future when I feel I have the appropriate skillset and plan. These threads show that even when you have it all together, things that you have little if any control over find a way of just making you crazy.<br>

I certainly will approach the business side of things with very concrete terms for each client so they and I know EXACTLY what will and will not occur. Perhaps there are those out there who have developed a good way of identifying the troublemakers during the intial interview and have figured out how NOT to work with those folks?</p>

<p>Amanda,<br>

You should go to the strobist site and check out the discussion threads. The Chinese Youngnuo RF-602 is a radio transmitter/receiver group that is getting rave reviews for reliability, build, and price. I have a set coming for less than $70 American that includes 1 transmitter and 2 receivers. These are sold on ebay by two different sellers who also get great reviews for their communication and service.<br>

Their next generation is coming which will allow thru the lens adjustment of flash power of your flashes from the unit of the camera(I think). These are more expensive but still nowhere near PW price.</p>

<p>I have zero experiece with this kind of thing but if you are a wedding pro that does quite a bit of album design I would suggest you give Fotofusion by Lumapix a try<br>

<a href="http://www.lumapix.com/index.shtml">http://www.lumapix.com/index.shtml</a></p>

<p>I was at David Zisers's Digital Wake Up Tour last night and got to see a demo of what this could do and it LOOKS like it makes that part of the process a piece of cake. You can literally design an album in minutes.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I will check these out and will soon be in synch heaven!</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt</p>

<p>I am using Win XP SP3 and I have a C: drive ,an E:drive that I use for backup storeage, and a USB drive for backup storage also. I would like to know how I can synch the folders on all these drives so that when I use an image on C it will back up the changes to that same folder I have on E: and on the USB drive. All folders have the same name and the same images as of present. Is there a better way I should organize these images to allow this synch to take place easier?<br>

Thanks in advance,<br>

Bob Wyatt</p>

<p>After you've got your best deal at the local stores check out B&H and see how it compares. I understand the need for local service too so whatever you need. In addition:<br>

you will REQUIRE a tripod-consider Carbon fiber with the legs extended without the center column extended-look at your height with the camera and plate on the tripod to have comfortable shooting height but hopefully without the center column extended very much if at all<br>

some type of L-plate to allow the camera bodies to be mounted vertical or horizontally quickly<br>

you will need the 24-70 if you have any landscape interests at all--if people only then consider the 85/1.8 for grat IQ/DOF/low light performance and quite affordable<br>

25K to spend..I am so JEALOUS!</p>

<p>This is Tom the Katt. He arrived at our door one very cold and stormy December about 6 years ago looking very close to death, skinny, but eager to enter our home. He went right to the litter box that was there for our cat and used it. He then curled up in front of our fire and slept for 10 hurs without moving. From that day he has made our family his own. We spent several weeks advertising and checking with local vets but no one claimed him. He is a great hunter and goes out most nights and returns in the AM for a snack in his bowl, a head rub, and a long nap. This is a shot of him in his hunting mode in our landscaping. He is eyeing out the squirrel action across the street.<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9755732-lg.jpg" border="0" alt="Silent Watch" width="544" height="700" /></p>

<p>This is Tom the Katt. He arrived at our door one very cold and stormy December about 6 years ago looking very close to death, skinny, but eager to enter our home. He went right to the litter box that was there for our cat and used it. He then curled up in front of our fire and slept for 10 hurs without moving. From that day he has made our family his own. We spent several weeks advertising and checking with local vets but no one claimed him. He is a great hunter and goes out most nights and returns in the AM for a snack in his bowl, a head rub, and a long nap. This is a shot of him in his hunting mode in our landscaping. He is eyeing out the squirrel action across the street.</p>

<p>You could set one strobe to act as a slave and the other as the master. Then get an off-camera flash cord and do a mod on it so you can use CAT5 cable to connect the two ends. Then you can have both strobes on stands with one strobe wired to the camera and one wireless slave to the wired strobe. This would let you cover more of the car by putting the strobes camera left and right just out of the shot. Search for this mod on the flickr strobist list. I did it for mine and I can now seperate my camera and first strobe up to fifty fett(longest length of CAT5 I have-you could go longer if needed).<br>

High speed sync would also be helpful if you are not already doing that. Lets you get the background via ambient and the object you want to include with the strobe(I am guessing you are already doing that?).<br>

I have little experiece with this but I would also think that a couple of assistants holding large reflectors and bouncing light onto the car would help.<br>

Be careful with the polarizer. Great for cutting reflection but you will lose 1-2 stops of light<br>

Shoot RAW so you can recover all the information possible in post.</p>

<p>You could set one strobe to act as a slave and the other as the master. Then get an off-camera flash cord and do a mod on it so you can use CAT5 cable to connect the two ends. Then you can have both strobes on stands with one strobe wired to the camera and one wireless slave to the wired strobe. This would let you cover more of the car by putting the strobes camera left and right just out of the shot. Search for this mod on the flickr strobist list. I did it for mine and I can now seperate my camera and first strobe up to fifty fett(longest length of CAT5 I have-you could go longer if needed).<br>

High speed sync would also be helpful if you are not already doing that. Lets you get the background via ambient and the object you want to include with the strobe(I am guessing you are already doing that?).<br>

I have little experiece with this but I would also think that a couple of assistants holding large reflectors and bouncing light onto the car would help.<br>

Be careful with the polarizer. Great for cutting reflection but you will lose 1-2 stops of light<br>

Shoot RAW so you can recover all the information possible in post.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help everyone...I have another issue also I have a question about. When I switch focusing modes to AI Servo it seems I do not get any AF action...no AF point lighting up and no changing of the focus. this with both a 100/F2 and an 85/1.8. Manual mode.</p>

<p>Ideas?</p>

<p>I am just a bit thick at the moment. I can not figure out what option in the Custom Function menu area allows me to use a backpanel button for focusing and the shuttler button for just tripping the shutter. To me the options are not explained well in the manual or on screen. I am sure it is because I am just too thick-headed to get it but hoping for help here......</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt</p>

<p>My wife has decided that it is time for me to shoot my sons' senior portrait. Equipment-wise I am good with a minimal Strobist one light setup for outdoor shooting along with my Canon 40D, 70-200 2.8 and an 85 1.8. BUT...I do not have a good way of providing some nice software frames for the pictures. I am looking for something that is not too hard to learn and not too expensive. I have CS4 and can do basic RAW and image adjustments. I also have Portrait Pro Studio 9. Any suggestions appreciated.</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt</p>

<p>I'm headed to the Salida/Ouray area in a couple of weeks. I am looking for advice as to who to take a jeep tour with and to rent a jeep from in both locations. The same for a 1-2 day whitewater trip in the Salida area on the Arkansas.<br>

As far a photos I will try and hit Yankee Boy Basin and any other areas someone might reccomend. I have no real $WD experience so I do not want anything remotely considered technical. I am looking promarily for wildflower foregrounds with mountain backgrounds. I will also be looking for waterfalls and streams. I wold like to keep my hikes to three miles one way or less.<br>

Suggestions and advice appreciated!</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt/Jonesboro, AR.</p>

<p>I'll share my experiences with the EOS Rebel XT and the 40D. I got the grip for both. I do not have large hands. I like the counterbalnce effect that the grip has and the ability to use the camera in portrait orientation and have a command dial and shutter button in the correct place is WONDERFUL. Could I do what I want without the grip-yes. Would if be a much bigger pain-YES!</p>

<p>I have no experience with this myself but I BELIEVE that when you take a shot and like that and enable the low noise option in the custom functions it takes the camera exactly the length of the exposure to go thru its' "dark slide extraction" . so I think if you had waited about 6 more minutes you would have had your shot<br>

Try this with some shorter shots so you can see if I am right on this.</p>

<p>Along with reflectors I suggest having the ability to have an off-camera flash also. For an inexpensive solution try and get an off-shoe cord that will go from the "shoe" to your flash. Then try and dial in the flash exposure compensation to -1 2/3(minus one and two-thirds). Take some test shots and check your LCD/histo. You are trying to get the flask to match ambient and not get the harsh look of flash. You can adjust the flash exp compensation up or down to try and get the look you are going for.<br>

Good luck and get back to us on how everything went. I am always learning and want to know ho wothers get on with things.</p>

<p>Along with reflectors I suggest having the ability to have an off-camera flash also. For an inexpensive solution try and get an off-shoe cord that will go from the "shoe" to your flash. Then try and dial in the flash exposure compensation to -1 2/3(minus one and two-thirds). Take some test shots and check your LCD/histo. You are trying to get the flask to match ambient and not get the harsh look of flash. You can adjust the flash exp compensation up or down to try and get the look you are going for.<br>

Good luck and get back to us on how everything went. I am always learning and want to know ho wothers get on with things.</p>

<p>Patrick,<br>

For those of us (me anyway!) who are not aware of how to use the Smart Sharpen technique that you talk about please post it here.</p>

<p>Bob Wyatt</p>