aucoins

<p>Flashpoints are great ,I have two. But if you are looking for something with more modifiers available<br>

take a look at the mettle brand monolights they are identical to flashpoints but have a bowens mount I have<br>

four of those and two are AC/DC and like them.</p>

<p>I have two that I use for hair lights for a few years now with no problem.<br>

I also use a few mettle brand lights that are the same except they have a Bowen's mount and have a better<br>

choice of modifiers. If you want sample pictures you can check my fb page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=629650175">https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=629650175</a> . The light temperature will depend on the modifier you use .</p>

<p> Maurice</p>

<p>Two years ago I was in the same situation.I went with the el-cheapo mettle brand from<br>

OEC Camera Accessories thinking I would upgrade to Bowens later since they have the same mount.<br>

Instead I was pleasantly surprised with the good build , adjust ability and constant<br>

color temp.So after 2 years of moderate use I still have no need to upgrade and I bought<br>

an extra unit as a spare just in case .</p>

<p>This new sigma looked good enough for me to order one.The MTF charts compare well or better to<br>

the original canon and$1000.00 cheaper.... Waiting for the purolator truck,fingers crossed.</p>

<p>Make sure the chanel on the transmitter and receiver are the same .<br>

I have been using mine with canon and metz flashs for 2 years.</p>

<p>Benjamin for that price range you may want to check out OEC CAMERA on EBAY.<br>

They have mettle brand monolights which are the same as the adorama flashpoints except with a bowens mount.I have had mine for a few years now and like them very much.</p>

<p>Hannah I would suggest buying maybe a 150ws monolight ,stand and an umbrella kit. Learn to use the one light and you can add to that later .The Burgundy walls will most likely cause a color cast on your photos . Maybe a gallon of paint could fix that problem.I hope this helps and enjoy learning to work with light. </p>

<p>Sal for the size of room you have you are probably looking at head and shoulder shots if you want to have background separation. I use 150ws strobes for a room a little bigger and find them to have sufficient power. For bigger rooms and full length portraits I would recommend more power.I also suggest that you look for something with a short recycle time.If you are just starting out maybe one strobe with a white reflective umbrella ,maybe something like alien bees or flash points 320s and add to that as you learn.latter if you decide to go all out you can use them as background and hair lights.</p>

 

<p>Greg A. For a home studio doing individual or small groups ,I have been using 150ws<br />flashpoints and find the power just right .For larger groups or use of very big modifiers<br />you will need more power.</p>

<p>Steve you can set up your flashes off camera inexpensively via fleebay and get good results.<br>

You could also get a few Adorama flashpoint 11 like I did 150ws under $100 each.<br>

Having modeling lights to see where the shadows fall makes it much easier. </p>

 

<p>Bryan you can also check out the flash point 150ws from Adorama at under a hundred<br>

dollars . I have had one for a month now and ordered another one yesterday.<br>

Check out the revues on their site for the unit, so far i have to agree with them.</p>

<p>You may also want to check out the new metz 48 af 1</p>

<p>I have a metz 48 af-1 and so far am very pleased with it.Good features and<br>

great exposures</p>

<p>I have a metz 48 af-1 and so far am very pleased with it.Good features and<br>

great exposures</p>

The Tamron 17-50/2.8 is also a great lens for most indoor situations

mine has a faster and more accurate af than my 50/1.8 . I still use

the 50/1.8 for low light school concerts ,for most everything else i

prefer the Tamron .

Thanks Gord but this shoot is for free and after buying the xti, and a few lenses my budget is blown for at least a few months lol .I live in a small town and dont know of any rental place near me ,so i guess i'm stuck using what i have.Just hope i don't disappoint the kids and parents.

Thank you very much for the info and a special thanks to Dan for the sample pics .So what i understand for the group shot is i should set to manual ;set at f5.6 min and dial shutter and iso the get a good exposure

and use the on board flash ? Should i over expose a bit because of the

white ice ?

I have been asked to take a team picture and individual shots

of 5 to 7 year old hockey players . I will be using a canon xti

with a tamron 17 50 f2.8 .I do not have an external flash.

All shot will be on the ice.These are not moving subjects.

I tried a few shot there and i got a shutter speed of +-150

at f3.5 iso 1600. Any advice on settings and how to position

them would be very appreciated . This forum with it's wealth

of knowledgeable photographers has been a god send for a beginer

like me. Thank you all.