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10/05/2005 04:27:21 AM · #1 |
I am considering purchasing some strobes. Perhaps alien bees, or white lightning (except it seems the white lightning only comes in a 120V version, where I need a 220V version.. so perhaps I will have to choose alien bees)
When using the strobes, for example in a church service, I need to get them to fire somehow.
A sinc cord seems impraticle as I would be moving around, and there would be too many cords to trip over.
(light) slave tripper which is built in, would go off every time anyone else used THEIR flash....
so the only option seems to be a .. does this sound correct, or are there other options I am forgetting
wireless remote. Expensive for only 1 remote, but the 4 remote deal doesn't look too bad.
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10/05/2005 04:39:00 AM · #2 |
| Yep, alien bees is an excellent choice, especially if you're shooting w/ your 10D. I shooting weddings with my 2 B800's and 550EX. I have been very tempted to go with that exact wireless set but can't quite fork over the cash just yet. The slave trip isn't such a bad thing, I mean the recycle time is only like a second anyway. |
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10/05/2005 09:35:48 AM · #3 |
I know this thread is specifically about remote controls, not what brand of strobes to buy. But since you seem to be leaning towards AB's (or WL's) you have the option of using their RadioRemote stuff (which works with both systems)...
I've previously owned the RadioRemote package (the transmitter and four receivers). It was cool being able to control the power of each light remotely, to turn each strobe on/off individually so you could meter each one separately, etc. But the big inconvenience for me was the darn transmitter. I even bought a custom coiled cord from pccords.com to attach the transmitter to the PC (sync) port on the camera, but it was still cumbersome. On a tripod it wasn't bad, I just velcro'd the transmitter to one of the legs. But as soon as I went hand-held, I had to put the (fairly good sized) transmitter in my pocket. Then whenever I set the camera down, I had to take the transmitter out of my pocket. Or I had to disconnect the sync cord and then re-attach it when I picked up the camera again. I also had problems with misfires (where not all the strobes would trigger)... more than I thought was acceptable. I contacted Paul C Buff about it and they said it could be due to my environment/location, but I'm not in proximity to any big transmitters that I know of.
Anyway... once I got more familiar with studio lighting, I found myself not adjusting light output power much. I'd set them with my flash meter and then only tweak them a couple times a session. So after some research, I decided to sell the RadioRemote package and bought some PocketWizard MultiMax's.
I've been extremely pleased with the MultiMax's and have not regretted switching at all. On the contrary, I'm much happier. The MultiMax mounts on my camera's hot shoe, so no more cords / transmitter-in-the-pocket to deal with. And since each MultiMax is both a transmitter and a receiver, you get positive confirmation from each receiver that it got the signal to fire the strobe... and if the MultiMax on the camera doesn't get the "ack" from the MultiMax's on the strobes, it sounds an error beep so you know that the last shot probably wasn't exposed correctly. But I rarely get misfires now; the MM's are much more reliable in that regard than the RR system was. The MultiMax has 4 channels that can be individually controlled. So by simply pressing the "A", "B", "C", and "D" buttons on the transmitter, you can control which strobes are enabled. This makes it easy to turn off the background / fill / hairlight for a specific shot, or to meter individual strobes. (This of course requires a dedicated MultiMax for each light).
The MicroSync Digital system looks really sexy, but doesn't have all the cool features of the MultiMax...
Hope that helps...
Message edited by author 2005-10-05 10:47:14. |
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10/05/2005 10:35:15 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by EddyG:
RadioRemote package
Once I got more familiar with studio lighting, I found myself not adjusting light output power much. I'd set them with my flash meter and then only tweak them a couple times a session. |
You sold your RadioRemote package!? I would ask how much you got for it, but I don't think I want to know. :(
The MultiMax system looks very nice, but I wouldn't want to give up the ability to adjust the lights remotely. To me, that's the best feature of my wired remote system. I don't have a light meter yet (or know how to use one), so I spend a lot of time adjusting the lights. And, that's a real PITA, especially when they're up in the air on a boom. Obviously, the answer is to get a light meter and learn how to use it, right? :) I plan to do that, but I still think I would be adjusting the lights too often to want to give up the remote control.
Sub Total $0.02
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