what kind of stand holds a strobe near the ground

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

10/26/2011 03:58:40 AM · #1

There have been a couple of shoots where I wanted to have the light as close to the ground as possible, but had nothing to mount it on. I just lay it on a pillow or propped it up on something. Anything actually made for that?

aliqui

Nikon D300s

10/26/2011 04:43:09 AM · #2

Assuming you're not wanting to mount an umbrella on the stand, I'd say a Gorilla or Joby pod would get you about as low as you can go.

amsterdamman

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

10/26/2011 05:00:27 AM · #3

Canon flash units have a stand base that fits the hot shoe in the case. I do not know Nikon, but are you sure your flash does not have a hot shoe base?
You can see it on the Canon at "more images" and "left side view" here: //www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/486706-USA/Canon_1946B002_Speedlite_580EX_II.html

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

10/26/2011 06:34:16 AM · #4

Originally posted by aliqui:

Assuming you're not wanting to mount an umbrella on the stand, I'd say a Gorilla or Joby pod would get you about as low as you can go.

Yup. These are wonderful for this application. The stock stands that come are pretty horrible if you aren't dealing with perfectly flat ground. There are some other pocket tripod type things that work well other than the gorillapod, but the idea is the same. Depending upon the flash you're using, you'll need a heavier duty gorillapod, so they aren't cheap. Also, these from Manfrotto would work well for the same thing.

gyaban

Canon EOS-1D X

10/26/2011 06:57:51 AM · #5

I'm using a Manfrotto Backlite for that usage.

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

10/26/2011 08:03:17 AM · #6

Originally posted by amsterdamman:

Nikon flashes also come with the hot shoe base...

If your looking for more of these you can get them pretty cheap on ebay...

chromeydome

Nikon D7000

10/26/2011 01:55:23 PM · #7

second the joby style puppy! They not only let you get the light low, and adapt if the terrain is not level, but they can be manipulated to give you more light-aiming control, too. And you can use them to wrap around a tree or branch, or light pole, or stair rail, etc. and put your light in locations that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

10/27/2011 02:35:17 AM · #8

This would be for strobes, not flashes. I have a Gorilla pod but have not tried it yet. Don't think it would hold the head (profoto D1). Yup, those manfrottos look like what I need.

Message edited by author 2011-10-27 02:35:57.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

10/27/2011 02:38:46 AM · #9

Originally posted by tanguera:

This would be for strobes, not flashes ...

I wasn't aware that (these days) there was a difference.

10/27/2011 03:48:20 AM · #10

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by tanguera:
This would be for strobes, not flashes ...

I wasn't aware that (these days) there was a difference.

Strobe and flash are both handed around to mean speedlight/speedlite, ALA Strobist who gained notoriety through the usage of "small lights" IE Vivitar 285. Confusingly, strobe is also often used to refer to studio lighting, along with the terms monoblocks and heads, which are separate types of studio lights. It's all a lot of convoluted semantics.
Beyond that, which D1 you using? 500 or 1,000? The weight varies between them, though both are technically within the range of support of the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom. Having used heavier setups with that, I can say that their rating is... generous. The 500 is lighter and will work better with this setup, but I'd still only really expect moderate angling to be supported, and you may have to sorta ball up the front leg to angle the light.
You could also just put a QR plate on it and drop your tripod down low, depending upon how low your tripod goes. Mine goes down low enough to rest the Profoto on the ground or any amount higher than that. See if your tripod has a reversing column. If you go with the Backlite, be aware that you are working at the maximum rated weight if you use a 1,000w D1.

Message edited by author 2011-10-27 03:48:41.

10/27/2011 12:35:08 PM · #11

Thanks, Derek. I've been relying on pillows and other soft stuff to prop them up, but clearly that's temporary. I have 500w D1s.

I'll have to check what a QR plate is, but none of my stands goes lower than about 2.5 feet, and as far as I can tell, no reversing columns. The Manfrotto stand you posted is exactly what I'm looking for, but it's rated to only 4.4 lbs, and may not be sturdy enough. I also found this, which looks silly and is a bit pricey, but I'm going to check it out today.

10/27/2011 09:18:16 PM · #12

Originally posted by tanguera:

QR= quick release plate. I'm assuming the mount on the bottom of the Profoto is compliant with mounting one, though I'm not sure, since I couldn't find it listed on the specs. What I mean about the reversed column is on your tripod- many tripods can go relatively low just by splaying the legs, but to get REALLY low you reverse the column and mount your head upside down... like, it goes through the center of the tripod from below. Like this (not mine)

That novoflex is cool! Bit pricey like you said, but I'm out of ideas for supporting that much weight that low- never really been an issue for me for lights, since I use speedlights.

Message edited by author 2011-10-27 21:19:10.

10/28/2011 02:27:32 AM · #13

That's very cool! But again, that's for the camera. I actually did end up buying the backlight stand and it's perfect. Even used my beauty dish on it. New set up used for the symmetry entry :-)

Speaking of speedlights, do you use a radio trigger or set them up as master/slave?

10/28/2011 02:36:47 AM · #14

Originally posted by tanguera:

Yeah, but if you can mount a QR plate to your light... you can put it on your tripod... I've used my tripod as a lightstand in a pinch when the ground was unstable and I didn't trust my lightstand in the wind.
As for triggers- for my usage, the Nikon CLS system mostly works. When it doesn't, I can put my SB900's into SU4 dumb slave mode and they're very sensitive. I've considered getting a set of cybersyncs though, and somewhat considered getting some radiopoppers so I could retain ittl/high speed sync off camera. There have been a few times that I had issues with lights not going off using the SU4 mode but usually all it took was rotating the base a tiny bit or changing my setup a bit. But, those couple times it hasn't have nearly been enough for me to jump into purchasing at least a couple triggers.

chromeydome

Nikon D7000

10/28/2011 02:59:37 AM · #15

Originally posted by tanguera:

This would be for strobes, not flashes. I have a Gorilla pod but have not tried it yet. Don't think it would hold the head (profoto D1). Yup, those manfrottos look like what I need.

Ah, misunderstood. They make super short risers for the c-stand bases--so you could mount a strobe very securely, with a softbox, etc. pretty low. I think you'd end up about 12-16 inches off the ground. You could also rig a super clamp to a tripod leg or some other structure that would get you lower. Apologies if these were already mentioned--it's late, and no time to read the thread.