|
| Author | Thread |
|
|
10/31/2005 05:55:38 PM · #1 |
Who has some experience with these? Are they a must at weddings, outdoor portraits? Which do you use? And, do you find them to be cumbersome?
Thanks so much,
Eric |
|
|
|
10/31/2005 06:21:17 PM · #2 |
If you have a good diffuser, like a lightsphere, they are not needed. Otherwise, I'd say they are pretty essential for weddings etc.
I have a Stroboframe QuikFlip 35 which is adequate. |
|
|
|
10/31/2005 08:26:27 PM · #3 |
Depends on your standards. Low standards will accept a photo taken without a flash bracket.
In normal landscape orientation there is no problem. When you turn the camera to portrait you have a problem - the flash is now beside the lens, and that will cast nasty side shadows. With the flash and camera inteh conventional orientation, the shadows fall directly behind the subject and are not seen.
There are 2 main styles of brackets - a fliip flash style, where the flash is moved, and a camera flip type where the camera itself is rotated on linkage. With either you need canon's $60 cord to connect eh camera to the hot shoe flash.
Brackets come in all price ranges and stroboframe makes either for about $50. You can spend $300 too.
Which is best? Depends on you, your style and equipment. If you use a battery grip that will affect your choice. I will be getting a camera flip. The big downer to this is ifyou use it on a tripod the camera is not as solidly mounted as the otehr style due to all the motion linkage.
A Light sphere 2 is an excellent compromise, and when you rotate the camera you have to bend and rotate your flash head. A PITA if you ask me, so yes it works about 90-95% as well, but you can tell the difference.
YOu get used to either. The bracket is heavy, so for an 8 hour wedding you get tired. the LS2 is light, but huge and you will get comments and questions about it. The bracket looks more professional, but then you may very well use both. |
|
|
|
11/01/2005 12:55:46 AM · #4 |
I'll go along with the others in terms of "it depends on what you're doing and how you do it." For me, we shoot weddings with flash brackets & LightSphere II's or PJ's everytime. It's just easier for us to have them and not need them than to wish we had them. I've both the Newton Di400CR (approximately $210) and the Stroboframe Pro-T (something like $90). I will not purchase another Pro-T but that's probably just me. I didn't have it in the studio just now but I did take a few quick shots of the Newton. There is a fundamental difference in how each approaches the problem of keeping the flash over the lens and creating separation between the lens & flash. When you use some mechanism to create that separation you benefit from less tendency for red eye and better shadows/light control. If your light source does throw a shadow at least it should be lower behind the subject than your lens will pickup. Using just a flash modifier and turning the camera in portrait mode (which is even how Gary Fong's website appears to demonstrate with the LS II/PJ) will tend to cast shadows to the opposite side of the subject and your lens can see and capture those shadows so we always work to get our light source noticeably higher than the lens instead of just off to the side.
With the Stroboframe Pro-T you have the separator mounted to the camera body so that to move the camera for a portait photo you must (from necessity) move the separator. This might leave you to wonder what benefit you're getting. Ahh, Stroboframe's Pro-T solution utilizes two separator pieces. The first is attached to the camera so it does have to move with the camera body but the flash is attached to a second separator arm that is only attached to the camera body via a hinge. This means that you tilt the camera body into portrait mode and then you have to swing the flash head back in the opposite direction. Moving from portrait to landscape requires a reversing of this so that you in essence are scissoring together two pieces of lightweight metal. Its not like they will cut anything but it also appears to be an oversight to me that there is no mechanism to hold the darn arms in the selected position. That means that if you have your camera body flipped and the flash arm flipped so that the flash is supposed to again be over the lens and for any reason you tilt the body back, the arm with the flash on it will simply flip closed on you. Its not like it hurts anything (at least no so far for me) but its annoying as all crap during a wedding; it seems to happen most often when you're moving from one area to another to quickly setup and shoot something and the flash bracket is just flopping open and closed as though it has a mind of its own.
To contrast that, the Newton takes a more elaborate approach to the question and it seems to rely on the flash staying firmly in one location in regards to the shooter. With the Newton flash bracket the camera is mounted to 2 arms that allow it to rotate within the flash bracket so that the flash is always over the lens and the photographer need only grip the camera firmly and apply slight pressure to get the bracket to rotate the camera body between portrait and landscape. I'm sure there are others that operate similarly but I've been thrilled with my selection from the day I got it.
Another thing about this is that I've found that with the LS II (not the PJ) and the Stroboframe, when I switch to portrait mode with the LS II on the flash, the actual light source no longer is directly above the lens. It now resides off to the side due to the size of the flash modifier (the LightSphere II).
To be fair, the setup you see in the photos is pretty heavy for most people but when you replace the 20D with the 1Ds and add the 24-70 or 70-200 you will know you've earned your money.
The equipment in the photos is the Canon 20D with vertical battery grip, the Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L, the Newton Di400CR flash bracket, the Canon 580EX flash (with diffuser panel extended) and the LightSphere PhotoJournalist diffuser.
Hope this helps some in your evaluation of what you want to invest in (and I do consider this an investment in the quality of my work). None of this will make you a better photographer unless you use it and learn it and know how to make it work for you to get the image you perceive when you look at something. On the other hand, given how expensive a hobby this is I hope you make a decision about your carry-with lighting solution that's as satisfying for you as mine has been for me and I hope you don't have to just guess at it like I ended up doing.
Kev
|
|
|
|
Current Server Time: 09/20/2025 07:48:25 PM  |
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 09/20/2025 07:48:25 PM EDT.
|
