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Strobist Kit

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    A nice feature in the group section is that we can have threads that wont get lost within a few days Smile

    The idea of this thread is that you post an image of a piece of Strobist kit, tell us what it is, how much it costs, and maybe give us a link to an example for sale,

    if we keep it simple, don't spam we should end up with a thread filled with useful stuffWink



    I will start with

    Light Stand to Hot Shoe Adapter

    this is a essential piece of Strobist kit to mount your speedlight to your lightstand, typically they will have an adjustable head and brolly holder,
    there are varying types ranging from a few £ off ebay to about £30,
    considerations need to be made about how you intend to trigger your off camera flash, as a lot of the radio triggers now include a hot shoe fitting, and I use a different type for this,

    standard adapter
    ux-a08031400ux0071-ux-n.jpg

    showing in use with brolly attached
    ssk-flshld-hs-demo.jpg

    strong adapter, good for use with trigger with built in hot shoe
    00reo6-81225584.jpg

    LINK to cheap adapter

    LINK to sturdy Elinchrom adapter

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    1 Aug 2010 - 11:01 AM

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    dlegros
    10
    217 forum posts England
    1 Aug 2010 - 11:21 AM
    0

    I use the Calumet Umbrella Swivel which is identical to the Elinchrom one you linked to above - both of which are copies of the Manfrotto one.

    It is built like a tank and replaced a couple of cheap plastic eBay ones that broke after a year or so.

    To attach the strobe, I use a Stroboframe style cold shoe from Cotswold Photo which screws onto the mounting stud that came with the umbrella swivel I linked to.

    Total price for a swivel and cold shoe comes to £25, all very solid and well made and flexible as unlike the cheap swivels, I can remove the stud with the cold shoe and replace with other kit like my DIY beauty dish or a Folding Softbox.

    TTL off Camera Radio Triggers

    you can trigger your off camera flash by,

    ttl off camera hot shoe cable,
    pc cable, (with hot shoe adapter)
    optical using your built in flash (with hot shoe adapter)
    infrared using a dedicated flash or commander unit,
    by an ttl radio trigger
    by a manual radio trigger

    this thread is looking at just the TTL off Camera Radio Triggers
    somebody else can do the othersWink

    As of 2010 there are only 3 manufacturers making ttl systems for the Canon/Nikon dedicated speedlights, these are
    Pocket Wizards £350 for a set
    Radiopopper £250ish
    Pixel knight £120 a set

    pocket wizards have had top dog position in the radio triggers for years, though they have had some serious problems relating to interference from the canon 580exII speedlights and as a result are now shipping the units with a shield, they are firmware upgradable, unfortunately they are the most expensive of the ttl triggers
    mark-unrau-blog-mini-flex-pocketwizard.jpg

    Radiopoppers have only just come to Europe (just this week) though they where promised back in 07, and as such I haven't kept up to date, but there is a review here
    images.jpg

    Pixel Knight are the cheapest of the triggers, there have been some excellent reviews and some not so good, Ade (from epotozine) purchased a set only yo find they wont work with his Canon 5dmk1, review here
    2010325102514727.jpg

    Last Modified By steve_kershaw at 1 Aug 2010 - 12:14 PM
    nsutcliffe
    15 Aug 2010 - 5:28 PM
    0

    I am just starting out in this area so I purchased:

    Hahnel Combi TF Wireless Trigger

    and an old second-hand Canon 540EZ flash which came with a Stofen diffuser.

    That's all at the moment!

    ade_mcfade
    25 Aug 2010 - 1:37 PM
    0

    I use...

    canon 430 EZ (very old)
    550EX
    580EX2

    triggers - Pixel Pawn


    Light adaptors
    White brolly
    white softbox brolly
    Mini beauty dishes - they have grids, good for hair lights etc.


    The Pawns are the best budget triggers I've used - a bit like the Yohuingu 602's really. They also come with remote trigger cables so you can use them to fire your camera remotely.


    Advice for newbies...

    get 1 flash, a flash stand and a trigger/reciever and see what you can do with those (a lot is the answer)
    Get a reflector, or paint some cardboard white - use that if you can to learn about reflected light

    Later, get a second flash, reciever and stand. Learn about 2 lighting positions - cross lighting etc.

    thewaiter
    thewaiter (e2 Member)
    11
    1176 forum poststhewaiter vcard England9 Constructive Critique Points
    23 Dec 2010 - 9:24 PM
    0

    hi guys, just bought this westcott umbrella as recommended by DH... we have loads of people coming round this weekend will be a good opportunity to use it Wink ....

    Paul Morgan
    Paul Morgan (e2 Member)
    12
    12331 forum postsPaul Morgan vcard England6 Constructive Critique Points
    23 Dec 2010 - 10:40 PM
    0

    Cheap and cheerful Smile

    Sometimes using stands can be a right pain. I could`nt find anybody that supplied these, so I made my own.

    Dead handy for attaching to fences, railings and poles and cost very little. I already had the adapter`s, the hose clips cost £1.69 for a pack of three. I`ve since made a few more that attach using cable ties, again very cheap.

    4-599-1248558495.jpg

    thewaiter
    thewaiter (e2 Member)
    11
    1176 forum poststhewaiter vcard England9 Constructive Critique Points
    24 Dec 2010 - 7:20 AM
    0

    thats a great idea Paul......

    Tandberg
    24 Dec 2010 - 12:34 PM
    0

    Gear used
    Flash EX550
    EX580
    EX430 2

    triggers
    Modified poverty wizards
    Pocket wizards plus 2's
    Pocket wizards 1TT1
    TT5x3
    Ac3

    Lastolite eazybox







    Westcott 2334 Apollo Recessed Front 28inch Light Modifier

    Last Modified By Tandberg at 24 Dec 2010 - 12:38 PM
    miptog
    miptog (e2 Member)
    7
    3517 forum postsmiptog vcard United Kingdom61 Constructive Critique Points
    24 Dec 2010 - 3:08 PM
    0

    Gear used

    Lights:
    2 x sb 600's triggered by Nikon's CLS

    Modifiers:
    42inch and 60 inch silver/white umbrellas in bounce and shoot-through modes
    24 inch EZYBOX clone
    Medium size silver/white trifelector

    Paul Morgan
    Paul Morgan (e2 Member)
    12
    12331 forum postsPaul Morgan vcard England6 Constructive Critique Points
    19 Sep 2011 - 11:52 PM
    0

    We are planning on doing some street portraits in London, I must be mad volunteering for this Smile

    I`ll be using a beauty dish so it should be fun, so I picked up a Strobies XS Bracket about 30 quid and a 3m Lastolite Off Camera TTL Flash Cord again about 30 quid just in case I decide to use my G2 that does not support wireless control.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interfit-INT326-Strobies-XS-Bracket/dp/B002X6XE0C/ref=pd...

    The beauty dish is old and did not have the standared "S" fitting so I have adapted it and gave it a fresh coat of paint, then added a sock that I put together myself, the sock softens the light from the dish.

    p1000396.jpg

    p1000398.jpg

    p1000399.jpg

    TRUEX
    5
    218 forum posts10 Constructive Critique Points
    20 Sep 2011 - 8:54 AM
    0

    2 550 speedlites, one secondhand the other thirdhand

    ST-E2

    Bowens 500 with a travel pack

    A Tri-grip reflector


    I love homemade stuff.......keep that money in my pocket.

    Just getting ready for a shoot later today, so here are a few snaps of my homemade speedlite brackets so I could use my studio light stands on locaction. Total cost 40p for the wing nuts. I use the speedlites on there own or as rim lights when I'm using a Bowens as a main light.


    img-2938.jpg

    img-2940.jpg

    img-2935.jpg

    img-2937.jpg

    Last Modified By TRUEX at 20 Sep 2011 - 8:59 AM
    Paul Morgan
    Paul Morgan (e2 Member)
    12
    12331 forum postsPaul Morgan vcard England6 Constructive Critique Points
    20 Sep 2011 - 10:35 AM
    0


    Quote: I love homemade stuff.......keep that money in my pocket

    So do I Smile

    Want to hand hold an extra light but you find that you haven`t quite got enough reach ?

    This was my cheap solution, works well and it looks good, cost me £4.99 in a clearance sale this week.

    A telescopic trekking pole made by gelert,

    p1000416.jpg

    I simply cut the bottom inch off loosing the spike at the bottom.

    p1000417.jpg

    p1000419.jpg

    p1000422.jpg

    bfgstew
    20 Sep 2011 - 8:10 PM
    0

    Home made stuff, check this beauty dish/ring light out!

    1-ring-flash-5.jpg

    1-mk2.jpg

    Casserole dish and ventilation pipe make the dish up, spare flash tube mounted in dish, slight alteration to speedlight so it can control 2 seperate outputs and all for the princely sum of 20 quid.
    I am in the throws of making a new macro ring flash, a bit more expensive as using a proper xenon ring tube, but still controlled by my speedlight.

    Paul Morgan
    Paul Morgan (e2 Member)
    12
    12331 forum postsPaul Morgan vcard England6 Constructive Critique Points
    20 Sep 2011 - 10:22 PM
    0

    What`s the ventilation pipe for, hope its not to stop it exploding Smile

    I thought my DIY hand held boom was pretty good.

    Considering the price of these Smile

    http://www.theflashcentre.com/elinchrom-hand-held-boom-arm-63-156cm-i6307.html

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