Speedlites into 60x60 softboxes?

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Paul_S

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I saw this kit Camera Light Ultimate Strobist Location Kit and was wondering how effective a camera flash would be into a 60x60cm softbox.

Would it be usable in sunlight at close proximity to the subject or only in a controlled environment (studio)?
Portable studio flash heads are beyond affordable. :cry:
 
Paul_S said:
I saw this kit Camera Light Ultimate Strobist Location Kit and was wondering how effective a camera flash would be into a 60x60cm softbox.

Would it be usable in sunlight at close proximity to the subject or only in a controlled environment (studio)?
Portable studio flash heads are beyond affordable. :cry:
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Hey Paul. First how strong is you speedlight, whats its GN ? This does matter to a certain extent.

OK full sunlight a speedlight has little to no effectiveness, unless it is a strong flash and in close proximity with nothing interfering ( ie softbox ) . The Softbox spreads the light and will probably lose you about 3-4 stops of light, you can compensate by running 2 ( or more ) speedlights in the softbox , however this will effect price meaning you almost at strobe costs unless you running to cheapo's and then you probably have 2 underpowered speedlights.

I have and do use speedlights in full sunlight but as mentioned I do this without a softbox.

This answer is fairly generalised, but ask away and lets see if I can give a more complete answer


Ina controlled environment the speedlights do wonders and are fantastic in a softbox.
 
Paul_S said:
Would it be usable in sunlight at close proximity to the subject or only in a controlled environment (studio)?
Portable studio flash heads are beyond affordable. :cry:
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What's affordable for you? Ie what would you pay for a battery pack + flash head?
 
DGremlin said:
Hey Paul. First how strong is you speedlight, whats its GN ? This does matter to a certain extent.
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The GN rating is 58 according to what I've read (58m at 105mm with ISO 100) - same as the Canon 580EX II

I have and do use speedlights in full sunlight but as mentioned I do this without a softbox.
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Direct flash, bounced off umbrellas?

GTi said:
For that price you can get a set of flashlight heads. Check the link or Orms.
http://www.studio22.co.za/Linkstarflash.htm
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The mains powered, entry level studio strobe kits are affordable (R6000 - R8000) but if it needs to be portable the price jumps dramatically (Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Standard Kit is around R15000 for a single flash head). :wtf:
I looked at the Linkstar/Godox/Vivitar heads and they're affordable - maybe I just need 100 meters of mains cable to be portable. :)

I was just wondering what the best route is if I want to do some portrait photography on the move.
 
I have an Elinchrom 500 set of 3 heads and 2 extension cables each with 2 softboxes and 2 umbrellas, in two bags for mobile. But most of my work is on location with a power point nearby.
 
DGremlin said:
Hey Paul. First how strong is you speedlight, whats its GN ? This does matter to a certain extent.

OK full sunlight a speedlight has little to no effectiveness, unless it is a strong flash and in close proximity with nothing interfering ( ie softbox ) . The Softbox spreads the light and will probably lose you about 3-4 stops of light, you can compensate by running 2 ( or more ) speedlights in the softbox , however this will effect price meaning you almost at strobe costs unless you running to cheapo's and then you probably have 2 underpowered speedlights.

I have and do use speedlights in full sunlight but as mentioned I do this without a softbox.

This answer is fairly generalised, but ask away and lets see if I can give a more complete answer


Ina controlled environment the speedlights do wonders and are fantastic in a softbox.
Click to expand...

What flashes do you use DGremlin? I have used my Canon 430EXII in full sunlight in a 60x60cm softbox in full sunlight and I get great fill light results.

Paul, before you buy from cameralight.co.za, check out camerastuff.co.za, I bought my strobist stuff from them and found their prices generally cheaper. Check out this great bundle: http://www.camerastuff.co.za/shop/bundles/40019-hylow-dual-300w-studio-light-bundle.html
 
Edduck said:
What flashes do you use DGremlin? I have used my Canon 430EXII in full sunlight in a 60x60cm softbox in full sunlight and I get great fill light results.
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I'm sure it's fine for fill, but not if you want to do more than that (ie overpower sunlight)
 
Sure - you can do it - I shoot through an umbrella though because I don't have a softbox. You'd be better off using two speedlights though.

attachment.php


My basic rule for shooting into the sun with a speedlight mounted on camera is for every unit I dial the EV down I crank up the flash by one. For the umbrella I do two up for every one down.

But that said using a reflector might give you better results.
 
bwana said:
Sure - you can do it - I shoot through an umbrella though because I don't have a softbox. You'd be better off using two speedlights though.

attachment.php
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Bwana, please can you explain how you got such a high sync speed. Did you crop this image? I've tried so many different ways, but really can't go over 1/320. I'm also on a 7D with a 580 EXII, usually shoot off camera with phottix remotes.

Sorry about off topic here.
 
DotKomrade said:
Bwana, please can you explain how you got such a high sync speed. Did you crop this image? I've tried so many different ways, but really can't go over 1/320. I'm also on a 7D with a 580 EXII, usually shoot off camera with phottix remotes.

Sorry about off topic here.
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Sure - I had a 580 EXII on the camera and a 430exII behind the umbrella. The advantage of doing it that way is you can enable high speed shuttersync. If you use the onboard flash you're stuck with normal sync speeds. You can still disable the 580exII, as I did here, so the slave flash is the only one firing (you still get a pre-flash from the master unit but this doesn't have any effect on the subject). I don't know much about the phottix remotes - some remotes offer highspeed sync, others dont. Can't wait to get my hands on some pocket wizards next month. :)

The image is uncropped - I could have used any lens but I just grabbed the camera and that's what was on it.

I keep saying to myself that I should get some strobes but most of my work is editorial and having a bunch of speeedlights is much more attractive right now.
 
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Bwana

How far was the flash ( umbrella ) from your Mr Potato head ?

Bringing the 1/2000s back into standard sync speed of 1/200, and in this instance you would lose 3 1/3 stops ( 1/2000 to 1/200 is 3 1/3 stops ) to make up for that I can pump up aperture 3 stops to 22 but then you at max.
 
DGremlin said:
Bwana

How far was the flash ( umbrella ) from your Mr Potato head ?

Bringing the 1/2000s back into standard sync speed of 1/200, and in this instance you would lose 3 1/3 stops ( 1/2000 to 1/200 is 3 1/3 stops ) to make up for that I can pump up aperture 3 stops to 22 but then you at max.
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Oh it's pretty darn close but that's for a couple of reasons. First off the 430exII isnt as powerful as the 580exII would have been and secondly, as we all know, the closer the light source the softer the light so I've always got it as close as possible without it being in frame.

My example was also pretty extreme with the sun being directly behind the subject, something I'd try and avoid usually. :)

BTW - instead of turning the aperture into a pinprick you could use an ND filter.
 
Just when I thought that Speedlite vs studio strobes was a difficult enough question you guys bring up "sync speed" and I end up reading for hours.

Can someone clarify my logic.
1. For outdoor portraits I don't need a fast shutter speed because I'm not capturing motion. 1/125s should be sufficient for portraits?

2. With studio strobes that give a longer flash duration than Speedlites the ratio of ambient to fill light over time is easier to control and a slower shutter speed can be used? The studio strobes I looked at have a flash duration of 1/700s at full power.

3. When using a slower shutter speed with flash a ND filter can be used to allow the aperture to be opened up to decrease DOF without over exposure?

This is really fascinating. :D
 
Paul_S

A slower shutter speed will allow more ambient light into your photo, which means your speedlight/strobe will have to put out more light to cater to this.
Question : Why would you want to drop you shutter speed in this instance ?
 
DGremlin said:
Paul_S

A slower shutter speed will allow more ambient light into your photo, which means your speedlight/strobe will have to put out more light to cater to this.
Question : Why would you want to drop you shutter speed in this instance ?
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I think he means slower than going into high-speed sync.

@Paul - yeah, instead of using HSS, an ND filter can be used to that effect, and is also preferable as HSS cuts down the power of your flash. The ND filter will also do this, but will cut ambient at the same rate.
 
DGremlin said:
Paul_S

A slower shutter speed will allow more ambient light into your photo, which means your speedlight/strobe will have to put out more light to cater to this.
Question : Why would you want to drop you shutter speed in this instance ?
Click to expand...

It seems that a lot of the entry level DSLRs can only do 1/200s max sync.
Evidently the solution/work around is "High Speed Sync" but is this a setting on the flash or the camera or both?
How do you do high speed sync with studio lights?
 
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