Thread: Looking for portable strobe options, need some advice

I want to start using some off camera lighting for mountain bike and skiing photo shoots. I've found a handful of kits that require huge battery packs or generators. I guess I am wondering what would be a minimalist (weight and packing wise) setup to use some off camera light without having to purchase a donkey to pack in all the gear.

Thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You could jump into blowing money on Profotos or Alienbees and battery packs, but I think you're better off learning flash photography with this kit and then upgrade later.

1 Transmitter and 3 Receivers RF-602 $80
3 YN-465 $65 each
3 Lightstands $20 each
1 Lightstand bag $35
------------------------------------------------
Grand total $240

Did you quote this from B and H or where? How do the YN-465 compare with Canon Speedlites?

Speedlites don't have nearly enough power for good bike or ski photography. Zilch. Nada. Period.

You can get decent results shooting in dawn/dusk light, but as soon as the sun rises a little your'e fucked. Forget ski shots, the snow reflects so much that light you need a ton of juice to overpower it.

deciblast's recommendation is good. Start learning with cheap speedlites. You can do A LOT with those, just forget about shooting fast moving action photography with them.

Once you're comfortable with off-camera lighting, look into the more expensive set ups. Elinchrom Ranger gets a huge thumbs up from me. Elinchrom Quadra is slightly cheaper and still great. ProFoto is $$$.

Originally Posted by deciblast

You could jump into blowing money on Profotos or Alienbees and battery packs, but I think you're better off learning flash photography with this kit and then upgrade later.

1 Transmitter and 3 Receivers RF-602 $80
3 YN-465 $65 each
3 Lightstands $20 each
1 Lightstand bag $35
------------------------------------------------
Grand total $240

lol what? I wrote that out dude. Sure if you wanna go drop $200-300 per flash be my guest. I'd rather get Alien Bees or Profotos or something in that case. Check http://speedlights.net/ for reviews and power outputs for all Nikon, Canon, Yongnuo, etc flashes.

Err I meant to reply to Snowjunkie.

Big bag of flash powder

Originally Posted by deciblast

lol what? I wrote that out dude.

B & H = http://www.bhphotovideo.com/, not BurnHard
... he was asking where you got those price quotes from.

I'd probably swap out the YN-465's for Vivitar 285s or Nikon Sb-24s. If you are using them off camera the ETTL stuff doesn't matter (unless you are going to drop some serious cash on the new PW TT1s).

But, before you are even thinking about upgrading to alienbees or the like, I'd say your money is better spent on Pocket Wizards, even the older model. I can't even begin to describe how annoying it is for your flash not to fire.

I've not had good luck with the cheap knock off stuff you can buy on Ebay. In fact, I've gone though multiple Yongnus OCF cables and shutter releases. Probably enough of them that I could have bought the genuine Canon one by now.

Burnhard is right about ski shots, there is a huge amount of light to overcome even on a cloudy day. You have to remember that you are limited to 1/250 and on snow thats probably going to put you around f11-f16 at least. Remember that you are stopping action with the flash rather than the shutter. Your flash has to be lighting the subject a least 2-3 stops beyond the ambient from a few meters away--this requires a shit ton of power.

Otherwise you might end up with a McNally setup and he isn't stopping action!

I sweat. Joe perspires. Lenka glows. by strobist, on Flickr

You can get away with small strobes for biking in a shady forest. Just avoid the sun and shoot when it's cloudy.

Originally Posted by aj_77

I'd probably swap out the YN-465's for Vivitar 285s or Nikon Sb-24s. If you are using them off camera the ETTL stuff doesn't matter (unless you are going to drop some serious cash on the new PW TT1s).

But, before you are even thinking about upgrading to alienbees or the like, I'd say your money is better spent on Pocket Wizards, even the older model. I can't even begin to describe how annoying it is for your flash not to fire.

I've not had good luck with the cheap knock off stuff you can buy on Ebay. In fact, I've gone though multiple Yongnus OCF cables and shutter releases. Probably enough of them that I could have bought the genuine Canon one by now.

Burnhard is right about ski shots, there is a huge amount of light to overcome even on a cloudy day. You have to remember that you are limited to 1/250 and on snow thats probably going to put you around f11-f16 at least. Remember that you are stopping action with the flash rather than the shutter. Your flash has to be lighting the subject a least 2-3 stops beyond the ambient from a few meters away--this requires a shit ton of power.

Otherwise you might end up with a McNally setup and he isn't stopping action!

I sweat. Joe perspires. Lenka glows. by strobist, on Flickr

You can get away with small strobes for biking in a shady forest. Just avoid the sun and shoot when it's cloudy.

It's harder to find Vivitars and SB-24s used cheap nowadays. I picked the YN-465 because it has good power output for the price. I wouldn't use the ETTL...

I got the prices from Ebay which is pretty much the place to buy anything from Yongnuo.

Has anyone used any of the Quantum Flashes (Qflash) for any action sports photography.
Any thoughts, reviews, opinions?

The Elinchrom Ranger seems to be the go-to kit for lighting action sports these days. The Quadras are super cool, though, they're ridiculously small for the performance. Not sure if they've got the punch for outdoor sports.