Looking at off camera flash

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glennk

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Glenn
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Hi Guys,

Im getting rather interested in off camera flash. Ive never used this technique but Im begining to understand and like the effects.

I own a canon 500d. I would like to set myself up for wireless off camera flash.

Suggestions on what to buy and what budget I require would be much appreciated.
 
glennk said:
Suggestions on what to buy and what budget I require would be much appreciated.
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Give us an idea of the budget you have, then we will have more of an idea, you can buy very cheap, if you need too, or go for top of the range kit, if you have the wonga :)
 
I'm only an occasion user of flash but have been using the yongnuo flashes to great effect. I recently upgraded to the 560iii in order to ditch the flash receivers which worked brilliantly but I wanted to simplify. Two YN 560iii and a single yongnuo RF 603 will cost you around £110 through eBay.
 
A friend advised I spent about £400. I really want to shoot outdoors and probably of people / portrait type stuff.

In the future, when I win some cash, I intend to upgrade to a canon 5d. something compatable could be good.

Rusell thanks for the link, I certainly will look up that site.
 
I'm starting out with my light photography and I've spent around £100 on a Yonguno flash, RF-603's wireless triggers and I have just ordered an umbrella stand, adapter and a refelective umbrella. I'm sure if you wanted to, you could easily spend £400 but I think starting out, a budget kit is all that is required.
 
One speed light, couple of triggers, an umbrella and a stand and you are good to go! The majority of my portraits are one light, inspired by Zack Arias
 
Do you want wireless TTL?
How many lights are you considering?

That will determine more than anything how much you need to spend. You need to be aware of buying into a TTL based 'system' that might limit your upgrade paths.

For instance £400 is a lot of money if you want wireless Manual and are happy to go with Yongnuo, but it's nothing if you want to get into the new Canon radio system.

Then getting a couple of cheap Yongnuo guns doesn't cost a lot, but if you want to buy a decent pop up softbox and grid, it starts to add up.

If I was starting today, I'd get a couple of YN 565EX's, 622 triggers, this gives you great control in Manual or TTL (you'll need to buy 2 pairs) , 2 stands, 2 brolly brackets, a pop up softbox, snoot and brolly will probably about hit your budget.

For the snoot I'd look at the flashbender.

It's important to think carefully about modifiers, at the end of the day they'll make more difference then the make of flash trigger you use. And you'll have to read up on what modifiers do 'what'.
Order the Speedlighters handbook today and have a leaf through it before you start buying anything else
 
glennk said:
A friend advised I spent about £400. I really want to shoot outdoors and probably of people / portrait type stuff.
Click to expand...

If you have that sort of money, and it's something you will stick at, by all means do, however you don't need £400 worth of kit, do get good portrait stuff, inside or out


barrylau said:
The majority of my portraits are one light, inspired by Zack Arias
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Much the same for me, latest HERE all but one, using one light, with a large octagonal softbox.

Phil V said:
Do you want wireless TTL?
How many lights are you considering?

That will determine more than anything how much you need to spend. You need to be aware of buying into a TTL based 'system' that might limit your upgrade paths.

For instance £400 is a lot of money if you want wireless Manual and are happy to go with Yongnuo, but it's nothing if you want to get into the new Canon radio system.

Then getting a couple of cheap Yongnuo guns doesn't cost a lot, but if you want to buy a decent pop up softbox and grid, it starts to add up.

If I was starting today, I'd get a couple of YN 565EX's, 622 triggers, this gives you great control in Manual or TTL (you'll need to buy 2 pairs) , 2 stands, 2 brolly brackets, a pop up softbox, snoot and brolly will probably about hit your budget.
For the snoot I'd look at the flashbender.

It's important to think carefully about modifiers, at the end of the day they'll make more difference then the make of flash trigger you use. And you'll have to read up on what modifiers do 'what'.
Order the Speedlighters handbook today and have a leaf through it before you start buying anything else
Click to expand...

What Phil said above is sound advice too, also again take a look at Bessel too, they have some cheaper modifiers, which are quite acceptable :)
 
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donkey_kong said:
I've spent around £100 on a Yonguno flash, RF-603's wireless triggers
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That sounds quite reasonable. Another cheap way of getting into flash is to buy older flashes such as the Vivitar 285. This was once standard equipment for most wedding photographers and can be used in manual mode at a range of power settings or using its own sensor in various auto settings. There is also a lead which allows the flash to be used off camera but with the sensor in the hot shoe so it is still sensing the light at the camera's position.

However you do it, it's still a good idea to learn how flash works using simple equipment before you get into TTL controlled stuff.


Steve.
 
£400 would buy you 2xT2 Quantum Qflash and turbo batteries :) They are the older versions but would serve you well and you wouldn't loose that much money if/when you resold them and went with the newer Qflash.
Wonderful quality of light and no worries about them overheating.
 
Hi guys, just to let you know Im still here. I havent jumped in and bough the flashes yet. Ive been reading the strobist site quite often and its got me even keener to get started. Think im going to make a start with a single flasher in trigger and take it from there. No doubt Ill be back for more advice and to let you know how Im getting on.

Thanks again - Glenn
 
Hi guys, back again. Finally got the cash.

Where is the best place to by the YN 565EX's for a canon. Is there any particular model I need, eg latest release.

Can you give me a link for best place to buy and best place to buy and best price.

Also If I get 2, why do I need 2 triggers ?
 
Ebay. Cheaper direct from China, costs more from a UK based seller.

Ideally 1 trigger per flash, but 1 trigger and slave mode works.

If you are using certain modifiers then slave mode may not work too well and its best to have 1 trigger per flash.

In any case, it never hurts to have back-ups.
 
just buy a good flash, it does not have to be top end, then get a hahnel radio wireless trigger (50 pound) then a reflector (a tenner) ' then top up with stuff when you need it. Dont make the mistake of buying to much kit at the start because you will probably end up realising you didn,t need half of it. People get to caught up in thinking you need loads of gear.
You can shoot amazing portraits with 1 flash and a reflector or a combo of natural light and flash and maybe reflector. Dont forget if your just starting with strobe you will be concentrating more on your gear than actually planning a pose and just taking photos if you have to much gear.
 
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