Location shoots, is a speed light enough?

[cowboy]

I am being asked more about doing location shoots so I am looking to balance ambient with a little (or lot) of flash.

I have a couple of cheap speed lights that are not quite up to the job so I am torn between a dedicated portable strobe system ( I already have a few modifiers) or going down a few more speed lights but I don't have any modifiers or brackets other than the umbrella bracket.

I am thinking I would need 2 or 3 decent speed lights, brackets to have more than one in a modifier and a couple of modifiers.

The alternative would be something like the Lencarta Safari 2, I already have stands & modifiers.

At the moment I have been shooting early evening when the brightest part of the day has passed but I have been asked about lunch time/early afternoon so the day will obviously be brighter.

Can the portable systems be used with mains power if they are indoors as an addition to my studio heads?

My own thought on this are that if I am going to be spending a fair chunk of cash I'd rather be buying once rather than buying a system that I will replace fairly quickly.

So my more experienced colleagues I would like some advice if you don't mind.

 

[Phil V]

Safari2 JFDI.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Generally, speed lights can do little other than to add to the light that's already there, they can't actually control the light unless you shoot in the very small window at dawn or dusk. Cobbling half a dozen or so together goes some way to dealing with that problem but then creates other problems - unreliability, cost and the fact that it's difficult to put several into the same softbox or umbrella and impossible to put several into any other type of modifier.

The Safari 2 can't be run directly off the mains. There may be some systems that can, but if so I don't know which. But what you can do with the Safari 2 is to have the battery on charge whilst you use it, extending the battery life well beyond the 400 full power flashes, although running out of battery power isn't likely to happen anyway. And they will also work seamlessly with other Lencarta flashes, using the same triggering/remote control system.Or the can be used with other makes of battery powered radio triggers, if you have different makes of studio head, or they can be used as slaves, slaving either from studio heads or from hotshoe flashguns (they have a setting that ignores a pre-flash). However, if used outdoors in bright light, don't rely on the slave, it's for dull lighting conditions only.

Hope this helps. But I like Phil's reply better than mine, more to the point

 

[HoppyUK]

There are all sorts of workarounds, and some of them work well, but there are always compromises - cumbersome, costly, inconvenient, inadequate, all four.

To cope with all situations, the well kitted photographer will have a bunch of speedlites, a studio/mains set, and a battery-powered location outfit.

Even then, you may need workarounds for some situations, and beating daylight outdoors is one of them. The x-sync ceiling is often a problem, and if you also need fast shutter speeds to freeze action, that also needs some thought.

Edit: yes, Phil's answer says it all really Perhaps the easiest workaround is to shoot when the daylight is less bright - as you've discovered. It makes everything a heck of a lot easier.

 

[Jerm]

I am one of Hoppys well kitted Photographers !

Seriously though, I have kit to cover most (never say all !) situations - all of it Lencarta.

I have :

Eight studio heads, primarily used for high throughput studio work such as busy Proms, black tie balls etc.
Advantages : Never ending power supply, very fast refresh
Disadvantages : Mains only

Two Safari 2 600w power packs used for anything portable including home shoots, outdoor events, weddings and OCF work.
Advantages : Very powerfull, very portable, shoot anywhere
Disadvantages : Not the cheapest option, finite power

Two Lencarta Atoms, often used in conjunction with the Safari's or where portability is the biggest requirement. Excellent, powerfull flash units but not powerfull enough to overpower the sun during the day. However, one of the unsung advantages of the Atom is that the power pack can also power a hotshoe speedlight.
Advantages : The ultimate in portability, 3-4 times the power of a speedlight, multi use power packs that will even charge your iPhone !
Disadvantages : Won't overpower the sun in bright sunlight, finite power

If I was starting out again and had to purchase just one of the above then it would undoubtably be the Safari as it's the most flexible. Although I've never run out of power (I shot 2,100 frames at 1/8th power at a corporate event at Lord Cricket ground last week) I have a second battery just in case.

 

[Garry Edwards]

I agree 100% with Richard and Jeremy, as photographers, we need a mixture of speedlights, portable flash systems and studio flash. Plus, we need redundancy.

I have, and use, a very wide range of all 3, and often they are used in combination. Short of using ND gels, only speedlights can create tiny amounts of extra light, and only speedlights are small enough to be tucked inside and behind things too. Portable power such as the Safari 2 provide studio quality on location, and can also be used in the studio, but don't really replace studio lighting because of the slower recycling. Studio lighting, with its fast recycling and powerful modelling lamps, just make studio photography really easy. Powerpacks for mains powered studio lights do offer a solution for location lighting, but they have limitations as well as being far too heavy, so don't really replace portable lighting.

Of course, some people will say that it's OK for me because obviously I've never paid anything for any of my Lencarta lights, they are all owned by Lencarta and I just use them - but that is only partly true, because before I found Lencarta, and long before I got involved with them, I had exactly the same attitude, and spent a small fortune on lighting from other makes.

In fact, I have always spent about 4 times as much on lighting as on things like cameras and lenses because IMO money spent on lighting brings the best ROI - extra camera bodies and super expensive lenses contribute far less to the final result than having the right lighting for the job.

I think that there are basically two approaches to buying a wide range of lighting gear
1. Never spend a penny until there is a proven need for it - the hard headed business approach, which often makes sense
2. Get the equipment that allows you to produce the shots that other people can't get - this works equally for both amateur and pro shooters, amateurs can expand their creativity, professionals can do that too and also take on jobs that their competitors can't.

 

[cowboy]

Thanks for the replies folks

I think a portable studio flash system will give me the sort of flexibility that I require, or will require soon

Once again thanks for your time

 

[JennyGW]

I just picked up a Tronix unit for my Elinchroms. £60 for a second hand 1200w/s with 2 spare batteries. A bonus is that it will also run my laptop and recharge my phone.