Quick Lencarta Questions...

paulcamcas

paulcamcas

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Paul
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I've just unpacked a Lencarta Smartflash 200 brought by Mrs Santa and the box describes it as:
FLA010
Smartflash 200 Flash Head
Folding Reflector

1. There's no sign of a Folding Reflector in the box. I can't ask Mrs Santa whether there should be one or what it is, so can anyone advise?

2. I intend to use the head with a shoot-though umbrella only at first (keep it simple while I learn) and wonder if I need a reflector or if the bare head is okay.

3. Are the Lencarta AC triggers any good? I'm using Cactus at the mo and they are okay but not 100% reliable.

Many thanks and Happy Christmas.
 
Quick reply viA iPhone.
Labelling error, the printers dreamed up the folding reflector on this batch :)
It will work without the standard reflector but it will work better if you get one
 
And yes, the mains powered radio triggers are pretty good
 
Thanks Garry. I'll get an order in for a reflector and some triggers.
 
Not every company that you can get customer service on christmas day! Happy Christmas Garry :)
 
Garry's part time work each year is always over Christmas. He is usually dressed all in red to make sure all is well!
 
Yeah right:)

Surprisingly, Lencarta had 6 orders come in today, plus quite a few emails.

Me? Lazy family day. Tomorrow I'll be off shooting (shotgun not camera) and then on Tuesday there's the Christmas competition at another shooting club - I'm not the sitting around type...
 
I'd be interested to hear independent opinions on the Lencarta triggers if anyone out there in TPland uses them. Many thanks.
 
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paulcamcas said:
I'd be interested to hear independent opinions on the Lencarta triggers if anyone out there in TPland uses them. Many thanks.
Click to expand...

I have several triggers but the ones I use in the actual studio are the Lencarta mains ones. The reason for this is MAINS I can just connect the trigger to the IEC mains lead and to the light and I can forget it. With battery ones I end up having to fit new batteries every time because I simply forget to turn them off. They just do what they are supposed to. The fact that the remote bit is battery doesn't matter because that does not do anything until you press the button so you don't actually have to switch it on or off.
 
Not quite independent.

For what you want them for, they do the job. If you want to use them in a large area, or over a distance they start to fall over. If you need 100% rock solid triggering, or if you need triggering at a distance, then look at the pocket wizards. Of course, they are very much more expensive

For the transmitter:
Build 6/10 - (battery mount could be a lot better, and overall it is very plasticy)
Reliability 8/10 - in a shoot the battery on one of mine popped off it's clips inside. I have several transmitters, meaning no loss in shooting. Had I had the one, I would have been very annoyed
features 6/10 - 4 channels is enough for me, and they are not ttl. Good battery life

The mains receivers
Overall very good, only usability gripe is that the mains cables could "lock in" having a cable fall out, when it was on a head clamped in the ceiling of a marquee is a pain - its my fault, I could have tethered the cables better
 
Richard, all Lencarta remote triggers are now 16 channels by default. Receivers are mains powered (standard kettle lead socket for power-in and in-line via one of the flash head power cables).

Wish everyone a happy 2012! :)
 
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So besides all the newer ones being 16 channels, has anything else changed?
 
One other thing that might be relevant, the mains and battery ones are not interchangeable so you couldn't get a pair of each and have two transmitters and two types of receiver.
 
cowasaki said:
One other thing that might be relevant, the mains and battery ones are not interchangeable so you couldn't get a pair of each and have two transmitters and two types of receiver.
Click to expand...

They are in fact interchangeable, in the sense that either transmitter will work with either receiver - but of course the mains receiver won't work unless there is mains power.

My personal recommendation is that if people are using a Lencarta or any other flash head that has a computer lead power cable fitting, use the mains powered set - simpler, very reliable and no batteries to worry about. Of course, if used with the Safari or any other battery powered flash including hotshoe flashes, a battery powered trigger set will be needed.
 
Many thanks for all the responses. Decided to stick with the sync cable for time time being as I have a fancy for a pair of PW plus IIs at some point. Ordered a standard reflector from lencarta today.

Just for info the light works just fine - it's great to be able to adjust output so easily and the very fast recycle is a boon. The modelling light could be brighter and I may need to upgrade for more power at some point. For now, I'm a happy bunny. Or kitty, here's one of the first shots...

6584214949_c47a669215_b.jpg
 
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Must be my poor old eyes, when the ambient light is bright, which it was today, the modelling light through the umbrella didn't seem to show much on the subject at all. Should be better with the reflector. I've just checked again and it's definitely better now the ambient light has dropped.
 
cowasaki said:
How bright is your studio?
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Fairly bright today, I think that's my schoolboy error. It's rather dull now and the modelling light still seems rather feeble compared to other units I've used. I suspect that the lack of reflector and the shoot through umbrella don't help at all.
 
You don't really need much light in the studio. So long as you can see enough to get by.
 
Lencarta said:
Wow that's a gorgeous kitty!
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If it's a Bengal, they very quickly become less than gorgeous IME (they are VERY territorial). We've had two... never again.
 
paulcamcas said:
Fairly bright today, I think that's my schoolboy error. It's rather dull now and the modelling light still seems rather feeble compared to other units I've used. I suspect that the lack of reflector and the shoot through umbrella don't help at all.
Click to expand...

A Garry tip (I think it was). Fire your camera WITHOUT the flash but using the same settings i.e. something like 1/200th second, f8, ISO 200 and see what you get....

If you get a black screen then the ambient light isn't affecting the exposure, if you get something then it is and reduce the ambient light.
 
cowasaki said:
A Garry tip (I think it was). Fire your camera WITHOUT the flash but using the same settings i.e. something like 1/200th second, f8, ISO 200 and see what you get....

If you get a black screen then the ambient light isn't affecting the exposure, if you get something then it is and reduce the ambient light.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's something I do. Yesterday it ISO100, 250th at f8 gave me a great shot of a black cat in a coal hole :LOL:
 
arad85 said:
If it's a Bengal, they very quickly become less than gorgeous IME (they are VERY territorial). We've had two... never again.
Click to expand...

Noooo! Ours is beautiful, affectionate and a very good mixer - especially with the dog. Definitely different to other cats though. We've had all sorts and the Bengal stands out from the crowd.
 
paulcamcas said:
We've had all sorts and the Bengal stands out from the crowd.
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We'll see if you say that in 6 months. The two we had were brothers and very different from each other. One had a habit of marking EVERYTHING with copious amounts of urine (this was after being "done") the other marked nearly as much but had the habit of using the house as a toilet - even to the point of curling one out on the sofa when sat next to us :eek: Also, every room was piddled in - again to mark.... I know other Bengal owners had similar problems. Yours may be different (not sure if females are as bad) but never again here.

One hint: keep them out of your bedrooms. It isn't fun to sit on a bed sodden with cat wee - especially as they tend to do it close to where you lay your head. Every bed was christened at least once - and this was done to peoples beds who adore cats (and we only had one cat at first and still had this problem).

Can you tell I'm a bit anti-Bengals now? :eek:

Your mileage may vary of course....
 
Sorry, I wasn't clear. The photo is of a two-week old kitten from a litter produced from our own cat so we know Bengals pretty well. Maybe girl cats are different.
 
This photo was taken with Lencarta gear.

Beauty dish .. main light
Barn Doors with gel kit .. back ground
Honey comb .. behind child and on our left.

140648811.jpg
 
Very pleases with the Lencarta Smartflash head.

I planned to just use a shoot-through umbrella at first but didn't like the shape of the catchlights much so I've added a Bessel 180x120cm soft box and I'm very pleased with the results. I ended up ordering the Lencarta ac trigger after all - the trailing cord of the sync cable is a pain.

Here's a shot from the other day:

6630939661_7c6c53efd5_b.jpg
 
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Yes, I like the AC trigger too. Much easier and no trailing lead.

Nice image, what a cute group of kittens.
 
Thanks Darren, they are the cutest things. Four weeks now and starting to get very interesting (or annoying when it is 3am and they decide to go bonkers).
 
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Paul, my mains Lencarta trigger works a treat, highly recommended. Never had any bother.
 
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