satureyes Posted April 28, 2011 Share #1 Posted April 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi folks - Any of you using studio flash with your M9's? I am tempted to invest in some Elinchrom Ranger RX. they all fit into a flight case and battery powered and portable...2x400W heads and spare battery and pack for about £1500 seems a good price. I Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 Hi satureyes, Take a look here Off camera flash M9. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest #12 Posted April 28, 2011 Share #2 Posted April 28, 2011 I think you are asking about the ranger quadra (400 w sec), not ranger. If you're sure you need studio lights instead of speedlights, I would read up on ranger vs. quadra at POTN. Plus side: inexpensive, latest model syncs with m8 at 1/250, flashtube is full size and the light is nice. Minus: modeling light is tiny, need extension cable. Adapter is as flimsy as they say, so you need some custom work to use a beauty dish or decent-sized softbox. If you want to use it for studio you need more than two lights, and I don't think two quadra sets makes sense. It's really small and cute, but once you add stands, extension cables, and modifiers...it adds up fast. Mine has been reliable, except several skyports have come not working. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted April 28, 2011 I think you are asking about the ranger quadra (400 w sec), not ranger. If you're sure you need studio lights instead of speedlights, I would read up on ranger vs. quadra at POTN. Plus side: inexpensive, latest model syncs with m8 at 1/250, flashtube is full size and the light is nice. Minus: modeling light is tiny, need extension cable. Adapter is as flimsy as they say, so you need some custom work to use a beauty dish or decent-sized softbox. If you want to use it for studio you need more than two lights, and I don't think two quadra sets makes sense. It's really small and cute, but once you add stands, extension cables, and modifiers...it adds up fast. Mine has been reliable, except several skyports have come not working. The honest truth is I'm not sure what I need.. I always like to get the best but I need to consider how much usage I will give them. I think I will value the portability over anything else. I hear that Lastolite have put a soft box into production which directly mounts to the quadra heads which will be good. I just think as a pro photog asked to shoot in challenging locations or poorly lit offices for some corporate work I need to be armed with at least a basic setup and one that I can take on trains without too much bother. Isnt the modelling light quite bright- I saw a unit and it was a very bright led? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest #12 Posted April 29, 2011 Share #4 Posted April 29, 2011 I think it will do you fine, there is not really anything else in its class. You can do about the same thing with speedlites in adapters in Elinchrom modifiers, but it is so much more trouble. With the quadra you get the fast recycle and can change the light from the skyport or pack; that alone is worth it. If you are starting from absolute scratch, I would rent/borrow some lights and get a book on studio lighting (in either order). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest #12 Posted April 29, 2011 Share #5 Posted April 29, 2011 Elinchrom also makes some modifiers just for the quadra. You're right, the modeling light will be no issue. If you're not in a rush and you already have a couple of speedlights, you could get a silver umbrella, a white shoot-through, a stand (use your tripod for a second), a couple of swivel adapters, and the skyport transmitter receiver set and work through things. Then you will know more what kind of light you like before you buy modifiers, and how many lights you might need. You will also need most of this stuff anyway (for spares, etc.). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted April 29, 2011 Sound advice. I seem to end up going round in circles and end up thinking about a 3 head bowens kit with pocket wizards- but I think the lack of portability and therefore the lack of ability to get them to places will hamper my use. Isnt a 400w quadra with a softbox infinitely better than a speedlight and softbox? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest #12 Posted April 29, 2011 Share #7 Posted April 29, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) ... Isnt a 400w quadra with a softbox infinitely better than a speedlight and softbox? Well I am so not the expert around here, but I think I am probably one of the few with a Quadra. It's better because you don't want to be lowering the stand all the time to adjust the speedlight. It's also roughly two stops more light, which you may need. I think if there is no baffle in the softbox, the light quality may also be a little different; but I get similar light with my softbbox from studio heads and a Metz speedlight. But people do use speedlights with the studio stuff, probably because they have them. Mola (beauty dishes) makes an adapter for speedlights, and I think there are a couple of adapters that attach to a speedring for softboxes, and you may use more than one speedlight in the same softbox. I have tried a speedlight with a Mola beauty dish, and also with a softbox. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brill64 Posted April 29, 2011 Share #8 Posted April 29, 2011 it's a reasonable price for compactness. i've found in practice they need boosting here and there because two lights are often not enough and the supplied cables are a little short. it depends on whether you just want enough light output or need to be able to get creative and clever from scratch which often requires considerably more. if you're expecting to use them on similar jobs to that which you show published or online, two quadra heads and a couple of speedlights should be okie. only you know from experience what is going to be enough so trust your own judgement and build on that. i add speedlights because they are compact for traveling alone. if i need more lighting, it's quite a different set up. on the minus side, i've discovered that when bracketing i can work faster than the recycle time of the battery pack, even on low power output. for the weight and size, it's a small annoyance and not a huge issue. every system is not flawless. as already mentioned, the main issue is with the supplied mini radio trigger, it's temperamental after a while and eventually fell apart and failed completely. it was replaced for free without question by ellinchrom but i now substitute with independent triggers, which added cost but is reliable. with speedlights in the bag you can switch to slave for firing as back up but that doesn't always work where ambient light is very bright outdoors, around hard corners or distance of camera to lighting setup is too great for the battery pack slave to 'see'. the battery life is very good though. i wouldn't expect too much from the modeling light. it's not a practical enough output but again that's personal and you may see differently in your work. remember to factor in something to carry all the crud that goes with a lighting setup..stands, umbrellas, cables, chargers, color gels, softboxes (a bit small), additional lighting, etc. i like the optional diffused plastic disks that clip over the heads, which are scarily exposed and don't ship with any protection.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted May 4, 2011 Rick forgot to mention - have a look at the Lastolite school of photography site. Loads of great video's about lighting and using portable SB etc speedlights on lightstands and with softboxes etc. All valid points Paul, actually I started to think that getting a portable (and wired) system would be possibly overcooking the goose a little.. I went back to my original plan of using my 2x speedlites from my Canon setup with some radio triggers and soft boxes. I still shoot on my Canon gear so it would hopefully double up and I will have the ettl and automation of the canon flashguns and when I want- the strobes on manual with my M9. So.. This is what I have just purchased.. 2x Lastolite ezybox 60x60cm soft box kits (stands, brackets and bags etc) PocketWizards for each flash and transmitter. So I think I have a decent setup now for portability and also gives me lots of room to experiment with off camera flash- and the pocket wizard stuff will let me have the automation of ettl on my Canon gear and then even more experimentation with the M9 and manual flash. How do I use the M9 to trigger he radios though assuming the hotshoe is for Canon? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hausen17 Posted May 11, 2011 Share #10 Posted May 11, 2011 Hi all, I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have bought a Yongnuo RF602 trigger and 2 receivers for my M9. have a Canon 430EX and Olympus FL36r. Set them up with receivers, set the trigger channel to all, turn on the M9 and touch the shutter release and the flash go off like strives in a disco. have to be doing something wrong. Can anybody help? Thanks in advance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabrewolf Posted May 12, 2011 Share #11 Posted May 12, 2011 Hi all, I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have bought a Yongnuo RF602 trigger and 2 receivers for my M9. have a Canon 430EX and Olympus FL36r. Set them up with receivers, set the trigger channel to all, turn on the M9 and touch the shutter release and the flash go off like strives in a disco. have to be doing something wrong. Can anybody help? Thanks in advance. Make sure you get the trigger for Nikon camera and not for Canon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mblaze Posted May 12, 2011 Share #12 Posted May 12, 2011 Let me throw a different perspective into the mix. A few years ago I upgraded my "studio" camera to a Sinar with Betterlight scanning digital back. Flash isn't possible with scanning backs -- exposing the whole frame takes up to several minutes, depending on exposure. So I also upgraded to continuous lights. Continuous lights have HUGELY improved over the last few decades, mostly driven by the needs of video production. This is especially true if you work mostly with soft light sources. There are very stable. relatively inexpensive color-corrected fluorescent light banks that generate surprisingly little heat. (I use DivaLights myself). I've never looked back. Having the "modeling light" also serve as the photo light removes the guesswork and frustration of using flash. What you see is just what you get. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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