Indoor action shots with Gemini 500R

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sharkbob

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Bobby
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I have 3 Bowens Gemini 500R's, and using a Canon 7D. I am looking for advice for shooting indoor action. Example photos being taken at poll Dance class.
 
You will struggle to freeze action with Bowens studio flashes as the flash duration is great for that sort of thing... unless you are happy with a touch of motion visible in the limbs (which is often helpful tbh). If you really want to freeze the action then you might want to look at hiring a portable solution.
 
I think it's a little borderline whether you could freeze motion of this type using 500Rs. They have a duration at around 1/900th second so faster movement during your shot will result in a little blur.

We have a mixture of these and the 500PRO heads (the pros are 1/2500th sec) and these freeze most things. I also know of a studio that specialises in high end dance photography who have found their Bowens Quads (I forget the exact speed but its something like 1/4000th of a second) is still not enough for them, so they're going for a rather expensive Bron pack, which is something crazy like 1/20000 second duration.

Going back to the o/p, have a try with a couple of speedlites too, as these offer ludicrously fast durations at middle to lower powers, so a few of those could be a decent solution if you did the Bowens are too slow for you.
 
saracenhouse said:
I think it's a little borderline whether you could freeze motion of this type using 500Rs. They have a duration at around 1/900th second so faster movement during your shot will result in a little blur.

We have a mixture of these and the 500PRO heads (the pros are 1/2500th sec) and these freeze most things. I also know of a studio that specialises in high end dance photography who have found their Bowens Quads (I forget the exact speed but its something like 1/4000th of a second) is still not enough for them, so they're going for a rather expensive Bron pack, which is something crazy like 1/20000 second duration.

Going back to the o/p, have a try with a couple of speedlites too, as these offer ludicrously fast durations at middle to lower powers, so a few of those could be a decent solution if you did the Bowens are too slow for you.
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Those look like manufacturers t.5 times that don't bear much relation to actual shutter speed equivalents - multiply by x2, or t.1 times are closer.

Not that the OP appears too bothered, but your friends at the dance studio should have a look at Lencarta's new SuperFast studio heads before splurging on Bron.
 
I think most manufacturers quote t0.5 times, including Lencarta for their standard range.

Bron quote t0.1 times, and Lencarta's new "Super Fast" range claim a range of around 800th second at full power rising to 10,000th second or 20,000th second at full power depending on it's the 300 or 600 w/s head you're using.

From memory I think my Canon 580EX at 1/128th power has speeds similar to that too :-)

Was slightly wrong on the times for PRO's - they're 2,900th sec (t0.5) which would equate to approx 1,000th second t0.1 by the way.
 
saracenhouse said:
I think most manufacturers quote t0.5 times, including Lencarta for their standard range.

Bron quote t0.1 times, and Lencarta's new "Super Fast" range claim a range of around 800th second at full power rising to 10,000th second or 20,000th second at full power depending on it's the 300 or 600 w/s head you're using.

From memory I think my Canon 580EX at 1/128th power has speeds similar to that too :-)

Was slightly wrong on the times for PRO's - they're 2,900th sec (t0.5) which would equate to approx 1,000th second t0.1 by the way.
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Yes, I'm just suggesting that your dance friends should check out Lencarta - or anyone else for that matter wanting very fast speeds at usable power levels. There's a review in the next edition of Advanced Photographer magazine, out in a week or so.
 
I'm not sure the OP is actually about to read this thread anyway. But from my experience with the 500Rs you will not freeze the action. I'm not going by T anything times, just my own observations.
I'd hire some Profoto gear (as is what I do when required every few weeks.... still cheaper than purchasing LOL)
 
Hi
I have done quite a few action type stdio shoots and use Paul c Buff lights, absolutely fabulous and very very short flash duration at most studio power input.
 
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