juggler
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I thought it used a burst of infra red flashes to convey the adjustments? That's what my Oly flashgun does.
Lencarta or Godox Please help!
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Phil V
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It does, and it requires line of sight, and it's definitely not a good mix with other radio systems.
Oddly Garry hit the nail on the head, cheap radio triggers, or if you really want to maintain remote control of the speedlight... (Deep breath)
YN622N TX on the camera, allows control of the Nikon flash
YN 622N with the Lencarta wave sync commander on, set to M, you can mount this somewhere handy or put it in a coat pocket.
YN622N attached to the remote speedlight(s) you can set them on different channels, and remotely control the power either in Manual or TTL mode.
(I've done this with the Canon version and the Safari2 on location, it works a treat, I've also done it at home with the Safari and a Godox AD360 and a couple of speedlights)
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Clive Robinson
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Yes you are spot on it does use the flash itself to transmit the info. I couldn't figure out why on my D4s when fitted with a small SB300 there was no CLS master commander menu in the camera as compared to my D810, but it seems with the D4s you need to use an equipped speed light (eg SB900/910) and use the flash as the commander. IE no in camera control in the D4 but its built into the D810 for use with the pop up flash. Frustrating really.
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Clive Robinson
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Ive done a little reading...so the above is another version of the Pocket wizard but with a nice easy to read display?
juggler
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Kindof.. but really, for your first flash setup keep it simple. Diagnosing triggering issues in a complex setup is a pain in the wotsit - is it batteries, cables, hot shoe connections, channel issues, interference, camera settings, flash settings, transmitter or receiver settings or gawd knows what else...
Get heads with integral receivers and a single transmitter; job done & money saved.
Phil V
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Which is where we started as advice, unfortunately the OP brought up the issue of mixing in his Nikon speedlight, with the 'advantage' of controlling it with CLS. So whilst my solution is complex, it'll do what he asked and in the cheapest and most efficient way I could think of.
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with Juggler. You'll be amazed at the results you can get with just a couple of heads and some decent modifiers. If you're watching the budget then don't worry about complicated and fancy, as someone (Phil V I think) said above do you really need SF heads? One of the other advantages of buying decent gear like Lencarta is when you are ready to upgrade there is a ready market for second hand gear and you won't lose a shed load on it - have a look how quickly it sells in the For Sale forum. Your modifiers will still fit your new heads, easy decision to me! 2 x 300ws Smartflash 2s, Lencarta stands, 70cm Lencarta beauty dish with grid and 60cm Lencarta softbox with grid and you have so many permutations to play with you won't be bored anytime soon!
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CLS is optical (pre-flash), apart from the very new radio controlled SB5000 gun. Don't use CLS when mixing with other units, but Nikon guns also have a 'dumb slave' option (Canon-branded guns don't have this) where the flash will simply fire at the manually pre-set power when it sees another flash.
Edit: Many other brands of gun also have a dumb slave option, usually labelled S1 (not S2).
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sk66
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In a studio setup manual power and optical triggering is cheap/effective. Almost all studio type heads have optical triggers built in, and all of the Nikon speedlights above the SB600 do as well. I've even used the pop-up as the triggering flash (not highly recommended though). A YN622 Tx on the camera and one 622Rx on a speedlight would work quite nicely.
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Clive Robinson
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The reason Im set on the SF is because I know that freezing movement (High speed movement) is a matter that I will have a requirement for. The question regarding integrating speedlights into that set up was motivated by the thought of initially starting with 2 x sf heads as opposed to 3 (releasing more dosh for modifiers etc) and using the speedlight for background or highlight illumination.
HoppyUK
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Yes, but not infrared. They're just regular light pulses from the flash gun, that strobes at very high speed to send Morse code like instructions. They're received as near-infrared by the slave gun, via the (very) dark red window just above the AF assist lights - then the main flash is fired. It all happens so fast it looks like one flash to the naked eye.
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If you put a nikon flash in remote mode, together with your flash heads, I'm sure you can use it in SU4 mode ( it will fire when it "sees another flash")
In fact I did this recently with 2 sb900's and a smartflash
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Nikon's CLS is definitely optical (apart from the latest SB5000). It uses the on camera flash (or the popup on certain bodies) to send the power info (and a whole bunch of other commands) to the remote flashes encoding the data in a series of pulses. Its a one-way conversation. I typically just enable SU-4 mode in manual on my Nikon speedlights to use them with my Lencarta lights ( which I trigger using the Wavesync system). This makes them behave as dumb slaves with independent power outputs (but you'll need to walk to each speed-light to alter the power). Alternatively, you can enable SU-4 in Auto mode which will make each speed-light match the duration of the light it sees from the studio lights, which could make their output proportional to the big lights (if those are also IGBT based lights where the output is a function of the duration!). SU-4 is very reliable. It doesn't require line of sight and as long as the light reaches it in some form the remote speedlight will fire. Garry's description of an all radio system will work in all situations though. I like Hoppy's solution too and have tried this in the past (triggering all lights with YN622N receivers and keeping the Wavesync in my pocket for remote control of the SuperFast output). Mostly though, I'm adding a speedlight as an after-thought so manual slave via SU-4 is my usual solution
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D
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It's the IR that's read though isn't it? the pop up flash just doesn't have the ability to just fire IR bursts. You can get an attachment to sit on your hot shoe and block out the visible light from the pop up flash as it can affect the exposure of the image even when set to "CMD --" mode.
sk66
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Yes, or near IR as Hoppy indicated...
I wouldn't venture to guess exactly which part of the non-visible spectrum it is using, but it's not the white light we can see.
HoppyUK
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Near-infrared, presumably to maximise the signal. If you look at one of the optical master-only triggers when it fires, like the Nikon SU800 or Canon ST-E2 that have a normal flash tube behind a dark red filter, you can still see a faint red flash.
Yes, you can sometimes see the master flash firing even when it's set to off, but it's very weak and only makes a visible contribution at very close distance. You can often see it reflected in shiny objects as a specula highlight though.
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Clive Robinson
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Update...just ordered 3 of the 300W superfast heads.
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Clive Robinson
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Another update...3 heads received from Garry and although I have not yet got my studio set up I have had a bit of a play with these heads. Initial impressions are that the quality by far exceeds my expectations. There was a small packaging problem which resulted in 1 of the modelling lamps being damaged in the packaging process and that has been sorted out swiftly by Lencarta and I should be in receipt of that very soon. To counter that observation; the quality of packing was excellent so I am absolutely certain this is an exception to the norm. Easy to use and the locking mechanism of the Lencarta mount is sturdy, reliable and very positive which I like. Theres nothing worse than wondering if your valuable accessories are actually attached or not and with these heads there's no doubt about it. The wavesync commander and receivers are simple reliable and so far have never missed a stop change which I was not expecting. I still have some speed and accuracy tests I would like to do but thus far I have no reason to doubt they will not achieve exactly what it says on the tin. Thanks to Lencarta and especially Garry I believe I have made a good decision and that I am equipped with a quality studio system! There will be more updates coming soon.
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Clive Robinson
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True to form and without any fuss, Lencarta came up trumps and today received not just one, but 2, replacement modelling bulbs for the ONE bulb which didnt quite make it through the transportation process. Thanks to Garry and Lencarta I am one very satisfied customer. As with so many things in life, it's not just the product, but also the after sales service, that makes the difference and Lencarta will be a brand that receives my order again.
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Could I enquire as to how you are getting on with these SF300's - I have been looking at them for Dance and general class shoots and portraits, after reading this thread - Great Thread BTW - many thanks for starting it and for all the contributors very informative.
Scooter
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Hi Bill, I really like mine
I use 3 SF600's for dance and movement in the studio:-Why I chose them:-
http://owenlloydphotography.com/?p=1554
Latest dance shoot:-
http://owenlloydphotography.com/?p=2362
The day we threw flour around....
http://owenlloydphotography.com/?p=1685
http://owenlloydphotography.com/?p=1732
Shooting at 5fps, no recycle time, and a short enough flash duration (at about one quarter power) to freeze flour bursts. (This will be at half power on an SF300)
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Clive Robinson
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Well, my impressions of this equipment is NOT from a professional point of view as I'm just a very keen armature, however with the stockpile of gear I have I really should be ....but lacking talent! OK, Im very impressed with it, mostly from it's consistency in firing at a high rate seldom missing a beat. Of course as power increases the burst rate reduces but for most close in work I can easily blast 5 frames per second with amazing consistency and sometimes with a greater frequency of shooting with it only skipping a shot as you get up towards 7-8 per sec. For me this is great and of course the SF range of heads will also cater for every other aspect of studio work anyone might wish to do. The reason I chose SF was because i did not want to find my equipment lacking in any department should I wish to focus more on action in the studio but i must say that for general studio work it is also a breeze to work with and in my humble opinion £ for £ is as good if not better than the big boys for EG Elincrom etc. Although I've not used them from the perspective of ruggedness and pro studio beat ups these heads give me the impression they will cope with the rigors and demands of a full professional set up and without getting short of breath.
Hope that might help but if there is anything specific you want to know then just ask. Regards.
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Great to hear some positive feedback on these and to be honest after a good chat with Garry Edwards (Mine of information) I will be buying a kit as soon as funds allow. The do look great value and the results are amazing !
Some great captures there Owen! very nice indeed.
Some great captures there Owen! very nice indeed.
Scooter
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I picked up a couple of Smart Flash 2's to compliment a bowens set bought a few years ago. They had a baptism of fire last night as I did a 6 hour shoot with 80 dancers with 2 costume changes.......I am creamed this morning aching all over the lights were great! impressed, could not hear the fan cooling until the last people were coming through and the studio was very quiet and then they were like hearing a fridge motor in the kitchen when you are in the lounge distant hum only .The build quality is very good and the design of the control panel is as wanted, simple and easy to alter by an assistant - missus - who has never assisted before.
Its worth mentioning that the stands listed as heavy duty on the site are very nice air damped chunky stands - the best I own now! very impressed with them. So I will be buying the Super fasts soon!
Its worth mentioning that the stands listed as heavy duty on the site are very nice air damped chunky stands - the best I own now! very impressed with them. So I will be buying the Super fasts soon!
D
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I've got a smartflash 2 kit arriving tomorrow
Went with them primarily because of Garry posting on here tbh, incredibly helpful and very easy to deal with. Looking forward to having a proper play later in the week!
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I've got a smartflash 2 kit arriving tomorrow
Went with them primarily because of Garry posting on here tbh, incredibly helpful and very easy to deal with. Looking forward to having a proper play later in the week!
My experience also, even after a couple of calls!
D
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Had a couple of chances to play with it all last week, it's my first set of studio lights, but still, I'm impressed. Build quality is excellent, the dampening on the stands is great and they weigh next to nothing!
I bought the large studio bag as well to pack things away with, and can fit both heads, stands, octabox and umbrella in it, which will keep the wife happy (well, when I find somewhere to keep the bag it will)
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Had a couple of chances to play with it all last week, it's my first set of studio lights, but still, I'm impressed. Build quality is excellent, the dampening on the stands is great and they weigh next to nothing!
I bought the large studio bag as well to pack things away with, and can fit both heads, stands, octabox and umbrella in it, which will keep the wife happy (well, when I find somewhere to keep the bag it will)
They dont go under the bed do they.....LOL