Portable Flash Systems - looking for some advice

UaeExile said:
Yeah.

It was a toss up between the Indra 500, or the Profoto B1/B2. Cost was obviously a massive factor which is why I went with the Indra, but I've also been using Phottix products for years and never had any problems. I was lucky enough to spend the full week in Dubai at GPP2015 and use the Indra with a ton of instructors who were all singing it's praises right out the box. I worked with it in the studio and out on location and it didn't skip a beat so I picked up a couple.

I think half of the problem with Phottix is they're terrible at marketing themselves compared to the other manufacturers.
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Thanks Adam.
 
Mark Dell said:
Yep. With the Quadra power its a great combination
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I can't use HSS on the D750 until I pick up the right commander for my flashes so the X100T has been getting used more and more for that reason.
 
Chris_911 said:
Hi Phil.
Thanks - would love to hear what specifically puts you off (if anything)?
My specific interest is in the HSS functionality it has, NOT TTL.
Oh yes - what is POTN? EDIT: Found it = Photography on the Net
Thanks.
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From what I've read, controlling it with their remote system seems needlessly complicated, full power isn't full power because they allow headroom for +FEC so full power is max plus Max FEC.

The people who've got their head round it are producing some great results, but there seems to be intermittent issues from others. It might be that they're idiots, but its enough for me to give them a wide berth.

Why HSS? For the speed or the DoF?
 
Hi Phil
Many thanks.
HSS? - for both speed and DoF. I shoot a lot of animals in motion and I can think of situations where HSS would be extremely useful.
That being said I have little actual experience with these types of systems. I've tried achieving results with my speed lights but they just don't have the power.
 
Chris_911 said:
Hi Phil
Many thanks.
HSS? - for both speed and DoF. I shoot a lot of animals in motion and I can think of situations where HSS would be extremely useful.
That being said I have little actual experience with these types of systems. I've tried achieving results with my speed lights but they just don't have the power.
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It might be the best system for you, but you might want to wait and see what Elinchrom are releasing this week.
 
Standard Lencarta/Godox 360 does proper HSS. Works well too, and way more powerful than any speedlite - like 3x at least. You just need a suitable trigger, not the regular OEM one - basically an auto-TTL enabled version that can extract the right sync timing from the camera, eg Yongnuo 622Tx.
 
Phil V said:
It might be the best system for you, but you might want to wait and see what Elinchrom are releasing this week.
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Have ordered the Elicnchrom set-up - a Quadra HS Head, ELB400 pack and Rotalux Octagonal softbox. The downside at the moment is that the Nikon version of the Skyport Plus HS is about a month away.
 
Chris_911 said:
Have ordered the Elicnchrom set-up - a Quadra HS Head, ELB400 pack and Rotalux Octagonal softbox. The downside at the moment is that the Nikon version of the Skyport Plus HS is about a month away.
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Be interesting to see what you can do with them. Will you be able to get HSS with other triggers.
 
Phil V said:
Be interesting to see what you can do with them. Will you be able to get HSS with other triggers.
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Yes, but it's tail-hypersync, not proper pulsed-flash High Speed Sync. The head should work with any suitable auto-TTL trigger preferably with adjustable off-set, eg YN-622Tx.*

Interestingly, Elinchrom has called it Overdrive Sync which is the Phottix label. Presumably Elinchrom has tapped into their trigger technology, following the tech-sharing agreement between Elinchrom, Phottix and Sekonic.

*Edit: at your own risk! I've not been able to get tail-hypersync working reliably with a 622Tx, with any flash unit. Yongnuo calls it Super-Sync. Tried everything I could think of, even got a replacement 622Tx, but eventually gave up in frustration. It's not something I actually need, just playing :)
 
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HoppyUK said:
Yes, but it's tail-hypersync, not proper pulsed-flash High Speed Sync. The head should work with any suitable auto-TTL trigger preferably with adjustable off-set, eg YN-622Tx.*

Interestingly, Elinchrom has called it Overdrive Sync which is the Phottix label. Presumably Elinchrom has tapped into their trigger technology, following the tech-sharing agreement between Elinchrom, Phottix and Sekonic.

*Edit: at your own risk! I've not been able to get tail-hypersync working reliably with a 622Tx, with any flash unit. Yongnuo calls it Super-Sync. Tried everything I could think of, even got a replacement 622Tx, but eventually gave up in frustration. It's not something I actually need, just playing :)
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Look at the Phottix LASO triggers and spot the similarity ;) - Long tal sync using the 622N tx and AD360 as well as HSS from the same combo, not many lghts are good at that

Mike
 
They do indeed look the same, seems they have used the same unit and internals just re written the firmware for their own system, im keen to see how it works out.
 
How did you get on @Chris_911 ? I needed to get a Safari2 last week but my luck ran out as after watching the site for months as they are now out of stock, I have a job on this week and have ordered the ELB400 Action kit and a HS upgrade :( I feel slightly sick from the cost but excited to try it out tomorrow, just hope all goes well and the gear will fit in with my style of work..
 
arthurbikemad said:
How did you get on @Chris_911 ? I needed to get a Safari2 last week but my luck ran out as after watching the site for months as they are now out of stock, I have a job on this week and have ordered the ELB400 Action kit and a HS upgrade :( I feel slightly sick from the cost but excited to try it out tomorrow, just hope all goes well and the gear will fit in with my style of work..
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Hi Arthur. Well I don't yet have the Nikon trigger (not released just yet but expected this month) so I can't truly use it for the purpose I bought it - yet! Been playing around with it indoors and I'm very pleased so far, though the shots I've been taking could have been achieved with my speed lights. Here's a sample shot:
Marley-20.jpg
 
Nice shot, I understand what your saying.. Mine is here, quality of light etc looks great, bit of a balls up on the order as one head missing, oh well, oh and the small clip that holds one of the fuse's is also missing so I have requested it be changed, no big deal.. oh and oh again I note the umbrella stem hole seems to be on the smaller side of small and none of my modifiers fit so been in the machine shop here today and made up some UJ's that hold the heads and my modifiers :) the little things...haha Now waiting to get out and try the high speed heads with some motocross and mountain bikes where my speedlights lacked a little :)
 
arthurbikemad said:
Nice shot, I understand what your saying.. Mine is here, quality of light etc looks great, bit of a balls up on the order as one head missing, oh well, oh and the small clip that holds one of the fuse's is also missing so I have requested it be changed, no big deal.. oh and oh again I note the umbrella stem hole seems to be on the smaller side of small and none of my modifiers fit so been in the machine shop here today and made up some UJ's that hold the heads and my modifiers :) the little things...haha Now waiting to get out and try the high speed heads with some motocross and mountain bikes where my speedlights lacked a little :)
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Elinchrom uses a 7mm umbrella slot, not the usual 8mm. It's a PITA TBH, though most Elinchrom heads also have a secondary slot on the stand mount that will take larger stems. Not fitted to the Quadra heads, though there's one on the EL adapter.
 
You're very much in the know @HoppyUK :) It's no big deal and now resolved, just an ERRR moment when you go to fit the 8mm shaft :S Still I am VERY pleased with the kit, can't wait to go out and fire off some shots, may have to head off into the woods later with the hound and see how she rolls :D Maybe now I can put an end to fiddling around with 32 rechargeable AA batteries :) It will be worthwhile just for that! Maybe when I recover from the cost I can change out my cheap speedlight style light modifiers for some that fit the kit :)
 
mike weeks said:
View attachment 49635

Arrived in the post today :banana:

Mike
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It will interesting to see how it works for you Mike, because, according to Godox, the software for it doesn't exist yet. It may work as expected without the upgrade, I just don't know, I only know what they have told me.
 
Garry Edwards said:
It will interesting to see how it works for you Mike, because, according to Godox, the software for it doesn't exist yet. It may work as expected without the upgrade, I just don't know, I only know what they have told me.
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X1N trigger not available yet but flash is, I know that a few have the Canon version so will be checking using 622s first

Mike
 
I've considered adding a TTL AD360II to my kit... But I'm just not sure there is much point to it. For run and gun TTL stuff a good speedlight seems equally capable and possibly more suitable (lighter/smaller). It's a tough call because I don't (otherwise) need another AD360.
 
@Chris_911 Got the HS head today, seems very good, HS works superb with default settings on my 5D3, tbh even at its reduced 50% power (HS) reach is surprising with the standard reflector.. Hope to get to use it out and about this week. :)
 
arthurbikemad said:
@Chris_911 Got the HS head today, seems very good, HS works superb with default settings on my 5D3, tbh even at its reduced 50% power (HS) reach is surprising with the standard reflector.. Hope to get to use it out and about this week. :)
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I picked up a (used) quantum telephoto reflector and bulb spacer. The reflector is a direct fit. I had to pull two pins, sand them down and re-tin them to get the bulb spacer to fit nicely. With the reflector alone it creates a BD type of light (stronger outer ring), and with the spacer you get a more concentrated beam w/ ~ 1stop more reach.

test images here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/skersting/albums/72157637091981416
 
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