To lencarta smartflash users

fabphoto

fabphoto

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Name
Fabien
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Hi
What are the lencarta smartflash kit pro s and con s? For the pro s I know I can read the features in description but would like to hear it from real users.
What are its limits?
Thanks
 
will keep an eye on this thread as i ordered a 2 head set last night. hoping it will be here tommorow although i have not received a despatched e mail:(
 
I did not get a despatch e-mail either, but to be fare they was here the next day no problem.They are still showing processing on the website to this date, but don't worry I am sure they will arrive, I had the elite pros only one thing that I can not really call it a problem, its just that the flash ready bleep is really quiet, I showed a m8 the set and he loved them, but thought the bleep was the light stands squeaking it is so quiet.
some people get drove mad by a load beep so each to there own.
I am sure if you send a pm to Garry Edwards he will put your mind at rest
 
1. they are pretty ugly
2. they are "only" 200 w/s
3. I suspect they will stop working if you use them outdoors in the rain for long
4. Modelling light isn't proportional

Apart from that they are pretty nice.

What kind of limits are you looking for?
 
Unfortunately some of the orders didn't go out today, the warehouse did their best but there were just too many to send.

I'll tell you one thing about the SmartFlash - they seem to hold their value very well...

You can buy this second hand one, including unbranded accessories, for more than the new price on fleabay and you have to collect it yourself:)
I suppose I should take it as a compliment, when second hand ones sell for more than new ones - a bit like Morgan cars
 
Garry Edwards said:
Unfortunately some of the orders didn't go out today, the warehouse did their best but there were just too many to send.

I'll tell you one thing about the SmartFlash - they seem to hold their value very well...

You can buy this second hand one, including unbranded accessories, for more than the new price on fleabay and you have to collect it yourself:)
I suppose I should take it as a compliment, when second hand ones sell for more than new ones - a bit like Morgan cars
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maybe its because no one can get new ones :p
 
JonathanRyan said:
1. they are pretty ugly
2. they are "only" 200 w/s
3. I suspect they will stop working if you use them outdoors in the rain for long
4. Modelling light isn't proportional

Apart from that they are pretty nice.

What kind of limits are you looking for?
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Hi jonathan,
2. For what type of situation 200 w/s is good for/not good enough?
3. I don t intend to use it outdoor
4. Can you develop that? I am not sure to understand it. Im new to lighting but still learning.

The limits I was thinking was, is the kit good enough for group portrait? Full length?

And if anyone can share photos to show what is achievable with the kit that would be great.
 
Don't know if it's possible for you to do fabphoto but I would advise you going on one of the lencarta workshops coming up soon that are being run by none other than JonathonRyan himself! He uses this lencarta kit to do those things you are asking about and you could learn a lot!

Plus, it only costs about £60, and you get £30 discount off a set of lencarta lights if you buy them afterwards!

I think that offer is still on, ...advertisement over.

Rich

P.s. I went on the last course - it was very good
 
Smoot said:
Don't know if it's possible for you to do fabphoto but I would advise you going on one of the lencarta workshops coming up soon that are being run by none other than JonathonRyan himself! He uses this lencarta kit to do those things you are asking about and you could learn a lot!

Plus, it only costs about £60, and you get £30 discount off a set of lencarta lights if you buy them afterwards!

I think that offer is still on, ...advertisement over.

Rich

P.s. I went on the last course - it was very good
Click to expand...

Yes, go on one of these lighting workshops if you can, you'll learn a lot, whichever one you go to (the choices are Jonathan at Maidstone and me at Bradford). There are still some spaces on Jonathan's one on March 20th (he should have recovered from Focus on Imaging by then:lol:, and all of the training days with spaces are shown here
 
fabphoto said:
2. For what type of situation 200 w/s is good for/not good enough?
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When you need more power ;)

Typical reasons for wanting more power include
  • Using modieifers that "lose" a lot of light - e.g. heavily gridded or multiple baffles in a softbox
  • Mixing with ambient (where you might be fighting with the sun)
  • Using larger formats - on MF I might need f16 to get the same DOF as f8 on a crop camera - that needs more power

It also makes sense to buy more power than you need and run them lower down (like not red lining your car all day) but Garry assures me you can run them all day at full power and I know of people who do that. Remember that a head used on a pro fashion shoot can get more use in a day than many enthusiasts will give it in its lifetime...

fabphoto said:
3. I don t intend to use it outdoor
Click to expand...

That was a flippant remark but I'd better clean it up...

I was using a Safari yesterday in heavy rain (um, oops, Garry...). That is absolutely not recommended (and actually I was taking a few precautions) but it's really REALLY not recommended to use mains flash in the rain. And I almost never do it.

fabphoto said:
4. Can you develop that? I am not sure to understand it. Im new to lighting but still learning.
Click to expand...

The modelling light shows you what the flash will look like when it fires. It's a continuous light coming from pretty much where the tube is. On a proportional modelling light, the more power the flash is set to the brighter the modelling light. That can be handy if you want to balance similar lights by eye and spot shadows.

One of the few places Lencarta have save costs on the Smartflash is to make the modelling light on or off only. That's fine for lots of people - if you really want a proportional modelling light then you need to pay more for an Elite Pro.
 
JonathanRyan said:
That was a flippant remark but I'd better clean it up...

I was using a Safari yesterday in heavy rain (um, oops, Garry...). That is absolutely not recommended (and actually I was taking a few precautions) but it's really REALLY not recommended to use mains flash in the rain. And I almost never do it
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That's your warranty gone then:lol::lol::lol:
More seriously, we all do it, and it's pretty safe as long as we use the standard high tech solution of sticking the bloody thing in a bin bag:)
Actually the Safari, although not waterproof, is better than most, with a good seal around the bottom. Another make has the battery at the bottom and yet another even has the fuse in the bottom:thinking:
 
Actually that plastic case them come in is pretty useful.

I always try to keep water off the tube though. I reckon that might be bad.

Light looks pretty though. Bride in a tree. (If anybody knows Roswell, you'll know that's a VERY rare picture of her....)
 
I use 200ws (Elinchrom D-Lites) and they are fine for regular stuff, portraits, groups etc. I tend to use them at the lower end of the power range actually and only used them flat out once to fill a large interior at high f/number.

If you're just doing typical home studio stuff, you don't want or need any more than 200ws. Nice to have of course, like an extra 100hp in your car, but rarely necessary to get from A to B. Actually, the more powerful lights often won't turn down as low as the smaller ones, and that too can be a disadvantage if you like low f/numbers and very shallow DoF (but you can easily get around that with a filter like ND4).

With digital, you just don't need all the power that was necessary shooting film. ISO400 is three stops higher than ISO50 (typical high quality film) and that is the equivalent of raising the flash power from 200ws to 1600ws :eek:

Control is much more important than sheer power, so you can position the lights exactly where you want them, and adjust the light output accordingly. The Smartflashes do that and the only thing I don't like about them (apart from looking like small pigs) is the lack of modelling light control. Full on or off wouldn't suit me, but apart from that they seem to do a good reliable job at a very good price, and you can usually work around anything else.

I didn't realise those Lencarta courses were such good value. Definitely worth doing :thumbs:
 
£60 for a recommended course+discount on product seems a very good deal. I will start saving up :-).
Do we get a presentation of all lencarta products and maybe a chance to try them or is it only a lighting course with only one kit?
 
fabphoto said:
Do we get a presentation of all lencarta products and maybe a chance to try them or is it only a lighting course with only one kit?
Click to expand...

On the course I have with me Smartflash and EP300s and 600s along with backgrounds and a range of modifiers. I show you how to use them and what they can do.

Then it's your turn ;) Most of the day is hands on and you get to use your choice of lights for the exercises.

In the summer I'd hope that we can go outside and have a play with the Safari. One idea I haven't even mentioned to Garry yet is running a more advanced location day in the summer. I was checking out a cool spot for it yesterday which is how I found out how wet you can get a Safari :) And that's why we'd be doing it in the summer....
 
1. they are pretty ugly
2. they are "only" 200 w/s
3. I suspect they will stop working if you use them outdoors in the rain for long
4. Modelling light isn't proportional
Click to expand...

1. Not sure I would say ugly, Elites do look better but they are not that bad!
2. Often I only have space for 1 light and its fine for power, rarely do I go above 1/2 power and thats at f8-f10 around 1/160, although I work in homes so small space.
3. Not tried that yet!
4. Not really found that an issue, dont often use it.

Overall, hard to fault!
 
imustbedreamin said:
will keep an eye on this thread as i ordered a 2 head set last night. hoping it will be here tommorow although i have not received a despatched e mail:(
Click to expand...

captainjack said:
I did not get a despatch e-mail either, but to be fare they was here the next day no problem.They are still showing processing on the website to this date...
Click to expand...

Ahhh, just what I didn't want to read... Ordered a set on Saturday, and just wanted to know what to plan for tomorrow. I'd sort of assumed that as they were still in processing, that there wasn't a cat-in-hells chance of delivery tomorrow, and hence arranged a few outside meetings. I suppose that will pretty much guarantee that they'll be delivered tomorrow then, 5 minutes after closing the door behind me :(
 
TheBigYin said:
Ahhh, just what I didn't want to read... Ordered a set on Saturday, and just wanted to know what to plan for tomorrow. I'd sort of assumed that as they were still in processing, that there wasn't a cat-in-hells chance of delivery tomorrow, and hence arranged a few outside meetings. I suppose that will pretty much guarantee that they'll be delivered tomorrow then, 5 minutes after closing the door behind me :(
Click to expand...

Ahh...
All despatches are now bang up to date, so it probably will be delivered tomorrow, 5 minutes after closing the door behind you:'(

They'll deliver it to a neighbour though, if you leave a note on the door:)
 
Cheers Garry - i'll probably try that if they haven't turned up before I need to go out - my neighbours are pretty good that way :thumbs:


Edit: A large box turned up just as I was getting ready to leave the house... Looks like I've some unpacking and testing to do tonight :woot::woot::woot:
 
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