You're welcome. Got my fingers crossed for you. And I remembered of another good reason in favour of the Einsteins: ultra-short flash durations (as short as 1/13,500 sec) for stopping action; eg: athletes, dancers leaps, and kids. :)
On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 9:27 PM, Christine Nielsen <ch...@inielsen.net> wrote: > Thanks, Bruce. I've cc'd Santa on this thread... here's hoping! > > ;) > -c > > On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 9:11 AM, Bruce Walker <bruce.wal...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Christine, if you compare the Alien Bees with the D-Lites there's not >> too much difference, except the AB's are less expensive. >> >> But I'm going for the Einsteins. The most important reason for me is >> the very large power range: 9 f-stops. This is like getting two or >> more strobe units in one. Shooting different styles (high key; low >> key) in a small studio you have to be careful not to have overly >> powerful strobes. Many photographers have a selection of sizes, eg 400 >> w-s and 200 w-s, because most strobes only cover 5 stops of light >> output. That's the case for the Elinchroms, and the Alien Bees are >> only one stop better. Your Pentax flashes cover 7 stops, full to >> 1/64th power, which makes them very flexible. >> >> With the 9 stop range of the Einsteins you can have a powerful key >> light on the subject and just a lick of light from a second unit on >> the backdrop. It covers from 640 watt-seconds (great for overpowering >> the sun outdoors) down to 2.5 w-s. >> >> Other reasons: the CyberSync radio xceiver can be installed >> internally, and it's cheap ($30); small size and weight; Paul C Buff >> reputation for service and support; excellent value for the money >> (factory direct sales); good selection of reasonably priced modifiers >> from PCB. >> >> >> On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 10:23 PM, Christine Nielsen <ch...@inielsen.net> >> wrote: >>> Thanks, Bruce, Bruce & Paul! >>> >>> I was aware of the battery pack... and that might be just the ticket if I >>> were out shooting weddings & such, but I was looking for a solution for >>> more of a studio space... Easier to just plug in there than mess around >>> with batteries, etc. >>> >>> And wouldn't I like some monolights for Christmas this year...? I have a >>> friend with some Alien Bees that I have admired... Bruce W, which PCB line >>> are you going with, do you think? Any particular reason you choose those >>> vs d-lites? >>> >>> I think I had the 360 & 540 set at 1/2 power for this shoot... Probably >>> could have adjusted iso for 1/4 & done a better job keeping up with squirmy >>> toddlers. Not being able to shoot continuously when using flash really >>> changes the game when shooting little kids... >>> >>> Thanks again, guys, I appreciate your thoughts! >>> >>> -c >>> >>> >>> On Dec 7, 2014, at 7:01 PM, Bruce Walker <bruce.wal...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> Great kids portrait, Christine! >>> >>> As Paul mentioned, no AC adapter for the Pentax flashes. >>> >>> I think the TR battery pack is very much overpriced, and you'd be much >>> better off with monolights. The Elinchrom D-Lites are well-priced in >>> kits. You are in the USA, are you not? Then the Paul C Buff series are >>> available to you and are really good value. If you need portable from >>> time to time the Vagabond will power them (or D-Lites) in the field. >>> The monolights also give you a modeling light and audible indication >>> of recycling ready. >>> >>> What I do to get useful recycle times with flashes is set the flash at >>> 1/2 or 1/4 power and up the ISO a stop or two to compensate. ISO 200 >>> or 400 should work fine. With fresh batteries, at 1/2 power the AF540 >>> recycles at just around a second; at 1/4 power it's almost >>> instantaneous. By the way, using two or more flashes in tandem will >>> get you back your light power. Used at 1/4 power you get speed too. >>> >>> If you are getting recycle times slower than that then you may have >>> one or more weak cells in your set. Some battery chargers test for >>> weak cells. I use a little jig with a flashlight lamp to apply a load >>> and then I measure the voltage drop at the battery. A good cell will >>> only droop a little, while a weak cell will drop as much as a volt. >>> >>> But I'm getting really tired of the whole song and dance around >>> flashes and batteries so I'm gifting myself some Paul Buff monolights >>> this Christmas. >>> >>> >>>> On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 5:59 PM, Christine Nielsen <ch...@inielsen.net> >>>> wrote: >>>> Hello & Happy Holidaze to one & all.... >>>> >>>> I'm sorry it's been a while since I've been around... life has gotten >>>> busy and photographic inspiration has been scarce, it seems. So it >>>> goes. Hope all is well with you? >>>> >>>> I think I already know the answer to my question (no), but here goes: >>>> does anyone know is there an AC adapter set-up available for the >>>> pentax 540 (or 360) flash? My vivitar has one... the pentax flashes >>>> don't appear equipped for this. Maybe there's a work-around? >>>> >>>> I had a crew at my place yesterday for a quick Christmas card >>>> shoot... I often just go with natural light in there, but it was a >>>> rainy, overcast morning... and this bunch isn't much for sitting >>>> still... So, more light was in order, and it would have been great to >>>> have faster recycle times... >>>> >>>> Though, I wonder what the terminal velocity is for recycle times...? >>>> Would having AC power be any faster than running flashes at 1/64 or >>>> 1/32...? >>>> >>>> And, just to give you an idea of what I was up against, a peso... ;) >>>> http://www.christinenielsen.com/sharing/h1763AF#h1763af >>>> >>>> Thanks for your thoughts, >>>> -c >>>> >>>> -- >>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>> PDML@pdml.net >>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>> follow the directions. >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> -bmw >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> PDML@pdml.net >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> PDML@pdml.net >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. >> >> >> >> -- >> -bmw >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > > -- > http://christinenielsen.com > http://www.facebook.com/ChristineNielsenPhotography > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
