off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

[Mihir]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Thanks for the tips!
I am still assembling the kit to start experimenting. So far I have managed to get two Canon Speedlites and an old Vivitar. The import of radio triggers seem to be temporarily banned in India because of some new security concerns - but I am prowling the local markets to see if I can pick something up.
I am very keen on learning this new technique, so am reading up whatever I can on the subject till I get some triggers.

[devilgas]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Do you have any relatives coming back to India at Christmas? They could always get them for you and bring them over in their main baggage?

[Mihir]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

It is a chance that I will have to take. We currently have several thousand radio controlled airplanes lying around at the airport customs warehouse as they are all part of this 'ban'. Really silly - but it is a government ruling!

[Ian]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Hi Mihir - what is the project you are working on? Are you setting up these lights for a new studio or is it a particular project maybe outside on location? Very curious

Ian

[Mihir]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Ian, this for outside - on location. I am working on a personal project which entails shooting glass workers inside a factory shed. It is like a long term documentary project that I have been working on for the last three years. There isn't enough natural light and electrical connections are unreliable, so cannot set up studio lights. ( they are also too large and cumbursome). Speedlites on the other hand are more discreet and I can set them up quickly and get down to work. I can also gel them and get them to match the light from the molten glass. That is the intent anyway - let me see how it pans out!

[Ian]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Excellent - looking forward to seeing the results.

Is the standard Canon Speedlite wireless system not suitable?

Ian

[Mihir]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Ian, correct me if I am wrong - but the Canon Speedlite system is 'line of sight', and my project entails me to get some strobes shooting from behind columns etc. This is further complicated with me also using several Vivitars as well, which might not be compatible. Well.. so far this is only working in my mind, I still need to be able to get shooting on the ground. Pocketwizards would be ideal, but unaffordable right now - as well as not available here in this country. Still looking for transceiver solutions which allow me to daisy chain several strobes together in an affordable manner.

[Ian]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

I'm not that familiar with the Canon system but if it strobes control data to the remote Speedlites then it is similar to the Olympus system I am familiar with and I find that very often the remote unit doesn't need to be in direct line of site; the strobed data in these situations is probably reflected around corners. I can see that if you need to cover a large area then this might not work.

Ian

[devilgas]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Afaik, the canon system is line of sight IR, however as the speedlites are rotatable, this can usually be achieved. It's my understanding that ratios are controlled in camera and the transmitter does the relevant control to the strobes. That said, the cost of the canon ir transmitter is about the same as 4 of the yongnuo 622 transceivers! It was this cost that pushed me towards radio poppers.

Not entirely sure why radio stuff is banned in India. I'm presuming it's some kind of anti-terrorism measure? The range of the poppers is max of 100m, so using them for bomb triggering etc would be a touch risky for the trigger man. Then, we are talking government, and they're not renowned for sensible decisions regardless of which country you're in

[Ian]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

OK, it's IR - the Olympus system uses the flash strobe, which is quite clever in a way and means there is no need for an extra commander unit.

Ian

[Mihir]

Re: off camera speedlite usage (moved from General Board)

Dave, the reason for banning all radio triggering devices, I think, is stemming from the fact that the police and the other para police forces are still on some kind of very basic radio frequencies, and the ban on these devices is there till such time that they upgrade to a more sophisticated technology. It is also an anti terrorist measure as it was feared that radio controlled aircraft could be used for deliver lethal loads of plastique explosive inside sensitive areas. Either way - my search for the radio poppers continues. I have borrowed a 1 x 2 trigger to receiver set to test out once I change some weird size of battery inside the trigger.