New to outdoor lighting... advise please

[peety3]

I chose the PCB light stand due to the price, height and weight that it can handle. I like the idea of the Manfrotto light stands that stack but it's too much $ for me right now.

The umbrella mount that I posted, is that adjustable to fit different types of poles?

There's a fairly consistent standard for the "stud" mount at the top of most lightstands, and the umbrella mount usually comes with one stud with male 1/4" (aka the tripod mount under your camera) and 3/8" (studly size for many tripod heads mounting on tripod legs) threads, and another stud with female 1/4" and 3/8" sockets. That gives you extra options when you want to mount a PW, etc.

I'm starting to wonder if I should start out with some PocketWizard, light stands and a softbox that works with speedlights...? The photos I linked to in the first post- why couldn't you do that with speedlites?

How would a speedlite softbox mount to a Einstein? Is that possible?

Pick a softbox that does NOT have a specific mount, in other words it just has rods. Then pick the corresponding "speedring" to suit either your Einstein, one speedlight, or 1-2 speedlights. Take a look at http://profoto.com/us/products/light...dring-adaptors for one example - it allows Profoto softboxes to mount on many brands of lights, though I can't tell if the AlienBees model would work on an Einstein. This way, you just change out the speedring to suit the lights you're using, and keep the same softbox.

The challenge in doing the shots you showed comes down to the power of speedlights and the light lost while going through a softbox. You're going to have to limit yourself to less than sunny conditions, never with big groups or possibly even families >3 people, etc. - It might work, but you're going to need to become an ace at balancing ISO/aperture/shutter to keep the ambient at bay.

[Sean Setters]

Pick a softbox that does NOT have a specific mount, in other words it just has rods. Then pick the corresponding "speedring" to suit either your Einstein, one speedlight, or 1-2 speedlights. Take a look at http://profoto.com/us/products/light...dring-adaptors for one example - it allows Profoto softboxes to mount on many brands of lights, though I can't tell if the AlienBees model would work on an Einstein. This way, you just change out the speedring to suit the lights you're using, and keep the same softbox.

For me, I actually prefer the Paul C. Buff line of softboxes and octas. They don't feature interchangeable speed rings (although some of their older softboxes did). So why do I like the PCB modifiers? They're one piece and never require assembling. They simply fold up like an umbrella and then open by sliding a ring onto the "umbrella" shaft. That causes the whole softbox to spring into its shape. Then the only thing you have to do is affix the front diffuser.

I've spent so much time and experienced significant frustration assembling various standard softboxes in my life that I thoroughly enjoy this convenient and time-saving feature.

But on the point of Profoto speed rings, yes, the Alien Bees/White Lightning speed ring will fit the Einstein. They all feature the same mount.