Interested in strobism?

[Sean Setters]

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Sean


I remember you stating that the Vivtar 285 could only be turned down to 1/8th I think. I can not find where I saw your comment. I have several 285s and one 283 myself. I remember there was an accessory that you could replace the auto sensor on the 283 with a Vivtar VP-1 to manually adjust the power out as follows: 1/64, 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and full power. Here is a link to the discontinued item but maybe you can find on e-bay.


[url="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/61614-REG/Vivitar_238278_VP_1_Vari_Power_Adapter.html]Vivitar VP-1[/url]


Mark
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Personally, I like the Vivitar 285HV flash.
It's rugged, it's been around for years (in one form or another), and
it's simple. It has manual power adjustments--you can set it to full
power, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/16 power (no 1/8, unfortunately).

Yep, I thought I included that in the original post. I didn't include the information on the VP-1, though, because it's getting very hard to find and it's expensive when you can find it. If you want the light output to be dimmer, move the light source away from the subject or else use an ND filter over top of the flash. Both solutions are easier and cheaper. :-)

[Sean Setters]

Alrighty then. Second part is done. I updated this thread with the link.

[shutr]

Very informative, well written Sean

[Sean Setters]

Very informative, well written Sean
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Thank you shutr. I haven't started the 3rd part yet, but I've done a little research to make sure I included everything that will be relevant. I'm hoping to get started on it after this weekend.

[Rodger]

I vote we get Sean's trifecta of introductory strobist posts to be sticky posts. Or a new category called "informative". It could be almost like a guest post on DigitalPhotograhySchool.com.

[Sean Setters]

hehe...I link to it occasionally, but I typically don't bump it up.

[Shea Design]

I'm on board! Saving for radio poppers and already using four 580 II's - I've had some success with the optical triggering of OCF's, but I've also seen high speed sync go bye bye requiring less than 1/200th to get the shot. I tried to recreate the problem tonight but had no problem shooting fully fast and wide (f/1.8 1/8000th iso 50).


Flash groups and camera control are working nicely. Also of note I have improvised a soft box by strobing into a continuous light source that is shaped like a soft box and acts as the modeling lamp. This provides some versatility (and $avings) for me and clears the floor of two light stands.


Hate pictures of my self but for educational purposes both my first strobist test and said DIY soft box results are below. Looking forward to learning and sharing more.


-Shea


F/4.5 1/6400th iso 50 - Full sunlight on foliage behind me:


f/4.5 1/6400 iso 50 - gold zip disc opposite for bounce fill - crazy huge catchlights: