Continuous vs. strobe

[brkfstatiffanys]

I am very new to the digital world of photography. Have only had film cameras in the past. I have a Canon Rebel. My husband bought it for me because he is sick of me shelling out money for pix of our kids that we hate from photographers. I know I can do it, I took 4 years of photo class in school. But, we didn't use artificial light. I want to know what to buy for an amateur studio in my basement. Continuous light, or strobe lighting. I have EVERYTHING else, but am confused on the lighting. I hear conflicting reports about both from people that, get this........ :confused:have never used them! Help! Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Wilt]

Continous lighting which is bright enough for you to shoot with reasonable shutter speeds will be VERY hot (temperaure) and quickly fatigues the subjects!

Studio strobes is the best way to learn, as using the modelling lights helps you to visualize the set up of light positions and intensities, without taking any photos and transferring to a PC to see in any detail on a large enough monitor!

Speedlights is workable, but a much slower way to learn, and not all that cheaper than lights like Alien Bees!

[transcend]

Strobes offer much more light for much less power. They offer more control and as mentioned, they won't be as likely to burn your house down.

[SkipD]

I would suggest you browse the AlienBees web site (www.alienbees.com) for some beginning information. They have quite a bit there, especially if you couple the sales site with their very informative forum (http://www.paulcbuff.com/forums/index.php).

Of course, you can't beat this forum.... ;)

[brkfstatiffanys]

Thank you so much, I appreciate any help I can get. I will check out Alien Bees.... never heard of that before now.
Ok, went to the Alien Bee's site as recommended, and have no idea what it is. Is it a flash that goes on the camera, or is it a separate unit like a strobe or soft box that stands off to the side? Do any of you have a picture of one or can tell me how it works? Of course if I get one, I will read the manual before use, but I want to know what it really is before I buy that or a strobe.

[Wilt]

Alien Bee is a 'studio strobe'. Since each unit has its own power capacitor, it falls into the class of studio strobes known as 'monolight' (vs. 'powerpack and heads'). It is put on top of a light stand, and it may be used with its own reflector as a 'hard light'; or it may be fired into an umbrella reflector or it may be used in a 'softbox' as a 'soft light'.

Select the item along the left edge of their web site page, 'Alien Bees flash units' to go to their product page, the select one of the model names to see the picture of the unit.

[brkfstatiffanys]

So you can put it in a soft box? I went to another Alien Bee site on Amazon and saw an actual picture of one. I love the idea. And I really like the idea of not burning down the house or my kids touching it and getting burned. I realize it is a little hot, but from what I have heard about continuous light, it's a drop in the bucket. Is it something I just plug in, or do I connect it to my camera also?

[Wilt]

You need to connect it to the wall, it has no built in battery. You need to connect it to the camera, so it knows when to fire...or you have to use some sort of triggering device which is connected to the camera, like a radio slave, or IR slave; or optical slave (which would be fooled into firing at the wrong time but ETTL pre-flash!)

[brkfstatiffanys]

I got this off the page I was looking at. (The B800 has a built-in slave tripper, disconnected by plugging in the sync cord, to allow wireless firing where the unit will fire whenever it “sees” a flash from another source. It will automatically dump the excess power, removing the excess charge when the flashpower is adjusted from a higher to a lower setting.)
It doesn't need to be attached to my camera is what I am getting out of it. Or am I wrong? And what do you think of the B800 for just my personal use? A good choice?

[Wilt]

I got this off the page I was looking at. (The B800 has a built-in slave tripper, disconnected by plugging in the sync cord, to allow wireless firing where the unit will fire whenever it “sees” a flash from another source. It will automatically dump the excess power, removing the excess charge when the flashpower is adjusted from a higher to a lower setting.)
It doesn't need to be attached to my camera is what I am getting out of it. Or am I wrong? And what do you think of the B800 for just my personal use? A good choice?


That is an optical slave that is built in, and it needs to be triggered by a burst of light which is triggered by the camera! So at least ONE light (non-ETTL) MUST have a PC cord (or radio slave or IR slave) connection to the camera.

[kuanyu]

It can be triggered with a radio device, a cord or even a on camera flash unit. You can even phone Alien Bees for help/questions thier staff is really second to none! The built-in slave tripper will fire the light when it sees any other flash. I spoke with them a few times before I placed my order and was truly amazed by thier helpfulness.

[brkfstatiffanys]

Thank you so much. I will give them a call.

[Tom Camilleri]

Continous lighting which is bright enough for you to shoot with reasonable shutter speeds will be VERY hot (temperaure) and quickly fatigues the subjects!

Studio strobes is the best way to learn, as using the modelling lights helps you to visualize the set up of light positions and intensities, without taking any photos and transferring to a PC to see in any detail on a large enough monitor!

Speedlights is workable, but a much slower way to learn, and not all that cheaper than lights like Alien Bees!

Getting ready to get some off camera lighting and thought I'd finished my homework when I saw this thread. What about the strobe mode of the 580EX II in which several small flashes give a lighting effect preview? With studio strobes, are the modeling lights easy to adjust and do they give an accurate preview? Are the modeling lights continuous or a series of flashes?

[Wilt]

Getting ready to get some off camera lighting and thought I'd finished my homework when I saw this thread. What about the strobe mode of the 580EX II in which several small flashes give a lighting effect preview? With studio strobes, are the modeling lights easy to adjust and do they give an accurate preview? Are the modeling lights continuous or a series of flashes?

Can you make multiple flashes all strobe together, so that the persistence of the eye permits evaluation of the relative intensities of the lights? (I don't know, I don't own Canon flash units to have seen them in strobe mode.)

Modelling lights in studio flash are continuous sources, strong enough for eye assessment of lighting placement, generally not strong enough to use for exposure (except longer time exposures). As for accuracy of preview...

In looking at a single light, the modelling light is somewhat different in shape and size from the flash tube. A purist will tell you that the two are therefore NOT identical when used with the basic reflector; close, but not identical! Would the average portraitist notice?...probably not; but a commercial photographer with a very picky client might be bothered by the subtle difference.
OTOH, a pro might well be putting the head into a softbox, which completely neutralizes any difference cause by the shape of the modelling light vs. flashtube!

A different issue in accuracy of preview is if you are using two models/brands of lights, the modelling light might not mirror actual output. For example, a 800 w-s light might have 150w modelling light, and a 400 w-s also has a 150w modelling light. So the modelling lights are identical, even though the flash tube output is twice as bright from one of the lights! (That is a reason for lights to be same brand and model and have proportional modelling lights; or to have lights which offer adjustable modelling light intensity, independent of the flash tube intensity.)

[Tom Camilleri]

Can you make multiple flashes all strobe together, so that the persistence of the eye permits evaluation of the relative intensities of the lights? (I don't know, I don't own Canon flash units to have seen them in strobe mode.)

Modelling lights in studio flash are continuous sources, strong enough for eye assessment of lighting placement, generally not strong enough to use for exposure (except longer time exposures). As for accuracy of preview...

Thanks Wilt. Just checked out Alien Bees site again. The studios have to be better for modeling. A set of these would be very nice to learn lighting with, but I think too bulky for me now. I've learned something from my hot light setup. Come to think of it, that was a factor when I got the hot lights.

[Wilt]

Thanks Wilt. Just checked out Alien Bees site again. The studios have to be better for modeling. A set of these would be very nice to learn lighting with, but I think too bulky for me now. I've learned something from my hot light setup. Come to think of it, that was a factor when I got the hot lights.


All too many people immediately think "I need to buy studio lights" to learn lighting. NOPE! It is possible to learn lighting quite nicely with just one (or two) high intensity desk lamps!...It can teach you to see the effect of light positioning vs subject position and vs camera position; to see the relative intensities of lights' effect on contrast; and to see what looks better for weighty people vs. thin people. Add a sheet of frosted material from the hardware store, and you can learn about small apparent light source size vs. larger apparent light source size and its effects on 'softness' of the shadows and highlights.

Notice I said 'to see' a lot. Too many amateurs simply mimic lighting charts in books and have no idea how the result was achieved, in terms of the concepts of lighting. They should learn first to SEE the effects from the concepts, in use.

[Tom Camilleri]

Notice I said 'to see' a lot. Too many amateurs simply mimic lighting charts in books and have no idea how the result was achieved, in terms of the concepts of lighting. They should learn first to SEE the effects from the concepts, in use.


Excellent advice. The art is in creatively applying basic principles. Will keep this in mind as I strive to develop my skills. Seems like everything in photography is learning to see what's before your eyes and camera.