Elinchrom - 3rd light

[illusionest]

Helloo everyone,

at the moment i'm using two Elinchrom Style 400BX lights, with two 46" umbrellas or two 70cm Rotalux softboxes, all triggered via skyport radio slaves.

first question:
I'm missing a third light, right? a "backlight" for the background, or "hairlight"?

second question:
what would you recommend for the third light? it doesnt necessarily have to be as powerful as my 400BX, correct? So it could be something a bit lower grade. Would it still support skyport radio slaves and should i get another receiver? Would it also support the umbrellas and softboxes?

Thanks for the help!

[[godfather]]

I believe you will be Ok with Dlites. They are good lights. They also have an eye receptor which will work as a trigger for that light with your other lights. But I am not expert, let others chime in.

[illusionest]

Thanks [godfather].

anybody else?

[JakPot]

why not use the speedlights you already have?

[Rudi]

I think a D-Lite2 would be the perfect companion to your two BX400 strobes.

[illusionest]

Thanks guys.

why not use the speedlights you already have?
but that means i'll need to somehow attach a receiver to my 580EX, ya?

[Rudi]

Thanks guys.


but that means i'll need to somehow attach a receiver to my 580EX, ya?

You could just get a cheap optical hot shoe slave. But keep in mind that the 580EX won't recycle as fast as a studio strobe if you fire it at near full power (it's only around 60Ws at full power), and it won't play nice with your modifiers (you will have to get separate modifiers for the 580EX).

[Gentleman Villain]

Thanks [godfather].

anybody else?

I'll take a swing :D

I noticed that you've got a lot of macro shots on your flickr page....and almost no portraits. Do you really want to be a portrait photographer? Or would you rather concentrate more on the things that you already shoot? I you already like taking pictures of small objects and textures, then how about tailoring a lighting kit to work with those small subjects? Elinchrom makes something called a fiber lite kit that is designed to put light on small objects. It's very expensive, however, it can be a way to build a personal lighting style. Most macro photographers have very generic and undramatic lighting....so if a photographer came along and did things a bit differently his work could really stand out. Elinchrom also makes a modifier called a mini-spot attachment. It's much more affordable than the fiber light kit and could be fun to experiment with.

Just an idea...a lot of photographers are tempted to try all kinds of styles...but sometimes it can be better if they concentrate on a specialty. Not sure what direction you'd like to go....just thought it was worth mentioning.

[JakPot]

well, a reason I recommended the 580 was because you were asking if you were missing a 3rd light...

you would know if you really NEEDED another strobe... I think you could try using the equipment you already have, and if that's not working then look into adding new gear.

As far as modifiers go, yes you would need different ones. However I use a 580 as a hair in conjunction with studio strobes and don't use any modifiers on the 580.

[Hermes]

I'll take a swing :D

I noticed that you've got a lot of macro shots on your flickr page....and almost no portraits. Do you really want to be a portrait photographer? Or would you rather concentrate more on the things that you already shoot? I you already like taking pictures of small objects and textures, then how about tailoring a lighting kit to work with those small subjects? Elinchrom makes something called a fiber lite kit that is designed to put light on small objects. It's very expensive, however, it can be a way to build a personal lighting style. Most macro photographers have very generic and undramatic lighting....so if a photographer came along and did things a bit differently his work could really stand out. Elinchrom also makes a modifier called a mini-spot attachment. It's much more affordable than the fiber light kit and could be fun to experiment with.

Just an idea...a lot of photographers are tempted to try all kinds of styles...but sometimes it can be better if they concentrate on a specialty. Not sure what direction you'd like to go....just thought it was worth mentioning.

The fibre-optic attachment was about a grand the last time I checked. I'm all for spending money when the quality will be noticeable but I can't help thinking you could get an Elinchrom insert, a bit of sheet metal and some flexible fibre optic cable for MUCH less than that and make your own with identical results.

[sdipirro]

It should be noted that you might have some white balance issues if using the 580 in conjunction with the Elinchrom lights. There's quite a temperature difference between them. I use two 600RX's as my main and fill lights and use Dlite-4's for accent/hair lights and background lighting, and they work well together. But sometimes well placed reflectors can provide that accent lighting too.

[illusionest]

Thanks everyone.

It should be noted that you might have some white balance issues if using the 580 in conjunction with the Elinchrom lights. There's quite a temperature difference between them. I use two 600RX's as my main and fill lights and use Dlite-4's for accent/hair lights and background lighting, and they work well together. But sometimes well placed reflectors can provide that accent lighting too.

That is another thing ive been thinking about, the temperature is different...

another question - do DLites support Rotalux softbox mount? do they have the umbrella hole as well? I mean, as long as the parts are interchangeable im good.

[JakPot]

It should be noted that you might have some white balance issues if using the 580 in conjunction with the Elinchrom lights. There's quite a temperature difference between them. I use two 600RX's as my main and fill lights and use Dlite-4's for accent/hair lights and background lighting, and they work well together. But sometimes well placed reflectors can provide that accent lighting too.

i'd like to see an example of this when the 580 is used as a hair light... I've wondered, but have never had problems.

[hawk911]

the Dlites are the same mount as all the other elinchrom units, umbrella hole included. You 'll notice in my signature I have both d2 and D4 units, plus an EL; all of them can use any Elinchrom accessory.

[illusionest]

which Dlite do you think is best for the price? i wont be using it as a mainlight or anything, its only purpose will be backlight.

[hawk911]

solely for backlighting- the D2. Cheap and plenty powerful for hair or BG lighting. Lighter, too so it should work well on an average boom.

[illusionest]

Thanks hawk911! i'll look into the D-Lite 2.

[hawk911]

in the US, they are just under $300, I think. Check B&H.

[Jannie]

I use a speedlight, I've never noticed the color temperature and only used them with the 400BX's when doing table top but I also carry a gel kit where the gels easily velcro right to the speedlight. The reason I'm going this way is that I seldom actually do need the third light being that with portraits I almost always bounce the fill if I can, I just like it better so that leaves me the second light for the hair or background light. My experiments so far have be thinking this is a very sensible direction.

I actually like using a speedlight for kickers when shooting table top, in such a small area they are just very easy to use. I do want to get a couple of the Honlight grids though. I made my own snoots which velcro onto the speedlights and they work wonderfully for a hair light when the person is close to a wall and the whole thing can tuck into a very small corner with one of my small Manfrotto light stands.

But D lights are nice, I have a friend who has two of them and they seem absolutely fine. The reason I did not buy them myself in the first place was that their flash duration is something like 1/300th second and the 400BX's are something around 1/800th second (both at full power) and I'd expected I was going to be doing more food photography than I am which would include pours.

I'm personally struggling with having lights for both portability for location portraits but instead of adding a third BX or a third 580EXII (I have two of those as well) I may instead get one of the new Quadras (big money though) as it could make both systems more versatile.

[Rudi]

which Dlite do you think is best for the price? i wont be using it as a mainlight or anything, its only purpose will be backlight.

I'll try again :)

I think a D-Lite2 would be the perfect companion to your two BX400 strobes.

[illusionest]

haha sorry Rudi i missed your comment! :p

Thanks for the comments! It seems im going to lean towards the d-Lite 2 from the suggested options. :)

[Rudi]

No problem, just yanking your chain. :)