**HELP** 1st Strobist equipment for Canon 40D

[Mr Wolfy]

Hi,

As birthday present I have decided to get my girlfriend her 1st strobist equipment for her 40D.

Firstly I have to apologise as I am not a photographer so this is not my field and I would really welcome some advice of everything I will need.

I have done some research but my head is exploding and I just want to make sure I get the right gear!

I am just after a budget starter pack.

As far as I see I will the following per set up.

1 x Flash gun
1 x Stand
1 x Swivel mount
1 x Soft box / umbrella
1 or 2 (not sure) x flash sync

Is there anything else I will need?

I am in the UK and looking for stockists but they seem to mainly US based.
hopefullyI can find one who can ship to the UK.

If anyone would be kind enough to suggest gear/stockist etc it would be very appreciated as I am scared I will get things that do not fit/sync etc etc!


The sort of set up I am looking at has been posted by this chap here.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=714737

It looks perfect, I just need to replicate this for her 40D.

Again apologies for my naivety in advance.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Matt

[juise]

I am just after a budget starter pack.

As far as I see I will the following per set up.

1 x Flash gun
1 x Stand
1 x Swivel mount
1 x Soft box / umbrella
1 or 2 (not sure) x flash sync

Is there anything else I will need?


Welcome to the board. It looks like you've done a lot of research... definitely no need to apologize. Here are a few thoughts...

Depending on which flash you end up with, you may need a hot shoe adapter. If you find an old Nikon SB-25/26/28, Sunpak 383, or Vivitar 285HV (and maybe some others), you won't need one because they have PC sockets. If you get a Canon flash, you will need a hot shoe adapter.

As far as flash sync (I assume you mean trigger, like a radio trigger), the basic budget option would be an eBay trigger from China. Model numbers CTR-301P and PT-04 IS are popular choices, from what I hear. You will need one transmitter. You will need one receiver for EACH flash in the set-up. The next step up from eBay triggers are CyberSyncs, which are much more reliable, but may not be available in the UK.

I have no experience buying gear in the UK, but I would guess that you will be able to find a lot of budget components on eBay... just make sure you have done your homework on them first, since quality can be hit or miss. I'm sure that one of the other UK members could advise on reputable non-eBay retailers.

[Mr Wolfy]

Thanks Chris.

Im scanning Ebay hopefully I will pick up the right "ingredients!".

Apprecaite your help.

Cheers

Matt

[lukeap69]

If you buy the CTR-301P triggers, you can use Canon flashes without buying any adapter as they will directly mount on the trigger. Canon 580EX II has PC sync port but expensive.

If you can find used SB-25, 26 or 28, then these are good flashes. i have one SB-28 mixed with my Canon flashes and it is working great.

I think you're pretty set in items you listed. Plus you can do some DIY stuff like grids, gobo and snoot. See strobist site.

[RoryOD]

Kinda just started into strobist myself. did a days shooting with a lad from the UK, Damien Lovegrove and for the strobis stuff we used this setup that he sells now on his site.
http://www.lovegroveconsulting.com/Default.aspx?tabid=298&List=0&ProductID=298&CategoryID=34&Level=a&SortField=ProductName,ProductName

It has its +'s and-'s eg, you cant use a brolly.. but i do alot of bare bulb stuff now its not too much of a worry, the best thing is you can get the flast in nearly every direction you can think of and you can use the flash in a portrait mode so the light fills a standing person better. the other + is that if you were using an st-e2 you can always have the IR of the flash pointing towards you.

Same as yourself in the UK, Ireland doesnt have much, but your in the right place
as i got most of my gear i got from here :-) and ebay

Flash wise i use a 580 MkI & mkII
but there are plenty more that can be used for half that money.

just on stands:
my light stands are about 6/7 feet and i really wish i bought ones that went to 10-12feet!
consider that. as a standing person is 5 something and if you need to light from above you will need extra room, and more so if using a brolly!

i have ebay triggers that im no longer using :-) as i went on to PockedWizards

by the sounds of things you have all the right parts listed in your OP,
getting them in the UK is harder than the US!

so try for sale here and give these guys a look too under flash and lighting sections
www.speedgraphic.co.uk

rory

[Logrus]

Hi there, i am from the UK too.

This is the stuff i use, have purchased recently for my strobist experiments.

Flash, personally i would get her something that she could use on camera, like a 430EX, which she could then also use off camera, but if purely off camera you could do a lot worse than the YongNuo YN-460, i bought mine from their ebay page at HERE (http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/hkyongnuophotoequipment__W0QQ_armrsZ1)

A cheap but decent stand can be had from 7dayshop
This one is pretty good i am told LINK (http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=105297) , take about a week to arrive.

Flash Shoe Holder Swivel Umbrella Stand from ebay something like this one
HERE (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-PCS-Flash-Shoe-Holder-Swivel-Umbrella-Stand-B_W0QQitemZ280360905599QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Camer asPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraFlashUnits_JN?hash =item4146cfeb7f&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|293%3A2|294%3A30) , came pretty quickly

The umbrella's i just got were these from meking studio on ebay HERE (http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/mekingstudio__W0QQ_armrsZ1)
I got this one HERE (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Umbrella-33-80cm-Reflective-Umbrella-softbox_W0QQitemZ250435557240QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK _Photography_StudioEquipment_RL?hash=item3a4f1f577 8&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|293%3A1|294%3A30)
and this one HERE (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Umbrella-33-80cm-Translucent-Umbrella-softbox_W0QQitemZ250435557395QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK _Photography_StudioEquipment_RL?hash=item3a4f1f581 3&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|293%3A1|294%3A30)
Delivery is slow about 3 weeks

For triggers unless you want to spend a lot of money you could start with Cactus V4's which i got from Gadget Infinity (http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/home.php) , fast delivery about 4-5 days

Hope this helps

[Mr Wolfy]

I decided to go with two Sunpak PF-30X flashes and a Ebay CTR-301P Trigger & 2 receivers...thing is the Sunpak will not flash...apparently it is compatible but I have tried everything!!!....it is set up correctly....but it will not flash...anyone used this set up before?

[CosmoKid]

I decided to go with two Sunpak PF-30X flashes and a Ebay CTR-301P Trigger & 2 receivers...thing is the Sunpak will not flash...apparently it is compatible but I have tried everything!!!....it is set up correctly....but it will not flash...anyone used this set up before?


you sure the flash is set to manual and not TTL?

[Mr Wolfy]

I cannot see where I can change any setting from/to manual and TTL?!?!

Any advice please!?!

[CosmoKid]

I cannot see where I can change any setting from/to manual and TTL?!?!

Any advice please!?!


Well, upon searching around the net, it seems like your flash has no manual mode. The only way to use it is in auto and set the EV up or down in order to compensate.

I would assume it is not compatible. The triggers (i think) require manual mode to work and since your flashes have no manual mode....

[Mr Wolfy]

i have tried the EV on all settings and still no joy!
it looks like the goods have been miss-sold.
aaarh

thanks anyway CK