Ready to order lights but need a few answers

Hello,
After allot of reading and though I'm ready to order a set of Alien Bees. I've decided on thier "Digi Bee" package (2 AB400s and a accessories). I have a few questions though and am hoping for some advice/feedback from thoose that know. After purchasing the package I will not have enough left over to buy a lightmeter ( YET ) so how will I know what settings to use? Is it just a trial and error type thing? I will be doing mostly full body shots in a small studio setting will the AB400s be enough or will I need to use AB800s? I read a few complaints about different hotshoe adaptors is the AB one decent?
Thanks for ANY tips / hints / help
KuanYu

Hello kuanyu,

I own and use Alien Bees B800's and I love them. I'll let others answer your questions about power requirements and how to work without a meter but I would like to address the question about the hot shoe adapter.

The one that Alien Bees is selling is a Hama hot shoe adapter that is readily available at BH, etc. It works fine and the construction is good but it is not my preference due to the way some hot shoe accessories fit into different hot shoes. I have a 30D and I have found that most hot shoe adapters and accessories have a little too much play in the way they are seated in the shoe. I went through this with the Alien Bees radio transmitter. There was just too much play. For this reason I prefer the hot shoe adapters that have the screw down ring to keep things tight and not allow for it to slip. I use a different Hama adapter that I like very much and it fits nice and snug with a screw down ring and lets you feed the hot shoe on top from the camera or another source as well as feeding sync from the camera's hot shoe to other devices. Although the 30D does have a PC socket on the side I dislike opening the rubber door and having the cable come from there so I choose to have it coming from the hot shoe on top. I've had the hama adapter for a while now and it has never loosened or failed, and the PC sockets are very snug with no problems of loosening or becoming 'iffy'.

This adapter might be overkill or more than you care to spend but it is a quality product.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …EG&addedTroughT​ype=search

If you don't want or care about the screw down ring then you can use the AB (Hama) or any other available.

Thank You for the tip on the Hotshoe, I'll order the one you've recomended.
KuanYu

I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you look around you'll see lots of cheap hot shoe adapters but you do get what you pay for and if the sync from your camera is going to be reliable I think it's worth a few extra dollars for a well made product.

I'll tell ya something. My first real strobe setup was 2 AB 800 and 2 umbrellas. That was 2 years ago and I'm still cranking out accurate flashes with excellent skin tones from our models. I have taught another new student how to set them up a shoot models and she was so excited, she ordered over $1000 worth of their products.

They work so well for many of us users here and i think they are great and not too complicated for beginners. you can also add to the system as you gain more lighting experience

One night for a student final project, we did a whole concept with a model in a gigantic costume warehouse, my 2 bees and film Nikon and used my 30D as her "Poloroid" for metering. She was using 400 B&W Kodak, a 35 mm f2.8 prime and her Nikon.

We had to put the bees on 1/16 power, even with one light and the exposures were right on. We couldn't believe it, of course ISO 400, but........success all the way!!

katt

You should have enough power for shooting one person in a small studio. If you branch out and start doing groups/events, you will want more juice but you can always buy more lights.

Thanks for all the tips/hints so far. Still lookin for 'how tos' on set-up while I save to buy a light meter. I figure I'll own the Digi bee setup for a month or 2 before I acquire enough 'extra' cash for a decent light meter. So how do I go about settings on the camera until then? Just trial and error?
Thank You ALL,
KuanYu

KuanYu,

For "how tos" on set up, pick-up a copy of Scott Smith's Studio and Lighting book available through his web site; http://www.lightingmag​ic.com/.

There are a number of threads on settings without a light meter and you might find this one a good place to start: https://photography-on-the.net …tings+without+f​lash+meter

Good luck with your new purchase.

Mike

Thank you! I'll check on ordering the book when I get home tonight.
KuanYu

I have Scott's book 'Studio Lighting Made Simple' and it is a great book. There are very few books out there that really teach as opposed to just presenting information. I highly recommend this book. You will absolutely learn about lighting and metering and Scott demystifies a lot of what is usually made to seem so complex.