Help me get into wireless flash on a budget

I've had a 430EX for a while now. My friend showed me his Cactus V2 kit and I was hooked. I bought a kit and had so much fun with it, a day later I won a Nikon SB-28 on eBay for $51. Now I've got 2 flashes and 2 wireless receivers, but no real accessories to go with it.

I've been reading Strobist and I have learned a lot. My question is, however, for someone looking to do this for fun and on a tight budget (I don't see myself using the wireless setup for any paid shoots, at least until I upgrade to something more reliable in the future), what sort of accessories should I be buying right now? I figure at the bare minimum I need 2 light stands, at least 1 umbrella & umbrella swivel, some colored gels, and the DIY snoot/barndoor kit.

Can I save some money by only buying 1 umbrella setup? Or should I really be buying on for each flash? I know using my 430EX in an umbrella won't work as well as with the SB-28 because with no sync port on the 430, I HAVE to mount it up high on top of the Cactus receiver. I am going to hook the Cactus to the sync on the SB-28 in order to mount it in the proper position, and mount the receiver off to the side.

If I ran the 430EX without an umbrella, what is the best method to mount the Cactus receiver (has a standard 1/4-20 thread on the base) to the light stand, that maintains some flexibility for aiming the flash?

Does anybody have any experience with the light gels from www.photogels.com? What size would fit my flashes best, 2x5", or 2x3"?

Any tips or advice on the above would be greatly appreciated.

I'd use a hot-shoe adapter with the 430EX, and then use the PC port on the receiver. Or, save yourself the hassle and pick up another old SB unit for off-camera use, and leave the 430EX for when you want a good on-camera flash (this is the role my 580 has been relegated to).

I bought a hot shoe adapter but it doesn't work for 2 reasons: the flash pins won't seat on the hot shoe all the way, because something is blocking the flash from sliding all the way on it. Second, It has no way to solidly attach to anything, it just slides on and off and is never solid (no clamp or threads on it).

It's the Hama one from B&H:

T.J., you might have to file the front edge of that adapter to get the 430 to slide in. Check out FlashZebra's umbrella bracket, it has a screw at the side to hold down the adapter.

http://flashzebra.com/​umbrella_adapter.shtml

Lotto wrote in post #3708873
T.J., you might have to file the front edge of that adapter to get the 430 to slide in. Check out FlashZebra's umbrella bracket, it has a screw at the side to hold down the adapter.

http://flashzebra.com/​umbrella_adapter.shtml

Thanks. That is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I really appreciate it. That adapter is half the price of the Bogen one as well! I think I will buy 2 of those, even if I end up only buying one umbrella. It should work perfectly once I file/grind down the front of my Hama adapter. Too bad I forgot it at work on Friday

I am the owner of www.photogels.com and either the 2x3" or 2x5" size gels will fit your flash (and all the other speedlight flashes). The front of the 430EX flash is just a little smaller than 2x3" so get that size if you want to tape them on or if you want to use them with a modifier that fits snugly over the flash like a stofen omnibounce. If you would rather use velcro to attach the gels to your flash, go with the 2x5" size. The 2x3" size isn't quite long enough to use with velcro so that is why I offer both sizes. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
Mason Trullinger
http://www.photogels.c​om

masont wrote in post #3709774
I am the owner of www.photogels.com and either the 2x3" or 2x5" size gels will fit your flash (and all the other speedlight flashes). The front of the 430EX flash is just a little smaller than 2x3" so get that size if you want to tape them on or if you want to use them with a modifier that fits snugly over the flash like a stofen omnibounce. If you would rather use velcro to attach the gels to your flash, go with the 2x5" size. The 2x3" size isn't quite long enough to use with velcro so that is why I offer both sizes. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
Mason Trullinger
http://www.photogels.c​om

Thanks. I want to mount them in an un-obtrusive way. I don't want to put velco on my flash heads. I was thinking a small piece of gaffer's tape just to hold it in front of the flash. Is 2x3" enough to cover the front of the SB-28 as well?

masont wrote in post #3709774
I am the owner of www.photogels.com and either the 2x3" or 2x5" size gels will fit your flash (and all the other speedlight flashes). The front of the 430EX flash is just a little smaller than 2x3" so get that size if you want to tape them on or if you want to use them with a modifier that fits snugly over the flash like a stofen omnibounce. If you would rather use velcro to attach the gels to your flash, go with the 2x5" size. The 2x3" size isn't quite long enough to use with velcro so that is why I offer both sizes. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
Mason Trullinger
http://www.photogels.c​om

Mason,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for participating.

Digitalwave: Yes, the 2x3" is the right size for all the Nikon speedlights as well (sb-24, -26, -28, -80, -600, -800) and also the Vivitar 285HV and 283.
For unobtrusiveness, the 2x3" size is the way to go. But you'll have to rig something up to make the gels quick to change, that's why I prefer velcro and the 2x5" size.

Thanks,
Mason Trullinger
http://www.photogels.c​om

I just placed orders for the following things:

2 8' air cushioned light stands
1 Westcott 43" soft-silver umbrella
2 umbrella swivels
spare batteries for my Cactus transmitter
spare AA rechargeables
DIY snoot, barndoor, grid kit
2 2x3" photo gel kits

I think that should be enough to keep me busy for a while now. I am going to modify my Hama hot shoe adapter to accept the 430EX. I'll decide later if I want to order another umbrella.

If I am missing anything essential, let me know.

yeah, you need to put x2 on everything so that i may have a set.