Basketball lighting gear

So i'm looking at buying strobes for gyms for basketball.

My buying list would be:
(4) AB 1600
(5) PW
Sync cables
And stands/Clamps/extensio​n cords (400$?)

Here's where my questions come in... Do i need AB1600? or could i get away with its younger brother AB800?

As well the PW, would i need 5 of them? I'm looking at putting a AB in each corner... So i could put 1 pw per AB or could i simply just put one PW per opposite corner... Meaning on one end use 2 AB but use 1 PW then slave the the other one without a PW. Would this work?

Whats your thoughts... And yes i want AB.

Get AB800's over the 1600's. The flash duration at full power is faster with the 800's and much, much faster when you set the AB1600's at 1/2 power to match the AB800's recycle time. Most people that get the 1600's end up shooting them at half power because of recycle times anyways and then you end with the same power as the 800's with a much longer flash duration.

Also, have you considered getting Cybersyncs instead of Pocketwizards? They are more than sufficient for basketball use and are much cheaper. You also get a nice discount from AB when you buy them with lights.

You'll want to get one receiver for each light. You don't want everyone's P&S to set off your lights. I was shooting a HS game the other night where a student was using slaves to set off his studio lights. I let him use my extra set of Cybersyncs after halftime as he was getting almost no shots since I was setting his lights off every time I shot.

I would also recommend getting at least one extra transmitter and receiver nothing worse than having a ball hit your camera and bust the transmitter off the top of your camera and being done shooting for the week.

Also, what are you reasons for a light in every corner? Are you only shooting one team and don't want to move your lights at the half or do you plan on using them all at the same time?

^^Nice info there...thank you. I'm looking into lighting the local H.S. gym as well.

Derek.
The 1600 the reason i might have said those, is i don't want to get the point where i said "DAm i wish i bought 1600 not the 800 and want the more power"
As for cybersync... Are there any fault with them... I see PW as same as i see lenses. Go with L and don't look back. I don't go for Sigma nor tamron. No point in buying something twice... That and i want the distance... Sadly though i haven't looked into cybersyncs...
And wow i felt like a noob reading the 3 point...Dahhh, obviously people would be setting off the strobe... Wow go team amateur haha. Anyways so ya, 5 will be needed then, not 3

As for the setup, i heard that the BEST way to do strobe basketball setup is one in each corner... This allows for one setup, easy getting shots from any ponit in the gym. And overall just alot less hassle i think. plus no shadows... I HATE shadows.

If you can deal with 2 seconds on the recycle, the 1600's would be fine. I could have used a bit more power the other night myself, so I'll be getting a couple more AB800's to use on the same end of the court as my existing pair. 1 second recycle is just about right, 2 seconds is an eternity. That's a long time to wait for 1 more stop of light.

If you bounce the lights, you won't be getting any shadows.

If you have them on the other end of the court and are firing them, you're going to be shooting into your lights. That's going to cause your lenses to flare out. The only way you want to be firing 4 lights at the same time (with lights in front of you) is if you're able to mount the lights in the rafters and are shooting them basically straight down towards the court. Either that or if you're shooting in an absolutely massive gym where the lights are a very long distance from the court.

I recently had some issues with my Cybersyncs with a few misfires and such. Changed the batteries and those issues magically disappeared. The batteries lasted for about 14 months.

so

My question is what the difference between the CSR and CSBR ? Batteries?

Also. the other thing want to do, and PW can do this, idk in cybersync can, but remote shooting, aka setting a cmaera up to the backboard or i have a few other uses for this for an ourdoor sport...?

Playonpics.com wrote in post #9646831
so


My question is what the difference between the CSR and CSBR ? Batteries?

Also. the other thing want to do, and PW can do this, idk in cybersync can, but remote shooting, aka setting a cmaera up to the backboard or i have a few other uses for this for an ourdoor sport...?

The "B" version uses batteries while the regular version uses line voltage. I am actually thinking of moving to the line voltage units as almost only use them with my AB's. I'll still keep my battery units though. The one thing I don't like about the battery units is that there is no on/off switch, they just shut off by themselves after an hour. Usually not an issue, but can save me some leg work when I leave my lights set up overnight.

If you plan on using the units with speedlights, you'll want to get the battery units. You'd also want at least 1 battery powered receiver if you'd like to use it for a remote camera trigger.

I've used the Cybersyncs to fire a remote camera before, but have heard of others having issues. Honestly, if your budget allows it, the PW's are the best option and allow for a few more bells and whistles. The Cybersyncs are great for simple triggering though and wanted to make sure you thought of the option.

Since you're getting a great discount by getting everything at once, I'd get the Cybersyncs and see if they do what you're looking for. If they don't, you can sell them for about what you paid for them and get some PocketWizards.


Also, be sure to get the 11" reflectors. They'll give you between 1-2 stops more light on target. Very important!

Here's a question for you though. At this point in the season, do you really need to rush to get the 800 or 1600's? Since the season is almost at its end, does it not make more sense to wait a few weeks and pick up the Einstiens instead? I know that is what I am planning. Except I am only getting 2. You gain the light output of the 1600 with great recycle time and incredible flash duration. Add the Cybercommander, and you now have remotely controlled lights as well! If you were just looking for general purpose lights, I would jump on the 800's today, but for lighting gyms, the Einsteins sound like the proverbial bomb!

Hey John,
This would be for next season... i'm much too poor now after buying gear to do this next major purchase... but i'm just evaluting on what i can do to set my images apart...
Ya as for the lights... humm i'm not sure... einstein if i go with 4 of them, the price would be way too hugh... i find 4 1600 would be high, but do able... but 4 einstein.. dam.
but very interesting about the wireless shotting...
i'm not sure, i'm going to call them i think and see what they say...

this is uncharted territory for me, so i'm trying to learn as much as i can.

DDCSD wrote in post #9646466
Get AB800's over the 1600's. The flash duration at full power is faster with the 800's and much, much faster when you set the AB1600's at 1/2 power to match the AB800's recycle time. Most people that get the 1600's end up shooting them at half power because of recycle times anyways and then you end with the same power as the 800's with a much longer flash duration.

Also, have you considered getting Cybersyncs instead of Pocketwizards? They are more than sufficient for basketball use and are much cheaper. You also get a nice discount from AB when you buy them with lights.

You'll want to get one receiver for each light. You don't want everyone's P&S to set off your lights. I was shooting a HS game the other night where a student was using slaves to set off his studio lights. I let him use my extra set of Cybersyncs after halftime as he was getting almost no shots since I was setting his lights off every time I shot.

I would also recommend getting at least one extra transmitter and receiver nothing worse than having a ball hit your camera and bust the transmitter off the top of your camera and being done shooting for the week.

Also, what are you reasons for a light in every corner? Are you only shooting one team and don't want to move your lights at the half or do you plan on using them all at the same time?

Good advice. I chose the Alien Bee B800s over the B1600s because of flash duration and recycle time. PWs for me because of reliability but as Derek mentioned, there are triggering options available now (less expensive ones!) that I didn't have.

The biggest reason I went w/ PW II's over another brand is the ability to remote trigger the camera. I had the Skyports and liked them, but they didn't offer the remote capability. I don't know if the Cybersyncs have this ability either.

asysin2leads wrote in post #9657497
The biggest reason I went w/ PW II's over another brand is the ability to remote trigger the camera. I had the Skyports and liked them, but they didn't offer the remote capability. I don't know if the Cybersyncs have this ability either.

this is something i need to find out.

Playonpics.com wrote in post #9657557
this is something i need to find out.

Looking at the website, it doesn't appear that Cybersyncs can fire a camera.

http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=30836

heres a link that says your able to do it.

Gottcha18 wrote in post #9695368
http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=30836

heres a link that says your able to do it.

Thanks for the link. I wasn't aware of that.