Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fortkentdad" data-source="post: 592753" data-attributes="member: 24285">Thanks for the update and personal review. Is very helpful. I'm not completely convinced I will not get these, but didn't get them today.  I did go down to "The Camera Store" in downtown Calgary.  (Yes that is their store name) This is an independent store with great staff. I've come to trust their advice.  The fella helping me steered me back to mastering the strobes I have (my speedlight collection, SB600, 700, and Metz equivalent of the 900).  Learn to use three lights.  Experiment with lights on manual instead of TTL as most strobes don't (and all the affordable ones) do not come with TTL - at least not yet).   I did leave the store with a speedlight softbox (a strip box) and a diffuser umbrella, and a better stand as the umbrella is a little large. When I get home I'll put them up and post pic's in "my latest purchase" thread.  His suggestion that I become more proficient with speedlights made sense to me. The softbox and covered umbrella I did get were not that pricey $75 CDN each which is less than $50 US$ today - thanks to that latest yankee invastion to Canada - 'Black Friday".   And then we do it all over again with deep discounts on Boxing Day (Dec 26) a Canadian tradition. One thing he said I'd like your thoughts on, he told me that speedlights can be combined with strobes - if you know what you are doing.  If not the strobes will probably overpower the speedlights.  But more to the point there are going to be locations where you would not take your strobes for a variety of reasons so mastering you flash units is a good investment in you skill set. And by master them he was suggesting shooting in manual and learning to use a light meter.  He did say that the speedlights can be used as triggers as most strobes (including the Elinchrom) can be triggered optically by another flash.How skilled in lighting do you think a body needs to be to manage these strobes well?   He also was as un-enthusiastic about LED and other continuous lighting as the salesman suggesting I should get the Elinchrom.  He did have one very nice circular led lamp - lovely soft light - it was $2,300 on a Black Fri. special. And needed a heavy duty $250 stand.  But as he demonstrated the light does fall of sharply after only a few feet.  Great for portraits of one, maybe two side by each,  He just felt that the LED's while coming a long way, were not there yet.  There was no mention of pupil size.  Interesting article. So my take away from that visit to "the camera store" - invest in my skills before equipment.  Learn a lot more about lighting.  experiment with my speedlights.  learn more about shaping light.  I have only every used a simple shoot through umbrella and an of flash small portable diffuser.  IF I were to get strobes then I think this set would be the set I would choose.  But for the moment I think I'll wait. And my dearly beloved can get me that Siggy Artsy Niffty Fifty 1.4 for under the tree.</blockquote>

Verification