Flash Test

Unscientific Diffuser/Bounce test:

LumiQuest Pocket Bouncer and Sto-fen Omni-Bounce


Direct - Left: no diffusion. Right: With Omni-Bounce


45 degree- Left: no diffusion. Right: With Omni-Bounce


90 degree- Left: no diffusion. Right: With Omni-bounce


LumiQuest - Pocket Bouncer

Camera setup: Nikon D80, Program mode, White Balance, daylight. Flash - SB600, I didn't flip the built-in diffusion of SB600 over the lens.

Looking at these pictures, I am pleasantly surprised that no diffuser, 90 degree (bounce off of ceiling) is my top pick, but I find direct and 90 degree with Omni-bounce to be very close, and pleasant.

For convenience, it's more likely for me to use the Omni-bounce. Remember, this require a little experiment for different conditions.

Another product, that I do not have, but have seen the result, is the Gary Fong's Lightsphere. I don't know why, but the way Lightsphere spread out the light makes it really nice on skin tone.

Nikon SB-20

Happy Nikon family of flashes - the monster on the upper right is SB-16, with Nikon F3 attachment.

After acquiring 2 Cactus flash triggering kits, I have been on the hunt for suitable, cheap flashes that I can use. Although I already have a Nikon SB-600, I am not so keen on attaching my expensive flash on the wireless trigger until I know what I am doing. After reading this article, I do have a fairly good idea on what I need to buy.
Well, due to popularity of strobist.com, it is now almost impossible to get the Nikon SB-24/25/26/28/80 (Thanks alot, David Hobby! :)). I started to look at some other alternatives. Sunpak and Vivitar come up a lot, but their prices are not that great at times - remember "cheap", I am looking at $20-40 range, each. Well, after reading this nice review, I begin to focus on the Nikon SB-20. I was able to find 2 SB-20s on Ebay, for a total of around $64 (one for $25, and the other for $38) total, including shipping. Just a little cheaper than my normal used gear outlet, http://www.keh.com/, if you consider shipping cost.

SB-20 almost has everything I am looking for:
Fairly powerful- Guide number rating of 100;
Manual settings- Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, to 1/16;
Tilt feature- I think I'll use umbrellas most of the time, but there are times when I still want to bounce off of the ceiling;
PC sync cord connection;
Standard shoe mount;
Optional external power connection;
Uses standard AA batteries (x4).

Cons- all are fairly minor to me:
Odd ball flash head- Harder to mount snoot or other light modifier;
No swivel function- Not a big issue in the off camera mount world;
Not as powerful- at GN of 100, compared with GN120 for SB-28.

Oh, I can even mount the SB-20 on my Pentax DL! Cool! Of course, I have to make manual adjustments, but not bad at all.

Here are some more pictures:

Well, side by side with SB-600 (left), SB-20 is not very small in size.

PC Sync and power connection on the SB-20.

You can see the tilt adjustment (flash head) on the SB-20. Odd looking, but it works.

Not very star trek like as far as lightings concerned, but it has all the manual adjustment I am looking for.


More reviews here: http://www.dantestella.com/technical/sb20.html, and info here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf4/flash/sb20/index.htm.

I am still on the look out for another one, unless I can find a SB-24-28/80, cheap.

Cactus Wireless Flash Trigger

They have arrived! I ordered the Cactus triggering system (also known as Ebay Trigger) from MidWest Photo Exchange, just seach for Cactus, and you will find it on their site. Since the price for a single receiver is 2/3 of the price of trigger/receiver kit, I went ahead and ordered 2 sets of them, for spare.


Here's what comes with it - Receiver, Battery for the receiver, trigger, and a PC cable.


Here's the receiver with Battery installed. I can see the cold shoe bracket can be a weak spot.

And the receiver attached to flash.

Trigger attached to my Pentax DL. For the money, the trigger really doesn't look too cheesy.

I tried the trigger on my DL and D70, and tested receivers with my Minolta 2800 and Nikon SB-20 flashes. All worked right out of the box, I am pleasantly surprised.

Next, I tested highest sync speed with both cameras - Read about flash sync speed here. Pentax is rated at 1/180 of a second, above that, flash didn't even trigger. D70 can go 1/500 of a second, it triggered the flash, and took a picture. Above 1/500, the flash will trigger, but black screen. One problem, at 1/500 of a second, I noticed moire pattern! At the next speed, 1/400, no moire pattern. I have read interference issue, and produces lines on your images, this I have not read about - A quick search on Google didn't reveal anything, will keep searching.

I also did a quick distance test, I was able to trigger the unit that's 30 feet away, but in line of sight. I ran a few tests behind the walls, seems to work with 1 wall, up to 30 feet, but not too well if it is behind 2 walls, 1 wall + 1 door, etc.

For the price, this is not too bad. My next available option is go with Elinchrom Skyport Universal, cost around $185 for a trigger and a receiver. I figure I can start learning now.

A few things that I have learned so far-

1. Know your camera's flash sync speed. I always wondered why it is so important for some people, faster the sync speed, the better it will allow you to "freeze" the moment. For indoor, portraits, this is not so bad, but if you want to shoot action shots, such as exteme sport events (skating, roller blading, skate boarding, etc), that may be an issue (if I am wrong about this, let me know!).
2. A good flash, this has been discussed over and over again on the net - check Strobist and Flickr Strobist discuss forum - see below for some features to look for:

• The flash that I am using- Nikon SB-20 is rated at Guide Number of 100 (GN), Minolta 2800 is rated at GN98. Most people on the net is looking for something GN120 or above, I believe higher GN means farther coverage, so that is important where you can place the flash close to the subject.
• Manual power adjustment- SB-20 has manual adjustment that will let me go from Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 of power. This is a really nice feature to have, since the wireless system I have is pure triggering mechanism, so I have little control over the amount of light from the camera.
• Bounce and swivel- I see I use the bounce option more frequently. I can set up the flash to bounce off of the ceiling while it sits straight on the stand. If your flash does not have bounce feature, this can be compensated by an tilting the flash bracket on a stand, but I am not sure how strong the shoe mount of the flash, and better yet, the bracket on the wireless receiver is, since a loaded flash can get pretty heavy (batteries), and a higher chance of breaking something.
• Battery type- most flashes are setup to use AA batteries. Some even allow for external battery connection (usually more power), to allow for faster recycle time. There is one model by Nikon, SB-50dx, uses CR123 lithium batteries. I am not sure if they are easy to find, but I like AA batteries, since I can use rechargeble NiMH ones, cheaper in the long run, and good for the environment.

One thing I have noticed on-line is people complain about misfiring, or none firing. I am not sure if this has to do with flash's recycle time. If I am using full power on the SB-20, it takes 6 seconds to recycle (ready for next flash). If I lower the manual power, the recycle time adjusts accordingly (shorter time). Most flash has some type of READY light, look out for that.

Gotta stop typing, and playing with the new toys..... :)

New Photo Gear

One of my Christmas present.

I have been looking for a light stand kit, so I can focus more on portraits. Found it while scanning through BHPhoto catalog. Very nice price, free shipping (heh heh, can't beat that). Ordered it on Wednesday, and arrived next Monday.

The kit consists of:

• 2 x 32" Convertible Umbrella

• 2 x Umbrella Bracket

• 2 x Air Cushioned Black Stand

The umbrella is white with removable black backing. After a brief test as bounce/reflector, I promptly removed the backing and used the umbrella like a soft box.

The flash bracket is made of pastic, but does not feel cheap. It swivels easily, and contains studs that will let me mount it on a light stand, and accepts the cold shoe mount. Strangely, my Nikon SB-600 will not slide in to the cold shoe mount. I had to use my flash stand instead. I might file that down later.

The biggest surprise are the light stands. They are light, air-cushioned, and reaches 8' high. They feel very well made, and sturdy (with the umbrella kit). Not sure if it can handle larger umbrellas.

I only used one of the set, and tested with the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS) using the Nikon D70. I really like the way it turned out. Setup the system as a makeshift light box, the light is really nice.

My quick setup.

And a quick portrait shot of a beautiful volunteer model, :~).

Shot with 18-70mm kit lens at 55mm. The camera is about 3 feet from Sarah, and flash is to my left, about 4-5 feet from Sarah. The D70 was set to Commander mode, TTL. I post processed because she didn't have the right makeup on for a color picture, :~)

Now I am scanning through EBay for another flash to add to my setup. The flash that I wanted (SB-24, 25, 26, 28/dx, 80dx) are way out of what I want to pay at this time, DAMN Strobist! :~). I might hit the local pawn shops this weekend, what the heck....

Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. I guess this is just the beginning of my spending spree for more gear acquisition: let's see, Nikon CLS is nice, but it is an optical triggering system, which has some limitation. I'd invest in RF wireless triggering style system down the road. Once I get the hang of off camera flash.