Flash; some surprises...
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 6:38 pm
I was trying to use flash with my A7R the other night and found it a right pain. I've had a couple of Canon 550EX Speedlights for a few years and even with an ST-E2 IR controller and even on Canon bodies, they were less that ideal. The system is a bastard to use (though those who know it well seem to like it) and I never quite got my head around it. On the A7R it is even worse because the Sony hotshoe doesn't line up all the pins (which are configured differently anyway). Sony make good flashes - which are not well designed - but they are very expensive and there's no controller for off-camera work. I had looked at getting a simple Yongnuo setup - two Speedlights and a controller - but there were issues. The unit would work on a Canon or Nikon but not so well on a Sony or Olympus. The problem seemed to be the connection on the hotshoe. On a Sony you have to get the pins in exactly the right place and lock it in or it doesn't work. Otherwise they seem to be good flashes.
I am looking at manual only. I hate TTL.
Enter a mysterious company called "Neewer", hitherto unknown to me but then I don't generally keep my ear to the ground for stuff like this and I'm not especially brand aware. Apparently these guys think that flash shouldn't be that hard and although they have started making dedicated TTL flashes for Canikon, their bread and butter flashes are totally manual. Sounding difficult? It's not. Here's how they work:
Well, I started looking around for Neewer but kept getting redirects to another company called Godox, who make studio flashes. They're not up to Bowens but they're out there in the market and have been for a while. Suddenly it became apparent that, not only were they the same thing. I could get a replacement kit for a bit over AU $300 that looked substantially easier to use than the Canons for what is apparently the same build quality. By comparison, a Canon 600EX is about $500 with no battery charger, no transmitter and no batteries.
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-v860c-ving- ... sh-review/
On top of this is the clincher: these flashes use Li-Ion batteries which are the equivalent of 12 AAs! Fuck me. Rechargeable flash batteries. No more AAs (of which the 550EXs use only four). So I got myself a kit from eBay and I'm awaiting its delivery.
It gets even better. Godox has also introduced a bare bulb flash which runs off the same transmitter (different receiver though). It comes in two models: a 180 W/S and a 360 W/S. Wait a minute, 360 W/S? That's as powerful as a studio flash head! And the bloody thing runs off a battery pack. This shows a different brand of the same thing, marketed by Adorama:
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-witstro-ad180-ad360-review/
For sheer output, this is a much more powerful flash than any Speedlight (about 6 times). By my calculations that should be about 2.5 stops. The light is also easier to modify. Instead of a focused beam like Speedlights, bare bulb flashes throw light pretty much everywhere. All you need is the appropriate modifiers:
An important point to note is that these flashes are not compatible with high speed sync. However you can use a transceiver called the Cells II which is available for both Canon and Nikon:
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-cells-ii-n- ... -released/
I am looking at manual only. I hate TTL.
Enter a mysterious company called "Neewer", hitherto unknown to me but then I don't generally keep my ear to the ground for stuff like this and I'm not especially brand aware. Apparently these guys think that flash shouldn't be that hard and although they have started making dedicated TTL flashes for Canikon, their bread and butter flashes are totally manual. Sounding difficult? It's not. Here's how they work:
Well, I started looking around for Neewer but kept getting redirects to another company called Godox, who make studio flashes. They're not up to Bowens but they're out there in the market and have been for a while. Suddenly it became apparent that, not only were they the same thing. I could get a replacement kit for a bit over AU $300 that looked substantially easier to use than the Canons for what is apparently the same build quality. By comparison, a Canon 600EX is about $500 with no battery charger, no transmitter and no batteries.
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-v860c-ving- ... sh-review/
On top of this is the clincher: these flashes use Li-Ion batteries which are the equivalent of 12 AAs! Fuck me. Rechargeable flash batteries. No more AAs (of which the 550EXs use only four). So I got myself a kit from eBay and I'm awaiting its delivery.
It gets even better. Godox has also introduced a bare bulb flash which runs off the same transmitter (different receiver though). It comes in two models: a 180 W/S and a 360 W/S. Wait a minute, 360 W/S? That's as powerful as a studio flash head! And the bloody thing runs off a battery pack. This shows a different brand of the same thing, marketed by Adorama:
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-witstro-ad180-ad360-review/
For sheer output, this is a much more powerful flash than any Speedlight (about 6 times). By my calculations that should be about 2.5 stops. The light is also easier to modify. Instead of a focused beam like Speedlights, bare bulb flashes throw light pretty much everywhere. All you need is the appropriate modifiers:
An important point to note is that these flashes are not compatible with high speed sync. However you can use a transceiver called the Cells II which is available for both Canon and Nikon:
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-cells-ii-n- ... -released/