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Slave strobes for fish pictures


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#1 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 11:16 AM

Howdy all,

I've been looking at the various options for eliminating shadows and I'm interested in one or two slave strobes. With the whole digital thing being new to me, I'm at a loss for which model to use. Anyone have experience with them and/or can make a suggestion for field use?

#2 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 11:24 AM

You might consider getting a "gripper" style tripod for easier use; this way you can mount the flash on a convenient branch, and won't have to lug around a traditional tripod.

#3 Guest_daveneely_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 11:54 AM

hey Uland,

I've been using a pair of Canon 430EX Speedlites with the IR transmitter (look ma, no wires!); these stand up by themselves which is nice if you're shooting on a tabletop or park bench or truck tailgate. Makes all the difference for low-light conditions, and can run on AAs which is good int he field (well, the IR transmitter takes a lithium battery, but it lasts a looong time). I also had the opportunity to play with their high-end macro ringlight on a trip last fall, and was duly impressed -- though it doesn't take long for the "accessories" to add up to way more than the camera...

cheers,
Dave

#4 Guest_MScooter_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 03:47 PM

I've been eyeballing the Canon hf-dc1 wireless. It should work with the A560 and multiples can be run simultaneously. I've missed a couple in the fifty dollar range on Ebay which is the right "field" price. What would be the optimal positioning/diffusion of slaves for macro photography of fishes?

#5 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 05:04 PM

Dave,

So you plug in a transmitter to the camera body and viola, they synchronize? It's just that easy? My goodness.....$ 250.00 per strobe! I'm not sure I can buy enough flowers to make this one go over.


I've been eyeballing the Canon hf-dc1 wireless. It should work with the A560 and multiples can be run simultaneously. I've missed a couple in the fifty dollar range on Ebay which is the right "field" price. What would be the optimal positioning/diffusion of slaves for macro photography of fishes?


I looked at that strobe as well. I'm actually going to upgrade to a D-SLR and want to take underwater pics this year as well. No underwater body for my powershot A560 and I don't have the guts to take a 1K D-SLR in the water so I need to upgrade to the powershot A570 for a point and shoot that I can also buy an underwater housing for. It would be nice if I can use a set of slave strobes for both cameras. My big concern with the hf-dc1 is the special battery. I should buy stock in energizer :laugh:

#6 Guest_daveneely_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 06:18 PM

So you plug in a transmitter to the camera body and viola, they synchronize? It's just that easy? My goodness.....$ 250.00 per strobe! I'm not sure I can buy enough flowers to make this one go over.


Yup, it's that easy (except for the flowers). The transmitter attaches to the hot shoe on top of the camera body, fires an IR pulse that syncs the slave flashes. You might ask a shop if you could use the same transmitter with the cheaper flashes and/or A570, haven't looked into that.

I shot about 5000 pics through a Canon 10D between 2004 and 2006. Great camera (other than the warm-up delay). However, when we bought a new camera here in SF two years ago I suggested going with a slightly cheaper body (Rebel XT rather than the 20D) to leave a little bit more $$ for lenses and flash units. I was a little worried about the plastic body, but the Rebel has held up very well under rather severe field conditions (duststorms in Mongolia, heavy rain and bad roads in China, etc.); despite having nearly the same electronics, it's also a bit smaller and lighter than the 20D (which has since been replaced w/ the 30D). My GF has since bought a Rebel XTi (=400D) and it's been great, also. If you're buying a dSLR, I will vouch without reservation for the Rebel series... and Ikelite makes an awful nice housing for it!!

Dave

#7 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 07:43 PM

I'm pleased to know how easy this can be. Thanks Dave.

I've settled on the Rebel XT (350D) since 8 mega pixels seems plenty and I have other cameras with the same digic processor and happy with it. I also feel the EF-S 60 mm macro lens will best suit my needs. The ikelite case for the xt is probably comparable to similar manual cases but I might have to wait a year for that. For now I'll see what my $150 underwater case will do with my $ 150 camera.

#8 Guest_Carl_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 10:32 PM

I use two Nikon SB24 flashes on my Nikon D70. One on a cord one on a optical slave. I carry all my junk in a small cooler that seems to work well for me.

#9 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 11:49 PM

My goodness.....$ 250.00 per strobe! I'm not sure I can buy enough flowers to make this one go over.


Be thankful you don't buy guitars as a hobby!

I just need to finish building my 4x5 outfit, the youse guys will see some real photos!

#10 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 22 March 2008 - 06:36 PM

I received my new camera a while ago and just recently received my flash unit. I played around with it today since the sun shined a bit and could use some advice. The stoneroller had no flash (I had to work a couple of bugs out) and the cherryfin had diffused flash from a single strobe. I'm not happy with any aspect of the cherryfin photo. I still have some shadow and too much light reflecting off of the flanks. Any suggestions?

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#11 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 22 March 2008 - 11:02 PM

As for the shadow, don't put your background immediately behind the fish. Set it up a few feet back. You can use an easel or whatever.

You should place two strobes at about 45 degrees each from the front of the fish - this will eliminate direct reflection off the scales.

Aww, what the hell do I know?

#12 Guest_daveneely_*

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Posted 03 April 2008 - 02:35 AM

Martin is dead-on; with an opaque pinning board there's almost no way you're going to be able to completely get rid of that shadow, unless you mount one of the strobes directly overhead so it's shooting down onto the fish.

I'd try keeping the flash units further away from the fish, and maybe even a little more than a 45-degree angle. Be sure you've got the diffuser over the flash to soften it. If you're still not happy with this, bounce the flash off of some light-colored surface, a couple of pieces of white matboard or foamcore work well for this. You'll likely need to set your camera on a tripod (the little compact mini-tripods work great for this), use the timer and hold the boards manually (a side benefit of this is that you've then got less movement and can shoot at much lower shutter speeds and higher f-stops for better depth of field).

The same boards can be used to reflect or control natural light. Attached photo is of Mark Sabaj using this technique on an expedition to Mongolia in 2006. Also note the use of a clear pinning board, and the distance from fish to background -- no shadows. It doesn't need to be a few feet, I've had good luck leaning a piece of foamcore at an angle against the back of the photo tank.

Dave

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