Village Idiot
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2008
- Messages
- 7,269
- Reaction score
- 406
- Location
- Shepherdsturd, WV / Almost, MD
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
Dynalites!
Just a PSA. These suckers rock. Other than not being weather resistant like certain speedlights or any speedlight + a gallon freezer bag, they travel nice and with the Paul C. Buff Mini Vagabond, they're almost as portable (with some obvious exceptions).
I did a mini shoot yesterday evening at a local abandonned golf course with a friend who I'm collaberating with to do a pin-up calendar for a local business. We brought one of the models along so we could do some planning and shoot a little bit. She's not super experienced as far as photography goes, but she's interested in it and is a MUA that did a pretty big fashion show charity event last summer, so I was showing her some tricks. I packed a lighting back with a portable stand, 800 w/s Dynalite pack, studio head, two cables, VBM, and two Pocket Wizards and we headed out. The bag was a little heavier, but everything fit in there and I didn't have to worry about charging anything but my camera batteries and the VBM. I did carry a Kacey beauty dish with me so we had some type of modifier besides and umbrella.
We managed to shoot for about an hour before the rain started coming down and with that, the lights got packed away. The VBM did beautifully and was still showing a full charge after two of use shooting for an hour. The recycle time on the Dynalite pack was relatively quick and we were able to go from overpowering the sun to having a nice balance for the evening light. The quality of light was great as well. The only downside is that the built in PW in the Dynalite pack doesn't work so hot on a battery. You have to give it about 15 seconds between shots or it will not work and even then sometimes you have to cycle the power on the pack to get it to reinitialize. It's an inconvenience and reminded me that I do need to buy a cable so I can plug one in directly. Otherwise, things went perfectly.
I'm going to work on some of the photos this evening and post them up so people have some idea of the range I was getting from the lights.
Now why did I post this nonsense? Because Dynalites! They're a system you don't ever hear a lot about but yet a good amount of pros use them. I've owned several different sets and other than being able to afford a $20,000 set of Profoto lights, I can't think of any other brand replacing them. From the Bees, to the speedlights, to the Speedotron, to the Dyna, they just fit my shooting style with the ability to give me the power I need while still remaining semi-portable. No offense to the Speedo fans, but I don't regret selling mine after lugging around a Pelican case full of lights that weighed in at over 100lbs.
Just a PSA. These suckers rock. Other than not being weather resistant like certain speedlights or any speedlight + a gallon freezer bag, they travel nice and with the Paul C. Buff Mini Vagabond, they're almost as portable (with some obvious exceptions).
I did a mini shoot yesterday evening at a local abandonned golf course with a friend who I'm collaberating with to do a pin-up calendar for a local business. We brought one of the models along so we could do some planning and shoot a little bit. She's not super experienced as far as photography goes, but she's interested in it and is a MUA that did a pretty big fashion show charity event last summer, so I was showing her some tricks. I packed a lighting back with a portable stand, 800 w/s Dynalite pack, studio head, two cables, VBM, and two Pocket Wizards and we headed out. The bag was a little heavier, but everything fit in there and I didn't have to worry about charging anything but my camera batteries and the VBM. I did carry a Kacey beauty dish with me so we had some type of modifier besides and umbrella.
We managed to shoot for about an hour before the rain started coming down and with that, the lights got packed away. The VBM did beautifully and was still showing a full charge after two of use shooting for an hour. The recycle time on the Dynalite pack was relatively quick and we were able to go from overpowering the sun to having a nice balance for the evening light. The quality of light was great as well. The only downside is that the built in PW in the Dynalite pack doesn't work so hot on a battery. You have to give it about 15 seconds between shots or it will not work and even then sometimes you have to cycle the power on the pack to get it to reinitialize. It's an inconvenience and reminded me that I do need to buy a cable so I can plug one in directly. Otherwise, things went perfectly.
I'm going to work on some of the photos this evening and post them up so people have some idea of the range I was getting from the lights.
Now why did I post this nonsense? Because Dynalites! They're a system you don't ever hear a lot about but yet a good amount of pros use them. I've owned several different sets and other than being able to afford a $20,000 set of Profoto lights, I can't think of any other brand replacing them. From the Bees, to the speedlights, to the Speedotron, to the Dyna, they just fit my shooting style with the ability to give me the power I need while still remaining semi-portable. No offense to the Speedo fans, but I don't regret selling mine after lugging around a Pelican case full of lights that weighed in at over 100lbs.
