Upgrading to Godox/Flashpoint AD400 Strobes

[adamhiram]

I ended up getting:
2 of the 7" reflectors, https://www.adorama.com/semr7.html
2 barn door sets, https://www.adorama.com/fplfbd.html which come with 3 colors and a basic grid
1 set of gels, https://www.adorama.com/lemlocp.html I did cut mine down fit in the barn door slot and the left over strips fit over a speed light well.

Thanks for the update, really appreciate it!

 

[JBPhotog]

Just because I am currently looking into a new set of colored gels, here's a link to a similar thread from @Nwcid from last year. I don't see much of a difference between offerings from Rosco and Lee Filters, but I liked the colors from my last set from Lee that I used with my speedlights (via RogueFlash), so leaning towards those unless someone has a strong recommendation otherwise.

Rosco Photo Lighting Filter Kit (20 sheets)
Lee Filters Master Location Pack (36 sheets)

I have both Lee and Rosco and they are high quality gels. FWIW, Lee seems to be more popular in the east and Rosco in the west. There are slight differences between the colour correcting gels between brands so you may want to keep them sorted if gelling more than one light with mixed gel brands.

Of the two kits you mentioned, the Rosco has more neutral density gels but you will have the luxury of 1/10 stop adjustment with the Flashpoint XPLOR 400's so they may not be of much use. Furthermore, you get two sheets of the Colour Correction gels in the Lee kit so gelling two heads is right out of the box simple.

 

[zombiesniper]

Congrats on the upgrade and great write up.
One more use for the modelling light is when shooting people with glasses you can easily see if you have a reflection.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Braineack]

Next: start tethering.

I'm tethering at every opportunity when shooting now. Incredibly useful to see an image at 100% while you are shooting and not relying on the sh*t LCD panel to make big decisions -- especially focus and DOF.

Here you can see the red highlight clipping turned on. Here I was making sure I wasn't blowing out anything and working on getting even fill.

 

[JBPhotog]

Now available for pre-order, the Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Extension Flash heads are options one might consider when booming on location. This can help reduce the ballast necessary to keep your stand upright, I have them for my heavier Godox AD600.

https://www.adorama.com/fplfxp400p.html

 

[adamhiram]

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell what power the flash fired at when used in TTL mode? I may be missing something, but as far as I can tell it hides flash power when switched to TTL, which would be a pretty useful thing to be able to see.

 

[Braineack]

Now available for pre-order, the Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Extension Flash heads are options one might consider when booming on location. This can help reduce the ballast necessary to keep your stand upright, I have them for my heavier Godox AD600.

https://www.adorama.com/fplfxp400p.html

you can see I'm using that in the picture above -- just for the 600. well worth it. I can also put the strobe on a monopod and have an assistant hand hold it that way.

the guts/battery is hanging on the stand.

 

[JBPhotog]

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell what power the flash fired at when used in TTL mode? I may be missing something, but as far as I can tell it hides flash power when switched to TTL, which would be a pretty useful thing to be able to see.

Short answer is no.

Long answer, it's the cameras light sensor that tells the flash when to stop and the flash would have to determine that duration and calculate the actual flash output. Keeping this in mind using TTL can actually get you to a lower output setting that the lowest manual setting, such as 1/256 power.

 

[smoke665]

Next: start tethering.

I like tethering when I'm on tripod, but shooting handheld I'm to clumsy. Have you experienced transfer lag time on? I've heard, but not tried it, that you can remove the camera SD cards to speed up the process.

 

[Braineack]

I've found it pretty fast, even on my old laptap. Just a second or two. Doesn't seem any faster in jpg, never tried removing the SD Card, I'd prefer to keep it in just in case the cord comes out while shooting so they get stored.

 

[adamhiram]

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell what power the flash fired at when used in TTL mode? I may be missing something, but as far as I can tell it hides flash power when switched to TTL, which would be a pretty useful thing to be able to see.

Short answer is no.

Long answer, it's the cameras light sensor that tells the flash when to stop and the flash would have to determine that duration and calculate the actual flash output. Keeping this in mind using TTL can actually get you to a lower output setting that the lowest manual setting, such as 1/256 power.

Not a big loss, I suppose. I think I've seen this done with Profoto gear, but it didn't seem particularly useful in a studio environment where I'm likely to meter each light anyway.

 

[Nwcid]

Next: start tethering.

I like tethering when I'm on tripod, but shooting handheld I'm to clumsy. Have you experienced transfer lag time on? I've heard, but not tried it, that you can remove the camera SD cards to speed up the process.

I love tethering whenever it is practical, especially if using lighting. I always seem to get much closer to an exact exposure then when using my LCD.

I am also clumsy, but I clamp the cord to the table on the computer side.

My understanding is that using Capture 1 is very fast, I just tether into LR. It usually only takes 1-2 seconds to show up on the screen and I am using a D850 with huge files.

I also keep my cards in as the image can only go to one place. I think there is a way to do both on Cannon, but not on Nikon. I have had times when I may need/want to untether for a moment or for some reason it does have a connection error.

 

[adamhiram]

Quick update... I used the modeling light on one of the AD400s as a video light today and it was more than bright enough. I used it inside of a 38" octobox with the brightness turned up to 100%, and probably could have turned it down to half power. Other than the fan noise which really wasn't too bad, pretty usable!

 

[JBPhotog]

Quick update... I used the modeling light on one of the AD400s as a video light today and it was more than bright enough. I used it inside of a 38" octobox with the brightness turned up to 100%, and probably could have turned it down to half power. Other than the fan noise which really wasn't too bad, pretty usable!

According to my light meter, the 38 watt LED in the AD600 is equivalent to a 250 watt modelling light so the 30 watt LED in the AD400/XPLOR 400 is not far off that.

 

[Derrel]

You can use those modeling lights as what-you-see-is-what-you-get as far as establishing ratios. Keep in mind you can use equal lights and vary the distance or you can use lights of different Power and you can achieve much the same thing. Modeling lights which are proportional in power to the flash output allow you to quickly establish your lighting setups without constant need for either test shots or Flash meter readings.