Light stand....

[faisal]

Thinking of getting myself a light stand for my 430EX to do some off camera work...I liked the price of the Manfrotto 001B Nano stand (http://www.pictureline.com/products/15124/Manfrotto_001B_Nano_Stand/) ($60 locally)

I think I would need this flash shoe attachment to go with it...http://www.pictureline.com/products/1517/Manfrotto_2932_/_143S_Flash_Shoe_for_Magic_Arm/ ($9 locally)

What do you all think about my choice??

[jcon]

I recently bought 2 Impact light stands seen here... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/359885-REG/Impact_2205_Light_Stand_Black_.html for my SB-800s and I am very pleased with the purchase. Ignore the 6 foot height limit, they extend much higher than that.

I also purchased the suggested umbrella brackets. My total cost was $77.30 for 2 stands and 2 umbrella brackets. Couldnt be happier!

Oh and BTW, that Nano doesnt look to be very sturdy!

[cdifoto]

I have two Nanos. I love 'em for travel. Extremely light and compact but reach over 7' by the time you get the mount and flash on top. As for sturdy, they're plenty for a hot shoe flash or two and an umbrella. I wouldn't put anything more than that on 'em though. They're not meant for studio heads. It also helps if you put your gear bag on one or two of the feet to help anchor it down, if it's breezy and you don't have a proper sandbag or counterweight.

This is the mount I use. It gives me the option of using umbrellas.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/50067-REG/SP_Systems_SPBRACKS_Multi_Bracket.html

[Rhys]

I recently bought 2 Impact light stands seen here... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/359885-REG/Impact_2205_Light_Stand_Black_.html for my SB-800s and I am very pleased with the purchase. Ignore the 6 foot height limit, they extend much higher than that.

I also purchased the suggested umbrella brackets. My total cost was $77.30 for 2 stands and 2 umbrella brackets. Couldnt be happier!

Oh and BTW, that Nano doesnt look to be very sturdy!

+1 for the Impact 6' and 8' stands.

Amvona does some good ones too.

[Csae]

This is the mount I use. It gives me the option of using umbrellas.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/50067-REG/SP_Systems_SPBRACKS_Multi_Bracket.html

I use the same one, though i read that its a good idea to put some electrical tape on the bottom of that metal hotshoe, to prevent any electric contacts from being made. If you plan to use it, my flashes mount on my cactus v4s so i dont really have a need for that.

[faisal]

jcon & rhys...I have to make do with what I have and unfortunately the nano is the only one I found locally...seemed quite sturdy to me...

cdifoto...I plan to use it for a hot shoe flash + umbrella/soft box....
How can you mount two flashes on it???
It doesn't get too windy here most of the time but how windy does it need to be for these to give me some trouble???
I'll have to check if the local dealers have anything like that mount in the manfrotto range...thanks...

Csae...I'll be mounting my 430EX on it once I get hold of a 580EX....till then my trigger will be mounted....could you elaborate on the problem??

[cdifoto]

Nanos are meant to be portable, not heavy duty. I'm planning on limiting mine to one smallish umbrella and two hot shoe flashes at most. I will NOT put a studio strobe and/or soft box on them. They'll never hold that much.

There are dual brackets you can get to hold two flashes. I've drilled holes in mine and added extra feet so they hold four flashes each, but I doubt I want to put that much on the Nanos unless I'm not using an umbrella too.

How windy does it have to be? It doesn't take much wind to blow an umbrella over...even if it's on a solid stand. You NEED some sort of weight on the feet to anchor it. I speak from experience. :(

[cdifoto]

I use the same one, though i read that its a good idea to put some electrical tape on the bottom of that metal hotshoe, to prevent any electric contacts from being made. If you plan to use it, my flashes mount on my cactus v4s so i dont really have a need for that.
That's a non-issue. Even if contact is made all it would do is fire the flash once and then you're good to go. They wouldn't have made it out of the materials they made it out of if it wasn't safe.

Here's why it's a non-issue.

1. A groove.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/gear/2009-05-30-0001.jpg

2. A hole.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/gear/2009-05-30-0002.jpg

[faisal]

By softbox I meant those small light ones....the store had some mounted on the Nano and it seemed fine....I don't think I want to invest in strobes as I'd prefer portability of speedlites...

So I suppose my bag needs to be used to stabilize these if I'm using an umbrella...

Btw any recommendations on umbrellas....??

[cdifoto]

As far as I'm concerned an umbrella is an umbrella. Get the cheapest ones. Unless you plan on abusing them, in which case you'll want some that are built especially well. :)

[faisal]

The cheapest I can find are $15...so I was thinking going for some better ones costing me $20....


I keep popping tons of questions on this forum and you keep answering most of them for me....Thanks a lot... :D

[jcon]

Hey cdi, that pic you showed of the flash mount titled "A Groove". Does your flash stay in that? mine is always extremely loose and the side screw wont seem to screw in far enough to hold it tight. So what I had to do was remove that and attach the flash stand that came with my speedlight. Whats been your experience with that?

[cdifoto]

The cheapest I can find are $15...so I was thinking going for some better ones costing me $20....


I keep popping tons of questions on this forum and you keep answering most of them for me....Thanks a lot... :D

Sounds about right. I think that's what I paid for my smallest. They're 33" and extremely lightweight.


Hey cdi, that pic you showed of the flash mount titled "A Groove". Does your flash stay in that? mine is always extremely loose and the side screw wont seem to screw in far enough to hold it tight. So what I had to do was remove that and attach the flash stand that came with my speedlight. Whats been your experience with that?
I'm using Vivitar 283s with a clamping foot and they're all tight. The knob isn't really needed but does give me a little extra feel-good security (not much though since there's not a whole load of benefit to that particular design).

[Csae]

I remember reading about the tape warning on the strobist, he didn't mention why, but my theory is that not all the pins are used for the trigger, some are used to communicate with the camera, a trigger volt through them, MIGHT, in some cases, cause damage, so they said tape over it. Made sense to me.

I know the electric pins on my vivitar 836AFC do reach at the bottom of the grove, whether or not they fit in that tiny hole i wouldnt be able to see, when you screw them on the stand, there is a little space, but its not much either, so i figured id spend about .05cents worth of tape to not worry.

Anyways thats just what i do :)

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-umbrella-adapters.html

[achuang]

I put a small piece of electrical tape on both my shoe mounts just so they don't fire every time I put the flash onto it while the flash is on. Mine hold my flashes quite tight. One of them wouldn't even take a flash when I first got them because the side railing was a tiny bit tall, but because they're made of aluminium (aluminum for USA residents) I just filed it down and fits fine.

[faisal]

So I got the Manfrotto 001B Nano Stand + Manfrotto 143S + Manfrotto 026 Lite Tite Swivel adapter for a total of $100.....I think I figured what goes where, just need to know what the big handle is for and if it is for the swivel function, how to use it....anyone have any links???

[cdifoto]

I assume you mean the handle on the 026. It's so you can adjust the tilt. Loosen it and see for yourself. It's pretty straightforward.

[faisal]

yes...I meant the handle on the 026....I can't loosen it....tried!! Maybe I'll ask my big brother to have a go as I don't seem to be strong enough!!! :S

[cdifoto]

Are you turning it the correct way? Righty-tighty lefty-loosey... ;) :D

[faisal]

Are you turning it the correct way? Righty-tighty lefty-loosey... ;) :D

Got it!!!! :o :)

[faisal]

For the full body shot, how big should the umbrella be. and which one http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=sort&A=search&Q=&sortDrop=Brand:+A+to+Z&bl=&atl=&pn=1&st=categoryNavigation&mnp=0.0&mxp=0.0&sv=1325&bhs=t&shs=&ac=&fi=all&pn=1&ci=1325&cmpsrch=&cltp=&clsgr=

Got a friend flying in from the US....might get him to get me one.....

[Rhys]

Umbrella size isn't really that important. What you need to do is to fill the umbrella with light. Often with a big umbrella, the flash doesn't reach the edges. What I suggest is the umbrella you're currently using and move it away from the subject a little further. That makes the light spread more and should illuminate your subject fully.

[faisal]

I don't own a umbrella....so for a first purchase what should I get...also should it be a white one or the silver one...??

[FLiPMaRC]

I don't own a umbrella....so for a first purchase what should I get...also should it be a white one or the silver one...??

Depends. Are you going to bounce or shoot through?

Or you can get a convertible one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=423625&is=REG

[faisal]

Convertible ones are the jack of all trades and therefore does not to either as good as they should.

I don't know if I want to bounce or shoot through..... :confused:

[FLiPMaRC]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but most "Strobist (http://strobist.blogspot.com/)" use shoot through, right?

[TheWengler]

Convertible ones are the jack of all trades and therefore does not to either as good as they should.

Maybe it won't reflect as efficiently, but it should work as a shoot through the same, as it's still a white satin umbrella when you take the cover off. The white will give you softer light. The silver will give you a little more contrast and will use you light more efficiently. I have a couple of the 43" collapsible ones and I prefer the white.

[Rhys]

I tend to prefer the silver reflective and white reflective umbrellas to the shoot throughs.

[Csae]

Its anyone's balls, i bought both, and ended up prefering shoot throughs, so i returned the reflective ones.

I dont know, easier to aim for me and position for me.

[faisal]

FLiPMaRC.....I don't know why but to me it seems more logical to bounce but that must be because I like bouncing off the ceiling. Shooting diffused light has never worked for me yet.

Lukas...thanks for the input. I'm thinking of getting collapsible ones as well...the ones provided by Westcott. I might just get the white one with the removable black if in the end the white is the same....

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/501164-REG/Westcott_2011_43_White_Umbrella_Collapsible.html

[faisal]

Rhys....I'd like to know which ones better....I'm ordering it from the US. So want to make the right decision.

Csae...can't order two. it's a friends friend. Don't want to push my luck with luggage space. I think I might just buy a cheap non collapsible silver one here...

[cdifoto]

It's not a matter of better or worse; it's a matter of preference. A white shoot-through will give you softer shadows with lower contrast while a silver bounce of the same size at the same distance will give you harder shadows with higher contrast.

[Mark_48]

I've got a couple shoot throughs, as well as a couple of reflective. I think they are 42" umbrellas. The shoot through umbrellas I have, have a removable black backing. This can be used if you're using it as a reflector type umbrella and don't want light spillage behind the umbrella. Deciding which umbrella to use is pretty much what Don said.
I've also got a softbox, but it's a pain to assembly, so I don't often use it.

A couple Google hits on choosing an umbrella....
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/01/back-to-basics-how-to-choose-umbrella.html

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/42439_photo-shoots-umbrellas.htm

[faisal]

I prefer softer shadows so I guess white it is!!!

[faisal]

Mark....I wish I could practice before I buy but can't. I've decided to get the white with removable black. I suppose I'll have to take the risk. If the shipping costs weren't too high, I wouldn't be worried.....

[Rhys]

Just a thought but... Some of my friends made their own umbrellas. They took the handles off ordinary umbrellas and sprayed the inside white or silver as required.

[faisal]

A local photographer did the same. Might do that for the silver reflector one but would need a good shoot through one. So the collapsible is perfect as it's nice and small...so would like one of those for some quick shoots....

[Mark_48]

Mark....I wish I could practice before I buy but can't. I've decided to get the white with removable black. I suppose I'll have to take the risk. If the shipping costs weren't too high, I wouldn't be worried.....
What can a couple of lightweight umbrellas from B&H cost to ship? :)


Holy crap :eek:

[faisal]

hahahaha....holy crap indeed....plus 5% import tax!!!

[TheWengler]

Lukas...thanks for the input. I'm thinking of getting collapsible ones as well...the ones provided by Westcott. I might just get the white one with the removable black if in the end the white is the same....[/url]

Just a couple more thoughts...It's kind of a pain to take the cover on and off if you keep switching from shoot through to reflective. Also the points of the umbrella are more likely to scratch you with the removable cover variety.