Recent Shoot, Bit More Flashy

Same garden, same fence as these ones from earlier in the week … (link) …,but the sun was not playing ball yesterday so I tried some with a second flash as hairlight from behind, with the mainlight in a 60cmx60cm softbox …. More 'flashy' looking for sure. This time I used Manual mode for the flash exposures (easily switched to with a press on the V6II group buttons).


K7; D FA 28-105mm; Cactus V6II / RF60x Flashes; ISO100; F8; 1/180th























Thanks for viewing and for your thoughts!

Again nice images Nigel.. In fact I actually prefer these to the first set... I've no idea how bright the sunlight was. But looking at your settings i'm assuming you would have killed most of the ambient light. You also must have had your keylight pretty close as you have a very shallow DoF for f8. Which explains the more flash light look. What white balance did you select ? Flash is usually colour balanced to match approx midday daylight. So depending on what time of day you took these. Your daylight colour temperature may have needed to be reset. Or we then could get into the realms of CTO and CTB gels on the flash heads to balance the difference in light temperatures.. But im also assuming a man of your calibre already knows this....!

1 and 3 are absolute crackers here Nigel. The hair light really works to add depth and dimension to the image. i think you have slightly overcooked the hair light in the second picture where the bright patch of skin is illuminated.

Thanks Stuart .... I've only used gels a little, like indoors with a tungsten WB setting and a 1/2 CTO to balance. Also I usually put a 1/4 CTO on outdoors when using daylight WB, just to give a little warmth to the flash lit skin tones. Still plenty to learn about gels!

Yes, there's very little ambient light recorded here, so I used the flash WB, with adjustment leftwards towards cool (my processing seems to bring out reds and yellow so I tend to cool the WB).

Thanks also Peter .... yes, there was some blow out on the rim light, something I didn't pick up during all the action! I did dial it down later such as for the last one.

I worked in Manual mode, but actually there is quite a lot going on to consider and keep an eye on in Manual mode, and its easy to overlook small adjustments when the subjects are changing and their positioning changes also (little kids, like dogs, will not always be still ) I wonder how the TTL mode would cope with this scenario .... ? I wasn't sure about the hair light, but if TTL worked well for it then it could be worth a try ...... what do you think?

Only one way to find out Nigel, give it a go. I must get out and do some photography soon. We are approaching the end of our house redecoration and when i don't have any more switches; sockets or downlighters to replace I will be grabbing the camera and flash and dog treats !

Great! It would be good to know if TTL metering can cope with a main light and a hair light, while offering good firm control. It's the sort of thing I've thought of as needing Manual power control, but if TTL with Cactus was abie to cope and remain consistent it may be the ideal solution to these sort of quasi static /mobile scenarios ... It would be the remote control over compensation settings that would elevate it over optical Wireless P-TTL.

I'll leave all the flash talk to those that understand and use flash in creative and inventive ways.
As for the shots. I think they are just super
Great shooting 👏👏👏

Thanks ! I'm glad you saw them Derek.

I carried out some tests today trying out a hair light with TTL, and I was very impressed. I popped a teddy bear up on a sofa back and placed a flash behind, about 3 ft back, aiming at the head. The settings were ISO 400, F8, 1/180th, and in Manual mode I needed 1/16th power to light up the rim of the head nicely, with highlights about 60% along the histogram. Switching to TTL mode, the exact same brightness was achieved with a setting of -0.5 stop.

Considering that the hairlight was only a rim around a teddies head, and that the majority of the frame was darkness, I though the metering was quite extraordinary. Adjustments of half stops up and down produced perfectly reliable and consistent steps of brightness changes, again quite amazing for automatic flash metering I think!

Introducing a main light from the softbox in front had no impact of the independence of the rim light at all .... both groups were completely controllable independently. It was just like working in manual mode, but in 'stops'. Very impressed.

So happy it all worked out for you Nigel.

+1

Great photos and also your commentary is always interesting - thanks Nigel.

Philip

I can see a new addendum to your flash guides in the making Nigel !

That doesn't sound entirely convincing .

I know you've been wary of the Cactus TTL option, and you've been wishing for "professional" grade strobe TTL support for a long time. Have you looked at the Photix or Cononmark products? Or ir may be worth waiting for Cactus to release their new "250" model lithium strobe, which will offer TTL/HSS with the V6II , plus built in receiver.

It's all going to be more expensive than the RF60x route, but for someone like me, working in small spaces, the hotshoe type flashes are enough. I've moved recently to NiMh rechargeable, and the improvement in performance and number of recycles had been very good ....I took around 100 shots with my recent tests and am still a long way away from having to recharge any batteries

Lol.... "That doesn't sound entirely convincing . " it really was..!!

I've a lot of time for your exploits as its an area I enjoy very much. (Though im not exactly expert at it..) And read with great interest. Good to try and sort out some of the ups and downs together..

From my experience you have to make compromises in which ever system you try and adopt. More so with Pentax..lol So you just go with the one that suits best..

In your case the moving subject matter is ideal for a TTL flash system. And your correct to base it on the Keylight and then use stop adjustments for the ancillary lights.. Its now also a great time to use flash guns as you can now fit more studio like modifiers to them thanks to the Chinese bringing out various brackets... So get rid of that bloody shoot through umbrella...lol Sorry couldnt resist..! Light shaping is in my mind just as if not more important than the emitter or system.

I use a manual system of 5 Bowens studio lights. Because when I purchased them there were no TTL options of any brand available for Pentax. Never regretted the purchase. Though they don't provide HSS, and outdoor use is near impossible due to the weight. So another type of system is still needed. Remain to be convinced that Flash guns are powerful enough outdoors.

Pentax have a fabulous gun in their versions of the AF540FGZ or 360. But until now nothing to fire it with off camera. Even the K3II and K1 don't have pop up flash triggers. So starting out with Pentax is a complete non starter.

I havn't been totally wary of the cactus system. I would prefer a trigger that only supported the Pentax variant. PTTL not TTL. But being from Lancashire I guess I just thought at £80 per trigger, its too expensive. My manual studio light trigger cost £6 and work perfectly. Though you do have to walk over to the light now and again to turn the power up and down.

I have been admiring the Phottix system for a while. They even list SRS as a supplier. Though checking their website they only show Canon or Nikon variants for sale.

TTL is a great feature if you need an instant shot. (Newspaper reporter) For off camera I still think its a very expensive alternative that needs just as much setting up. For the same reward.

Yongnuo and Godox have conquered the amateur market. We just havn't seen it because they choose to ignore the size of market or the difficulties in adopting P-TTL

Ok, that's more convincing .... Don't worry, the shoot-through umbrella was binned a couple of weeks ago, as it blew over and hit the tarmac with half the struts broken! Fortunately just as it hit the ground it turned itself into an instant dual flash protector, saving my 2 RF60's from damage! Such are the hazards of using a fairly budget and lightweight setup outdoors. The softbox is more solid and can withstand the breeze better. I think I'll have to spend much more money on Pro grade stands and diffusers to get things that will be guaranteed to stay up in the wind.

I use flash mainly outdoors, and mainly around home at fairly small working distances, so I have found the Cactus flashes to be plenty powerful enough ..... the only times I end up using full power is for close-up macro stuff with one flash in the softbox close in at the side, but shooting at ISO100 / F16. Then it can be a struggle. Sure, HSS can be a challenge when the brightness and sky demands exposure times less than 1/1000th ... then a single flash struggles in HSS mode. There would be advantageous for to using a strobe system then for sure.

I would keep an eye out for the Cactus RQ250 .... I know that it won't be a cheap option, but you will only need a single V6II trigger to control four independent strobes if you want. Choosing Godox still requires trigger stacking even for Manual mode HSS, and there seems to be endless questions over compatibilities to contend with, and every Pentax shooter using it seems to have a different set up and ways to configure it all.

Regarding the support for P-TTL, this is exactly what the V6II does ..... 'TTL' is just a generic reference to digital automatic flash metering. With the Pentax firmware version you are getting P-TTL. As I reported earlier I have been very impressed with the accuracy and independence of control over 2 separate flashes in TTL mode, even when one light is only a thin beam of hairlight. I don't think we could possibly ask for a better third party implementation and transmission of the P-TTL protocol. Another bonus is 2nd curtain sync in manual flash mode, something we don't have with the Pentax proprietary system.

If you're thinking of an OEM infrared wireless controller like Nikon or Canon, or an in-built radio control system such as you get with Canons Pro DSLRs and their Radio 'Speedlite', then I've said it before, I wonder who the heck would cough up the money for it all ?? Most posts you see over at Pentax Forums from those starting out are looking for the cheapest option they can get! The most popular P-TTL flash now must surely be the ultra budget Yongnuo model ..... Most people won't pay for a Pentax AF540-FGZII, which lets face it, for many people would be their best choice. Its hard to imagine there being a big enough market for that sort of stuff that Nikon and Canon put out.

Regarding the built-in flashes, I think Ricoh probably see the Optical Wireless system as a simple convenience for those who are only dabbling in it, and that the serious flash shooters will be using radio systems ..... that's why they weren't worried about removing the built-in flash from the flagship cameras.