I was away over the Thanksgiving holiday (in the USA) and wanted to give
a good commentary on the subject of using Canon Speedlites with soft-boxes.
Here it is:
I currently use Vivitar 283's in my little studio (don't own any of the
EX Speedlites that I need yet), but since the form of the "L" or "cobra"
tilting head flashes are the same, my advice will be equally good.
You need the following:
1) Photoflex SC-800SC Basic speed-ring $37.50 @B&H (aluminum, more
expensive, but stronger than plastic)
2) Photoflex 202 SML Large Shoe Mount (not on the B&H web-site, but I
paid $15 at a local camera store).
The soft-box is supported by the speed-ring and the 202 SML points the
flash into the soft-box. I use a Stoffen Omni-Bounce on each flash to
bounce the light around inside the soft-box more, but it isn't
completely necessary.
You can set up as many of these as you have flashes. I've used these to
support Chimera, no-brand, Photoflex and Westcott soft-boxes. I've used
them for every size soft-box from Small (12x18" to large 36x48"). I
have the luxury of not needing to illuminate a large area, but I've
considered taping a second flash piggyback to the first to pump more
light into the large soft-box).
Your auto-flash should work just fine as well as your wireless
connection. I use AC adapters to power mine, but you could power yours
from AA batteries or a Quantum or other pack.
I use the 283's on manual and have a VP-1 (variable power control) on
each to vary the power. This set-up lets me shoot at f/5.6 for most
everything (unless the item is big and gets near the overhead soft-box).
I can probably turn the power up and get one more stop, but my main
light is near full-power now.
I've considered a higher power flash (maybe a Vivitar 5600, particularly
with it's bare-bulb head (it's compatible with most of my accessories),
but I'll probably buy a simple professional studio-strobe system. I've
got enough 283's to piggyback both soft-boxes so I may do that for a
while while I save up.
For my purposes, I would get no advantage by using Canon Speedlites on
auto. I always use the same exposure and have the luxury of bracketing
if I don't like what I see on on the camera's (10D) LCD.
Remember, the larger the light-source (in relation to your subject) the
softer it is. Don't get fooled by those little 4x6" soft-boxes, they
don't do much for photographing people).
I'm far from being a professional studio photographer, but I'm pretty
happy with what I'm getting. You'll notice a consistent look. Most of
this is for eBay so I just swap items in and out of the setup. The
background is a 2x4' pieces of Formica (plastic laminate for counter
tops) that I bought at Home Depot. Rugged and easily cleanable.
Some illustrations:
Just the SC-800SC w/202 SML:
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/L-Bare.jpg
SC-800SC w/202 SML & Canon Speedlite 430EZ:
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/L-430EZ.jpg
Second flash piggybacked on the first (283's):
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/L-Twin283s.jpg
283 in action into a medium soft-box:
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/L-InAction.jpg
The results 1 medium & 1 large soft-boxes plus a reflector
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/Lighting01.jpg
What the studio looks like (large soft-box on top), second with a slow
shutter speed to capture the room lights.
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/Lighting02.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/Lighting03.jpg
A few more examples:
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/StudioDisplay2.jpg
This is a composite of 2 shots one with the flashes and the second of
just the screen (to get the picture), composited in Photoshop.
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/Knives.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/Axim.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/BAT1Phone1.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/CampRecRD.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/CD-HANDV18.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/Computer-FlopDock.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/CrownG-F-SM.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/DPALL4.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/E730c-Proj.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/FlsMtr.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/GPW-B.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/wbgilloolyjr/PhilHub.jpg
All for now, I'll answer any questions you have.
Mr. Bill
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