> Thank you, Ann. :) > > One of these days, I'm going to invest in a decent flash. I just have a > hard time justifying the expense considering how much I dislike using it. You don't need to invest a lot to get a strobe well worth learning with.
I'd suggest a dumb manual strobe. You can find them used for under $50. You can pick up a cheap radio trigger pair for $20, or a hongkong strobe extension cable for about the same. ephotoinc has a strobe that screws into a lightbulb socket and will trigger with either a PC cable or optically for about $20. I think you'd be better off with a dumb speedlight with adjustable power, and ideally, optical trigger, though you can buy optical triggers for about $10. > > It's something I'll eventually have to get over, I guess. But, I've > always preferred shooting in available light and generally lose interest > in shooting when flash is required. I was very much in that frame of mind. There was so much to learn that it was daunting. I eventually picked up the strobist dvd set (with some friends to share the cost) and he made a good point, that it was the difference between taking a photo and making a photo. I've lost track of the number of times that I've recommended light, science & magic, probably a few of them to you. That'll help with either ambient or artificial light. It will also help you understand the difference between how a diffuser works and a fongdong (or a light grenade as I call them, because they throw photons everywhere). The problems with using a flash are that they can be really obnoxious/distracting and if you don't know what you're doing you are almost more likely to ruin a shot than get it right. Heretofore there are a whole bunch of shots that were just impossible to get without a flash. With a K-5 and occasionally being able to get shots with ISOs up to 25,600, that set has gotten orders of magnitude smaller than in the film era. I have found, however, that when I do manage to use a flash properly, often just as supplemental lighting, it can improve the photos I get tremendously. The most important thing that I've learned is to not put light any place that I don't want it to be. A simple snoot on a speedlight, that just puts the light on a musician on stage, and doesn't illuminate the crap in the background can really help. Particularly if you can balance the light on the musician with the light of the neon signs or suchlike. In other words, flash doesn't have to stupid expensive, and learning how to use it can make a huge difference in your photos. It'll also help you learn how to use available light better. -- [email protected] via squirrelmail -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
