srika

finally got unlazy and bought an assortment of accessories. off-camera flash cord and bracket, extra batteries, grip for 5D, a few flash diffusers, one of those 126-LED video lights (that I intend to use with photos), 43" tri-color reflector, memory.... looking forward to doing a lot of events and shoots this year. Shooting a band at a bar Saturday, and then next Saturday covering a b'nai mitzvah and family portraits.

is300eater

wait, so lemme get this straight, you not only post in these threads, but actually go out and take photos too?

srika

re: posting on AZ, that's what my day job is for.

srika

also! handstraps for both cameras.. wow a must!

wndrlst

I should try the hand strap thing. My forearms & wrists get pretty sore when I shoot long events.

is300eater

my g/f got me wireless triggers (one trigger, two receivers) for Christmas, and I picked up a used Westcott Apollo softbox (28"x28")

MWalsh9152

wndrlst

What kind? I've been looking into them a bit. My on-camera flash is too unreliable to use a trigger. It drives me batty.

Oh good gawd. I done went an' forgot where I wuz for a seckin thar.

is300eater

with Sony, we are limited... I mean... I could have gotten the $300 Pocket Wizard, but then I would still have to get the adaptors... and at that point, it's just sticking up too far and even risk breaking it. I went with the Pixel Soldier (sometimes call "Pixel King"), and it was $90 shipped with 1 trigger/2 receivers. I've seen YouTube videos where they did comparisons between the Pixel Soldier/King vs Pocket Wizards and it did quite well actually.

Here's a review with it on Canon mount. If you don't plan on using it a lot, I think it's worth it. But if all you do is off camera/studio stuff... then maybe go with the Pocket Wizard for better built quality

srika

once you use it, you'll wonder how you ever got by without it. seriously my hand feels naked without it. the protection as well as the relief on long shoots is just amazing. :ibmasturbationjokes:
very nice, lucky you!

yeah, you walked into that one Mordor-style.

MWalsh9152

I should probably get myself one of those flash thingies you guys always talk about one of these days.


to go away tomorrow. Going by myself so the whole time Im there can be devoted to shooting

Mizouse

Yes I love my canon e-1 hand strap

Mizouse

What's that's supposed to mean...

Mizouse

What bracket did you get? I want the RRS flash rotator bracket, but it's so expensive and because I

Mizouse

Yes good thing you went with a trigger with a Sony mount, I had a friend buy the adapter and used pocket wizards, while he had no problem with it sticking out farther and wasn't worried about it breaking it was the reliability that gave him issues.

The adapter would always either misalign or not seat properly so his flash would not go off consistently.

That would be a deal breaker for me.

MWalsh9152

I finally got a RRS L Bracket $10 shipped

Hopefully it will be here before I leave tomorrow

Mizouse

$10?? How?

is300eater

yeah, so far the Pixel King made for Sony has been flawless... the only time I thought I was having problems turned to be that the (cheap) AAA batteries that it came with were weak... I changed them out and was fine after that.

MWalsh9152

POTN One benefit of a camera that has been replaced 5 times over, accessories are cheap

MWalsh9152

just heard from the guy that runs the train bookings for this weekend. Theres no snow on the ground there. There had been 6-8" but it apparently melted

srika

I bought 2 cheap ones that rated fairly well... I don't even look at the RRS stuff, too much :$$$:

wait, what????

and we need to know this because?

Mizouse

$90... Maybe I will try. How do the receivers work? Is there a hotshoe that I slide my flash onto? Or do I use a sync cable?

MWalsh9152

I got it used on potn for $10 shipped, not a lot of people with 20D's to fight over them and keep the price up.

And I'm because half the reason I was going up this weekend was to get winter shots in the mountains. Without the snow that kinda just makes flat/dead shots imo

srika

oh i see .


and, i was just

MWalsh9152

pretty today, eh?

srika

so, I have a feeling you are right. over the weekend at an event I put in some freshly charged batteries after the previous ones ran out and noticed the flash had no juice like, right off the bat. so I threw those batteries out. and I put in the ones that had "run out" and those were actually much better. Ordered some more batteries, will see how it goes.

is300eater

They make ones for Canon that is straight fit, no adapters needed (see video), but for some reason, the Canon ones cost more, but still about half the price of Pocket Wizards

wndrlst

Right?

Thanks!

Score!

jupitersolo

I've got one just sitting here ..... gonna have to hook up for dinner .....

MWalsh9152

I know, right? They have always been like $50 used. Two weeks ago I went back and forth with a guy two towns over from me that had one for $20, but I actually forgot to call him because I was so damn busy, and then completely forgot about it all together. Then this one came along.

Mizouse

I knew I was onto something.....

Mizouse

Yea there is no snow up at Lake Tahoe over here. They did their usual snow test and the media was there. Usually by this time there is at the very minimum a couple feet of snow and they have to use multiple rods. But nope. There was only dirt, it's like it didn't even snow (which it hasn't)

Mizouse

How many times have you recharged your batteries?

Iirc rechargables have a limit on how many times you can do a full cycle recharge. (ie 10 10% recharges = 1 full cycle etc).

MWalsh9152

sucks, I knew there was snow up there a week or two ago, apparently its melted though.

wndrlst

And Way past time...

Mizouse

I'll have to watch the video when I get home. I'm am/was at work and have no headphones to listen.

MWalsh9152

every battery has a number of duty cycles that it is designed to run though. Some will easily eclipse twice that number, while some limp to the number and crash at the finish line

however, EVERY recharge counts as one cycle, doesnt matter how much you used, and will actually be detrimental to the life of the battery in the long run. This statement at least holds true in lead acid batteries, Im unsure about the type in question, but probably similar

Mizouse

Really? That's not what I read in manuals about rechargeable


Maybe I don't want my eneloops...

srika

srika

yeah will see how the new batteries respond...

btw speaking of flashes I read the reviews and decided to try out a Yongnuo YN-560 flash. The damn thing is a 580exII clone and its $60. I'm like, why not. Yeah, the reason why not is the damn thing was pretty much DOA. lol. I tested it out after it arrived, it looked decent enough and build quality looked OK, I was perturbed it did not have the red AF assist beam (I forgot about that) but it made sense given the price. It worked ok at home, then I took it to the NYE event, and the damn thing would turn on, and then turn off immediately. on both cameras. so yeah I am returning it. you get what you pay for.