I was just informed my new 580ex flash is sitting downstairs in the mail room. Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do for batteries. I have to plead ignorance regarding what's currently available in the world of rechargeable batteries. Does anyone have any advice as to whether certain types of rechargeables are better suited for use in an external flash?

 

There's nothing too magical about the batteries for the flash. I just use some Energizer 2500mah cells and everything works nicely. I get hundreds of flashes on a charge.

 

Nice man - I have a 580 too and use Energizer 2500's - I get about 400-500 shots off a full charge at -1⅓ power. I got em here.

 

Thanks gentelmen. Amazing how many flashes you can get out of the combination of modern batteries + a modern strobe.

BTW, I got a Gary Fong Lightsphere II diffuser to go along with the 580. I'll post some with/without shots after I've done some testing with it.

 

On a recommendation, I "purchased" Energizers for my 430. I got the 15 minute charger with one set of 2200 mAh and two extra sets of 2500 mAh. Target (or Walmart, if you dare) is a lot cheaper than Best Buy and the like. Under $20 for the charger w/2200s and $10 for each set of batteries.

 

I have heard a lot about the GF lightsphere - the first time I saw one in use was by a guy at Avalon in LA - when I first saw it I was like WTF is that... then I saw his pictures and was like wow. It does a really nice job.

 

hah.. I purchased 3 sets of 2500's for my 580 and haven't looked back. The batteries are solid. I also purchased the 15-minute charger and that thing is amazing. I purchased all of these from Amazon, it was a great purchasing experience. I am very happy with all of these purchases.

 

oh yea could that recommendation have possibly come from this thread? :P

 

One problem with the lightsphere when using it for portraits is people like to stare at the big piece of tupperware on the top of your camera rather than look into the lens. You'll get lots of shots of people staring over your head.

The other issue is it tends to waste flash power by scattering light in areas that won't reflect back onto the subject. It has it's uses, but I've found a bounce card can actually be more effective. I'm still looking forward to your review billiam.

 

hah.. Ive read that too. One guy was like, 'I'll put away my GF if I don't wanna attract much attention' or something like that...

 

That's the one The whole time I was in London, I was still on the original charge of the first set (2200s) and they were still going strong. Even shooting a wedding, I couldn't see going through more than two sets.

Edit: Also, I was using "Explore" on flickr and saw some pictures of a homemade lightsphere some guy made using a tin can, some white plastic bowls, tin foil a little cardboard and duct tape. MacGyver FTW.

 

I hear what you're saying. Fong even vaguely alludes to it by suggesting that you try to experiment with tilting the flash head at 45 vertical degrees to the subject instead of straight up. Regardless, doesn't the wasted flash power thing more or less also hold true for regular ceiling bounce flash?

 

Dan, in regard to wasting flash power - what's the alternative? I mean, you have brought this up before and it leads me to wonder. How would I not waste flash power, and get the same type of look on my pictures?

 

The lightsphere design diffuses light in a 360 degree spread all around the flash. That's fine if you're in a small room or a hallway like their demo videos show, but if you're large room, the walls are too far away to bounce the light back on the subject. In large rooms or outdoors, only the parts of the sphere that are facing your subject will have any effect. Most of your flash power is being wasted by firing away from your subject and not bouncing off anything.

Pointing your flash at the subject and using a large diffuser (or a bounce card) would have the same effect and be a much more efficient use of your flash power.

So in small rooms or hallways, the lightsphere is a great tool, but I think you'll find it's of limited use in larger areas or outdoor situations.

 

If you have a white ceiling that's not too far off the ground, then you can just bounce your flash and use a bounce card behind the flash to throw some light forward for fill and to act as a catch light.

If you don't have a ceiling or a wall within reach, then you could aim your flash at the subject and use a diffuser. The lightsphere has a fairly good diffuser when you shoot through the top of it, but there will still be a good amount of flash power wasted that comes out the sides.

There's nothing wrong with using the lightsphere all the time, but you'd just go through batteries faster than necessary. There are also some times where your flash might not be powerful enough to overcome the 1 to 2 stops needed to shoot through the diffuser.

 

ok I see what you're saying. Although, there have been instances where I have tried tipping my diffuser-equipped 580 at people - I mean like maybe 15 degrees off vertical... and their faces get over-exposed. It seems to be SUPER sensitive to such changes.. Another (bad) byproduct is you don't get as much ambient/surrounding lighting.

 

You just need to shoot manual and dial in the flash power. If you shoot in Av or Tv modes, you'll end up with really wonky results.

A larger diffuser than the one built into the flash would even out the shadows around the face.

 

I guess I have to experiment with it then because a) I am using full manual control and b) I am using an external diffuser (not the one built-in-to the flash)

 

Fong now has a dome available that appears as if it will overcome some of the large room limitations you're talking about Dan.

http://store.garyfonginc.com/newchromedome.html

To be honest, I sort of got the LS as a toy to play with. I don't really have any anticipated uses for it set in stone at the moment.

 

Sometimes you're just limited by your surroundings and the situation. All a diffuser does is make shadows less harsh. It makes the light come from a larger area, so the light will wrap around edges a little more. The larger the diffuser, the softer the shadows. Going from a 1.5"x3" diffuser to a 6" round diffuser will be noticeable, but not nearly as noticeable as light coming from a 100 sq ft area like a ceiling or a couple walls.

The ideal solution is to have a portable light stand with a big diffuser like a softbox, but of course that would be tricky to pull off in a club.

If you're shooting staged portraits, another good and cheap solution is to bounce the flash off one of those large, collapsable round reflectors. It would be tricky to do yourself, but if you had someone else hold the reflector, or if you had a stand, it would give a very nice soft light that you can position for maximum effect.

 

That's a good solution to the problem. It controls the light so it's not firing in directions that won't help the image. I'd definitely grab one of those if you're going to be shooting in large rooms or outdoors.

It'll be a good toy to have billiam. I'm sure it will get some use.

 

Actually, there was a guy here at the school shooting faculty portraits and that's more or less what he was doing. He was using a pair of 580's bouncing off of small umbrellas he had setup on some lightweight stands. I asked him how he liked the 580's and he said he's been more than happy with them. That, combined with the smaller size than I anticipated is what convinced me to snag one.

 

I'd love to grab a 580 one day. The 430 is great, but I've run into a few times where I could use a bit more power. Usually it's only when I'm stopping down to get depth of field that I find the 430 lacking a little. Plus it would be nice to have two flashes the odd time.

 

I have a Stofen diffuser but I've found this little gadget to be a lot more versatile and effective (and cheaper too):

http://www.joedembphotography.com/flipit/

 

I've seen those in action and it's all you need for most situations.

 

I'm thinking it would be a great social engineering experiment to see how many off-axis looks each of the major flash attachments generate.

 

hah.. I have a Stofen and I can assure you that its quite innocuous in the field - in fact I don't remember any time where it has even partially raised one single eyebrow..

Here is the club photographer from LA who uses the Lightsphere: http://www.rukes.com/

Check out his galleries. Really nice stuff - these are the quality of pix I want to be taking - I am getting closer but still have some ways to go - I think a f/2.8 will get me there - he uses a 20D with 24-70 f/2.8, 10-22 f/3.5-4.5 and 50 f/1.4. I think there are only a few galleries that open, you have to kind of click around... There may be a couple of shots where it seems like ppl are looking "up" at the GF but it doesnt seem to be too big a factor.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNCmu...DEE3A6&index=0

 

regarding the wasted light on GF lightsphere, i have the cloud one which draws more power compare to the clear one.
so right now, i actually used alum. foil and wrap it inside the LP for about 180 degree. i haven't really test how many stop i gain from doing that, but i assume it uses less power now...i should a test soon =)

 

Great find, Thanks

 

good vid, I need to try that out.