SOLD: Portable Vivitar Based Strobe Package (Houston Only)

[gpgyo]

SOLD

I put this package together to strobe high school basketball and it works great for that but it could also be used it to set up a basic studio if you want an inexpensive way to experiment with off camera lighting or you want a low cost completely portable strobe solution.

Here's what it includes:
- 2X Vivitar 285HV
- 3X Rechargeable battery packs with 1 charger
- 2X Amvona AS-9110 light stands
- 2X Spring clip "stands"
- 2X 4 channel "eBay" wireless triggers
- Assortment of mounts

Vivitar 285HV:
The Vivitar 285 has been around a long time because it's reliable and puts out a ton of light for a bargain price. A step up from the 283, the 285 includes the manually adjustable light output knob. I won't go into all the specs of this flash here because it's widely available through any search engine if you're not already familar with it. I bought both of these used but they look and work great. They have been modified to accept a battery pack, which means a small channel has been made in the battery door to allow the battery pack cable to exit the battery compartment. The battery pack powers the flash through "dummy" AA batteries in the stock battery holder so the pack can be replaced with AA batteries and the flash powered as designed.

Rechargeable Battery Packs:
The battery packs are modeled after the Al Jacobs "Blackbox" design. It's a rechargeable 6V sealed lead acid battery inside a snug fitting case. An inline fuse is also part of the design for safety. I ordered 1 battery and the charger from Jacobs' recommended supplier and picked up the other two batteries at Home Depot. The charger is fairly expensive so I only have one. You can leave the battery on the charger all the time without worrying about damage. There is no meter to let you know how much charge the battery has. I don't know how many flashes per charge the batteries provide but I did shoot 3 basketball games in one day and one the next day on a single charge. That was over 800 frames and didn't miss a flash. By the way, this is not a "turbo" type battery. It recharges the flash at the same speed as AAs so you don't have to worry about frying the flash. There's a third battery pack because I got tired of dealing with AAs. I frequently put one of the flashes from this kit in the camera hotshoe, put the battery pack on my shoulder and knew I was good for a full day of shooting.

Light Stands:
The light stands are Amvona AS-9110 models. Fully extended they are at least 12 feet, probably more like 13 feet. A lot more stand than is necessary for holding these flashes. These don't look new but they don't look that bad either. There are plenty of scratches in the glossy black finish from riding around in my trunk but no dents or anything that impairs their operation.

Spring Clip "Stands":
I went to the hardware store, bought two spring clips and fitted them with an appropriately sized screw to hold a flash. There's almost always somewhere convenient to clip the flash. Many times I put a flash on a clip, clipped it to a rail (pole, conduit, banister, chair, tree, whatever) hung the battery from the clip and I was all set. It won't take you long to appreciate the convenience of this simple accessory. You'll reach for these first and the light stands only after you're convinced there's no where to use the clip.

Wireless Triggers:
These are the 4 channel radio triggers sold on eBay. I couldn't go with an optical trigger in a gym situation and I wasn't going to spend the money on PWs. In my experience, they have been very reliable. They came in a set of 1 trigger with 1 receiver and I bought two sets, so there's a backup trigger. No problem at all reaching completely across a basketball court and much farther. The receivers are powered by 2AAs and whenever these missed, it was time to change the batteries. For what I used this kit for, these triggers worked great. In the interest of full and fair disclosure, about a month ago I dropped one of the receivers onto a concrete floor. I thought for sure it was dead but when I snapped it back together it still worked and I have since used it for a full indoor soccer game. Hard to say what the long term prospects of this receiver is but the fact that it has been dropped is factored into the price of the kit.

The receiver connects to the flash through a modified Vivitar sync cable. The flash requires a Vivitar specific cable since on the flash end its a proprietary port. I bought a cable for each flash, cut off the PC end, and attached a 1/8" mono plug.

Assortment of Mounts:
The kit wouldn't be complete without all the mounts I've accumulated. First there are two adjustable light stand mounts that will hold an umbrella. When I used the light stands these were what I used most of the time. There are two non-adjustable light stand mounts. These were a mistake. They have limited utility since they are not adjustable. There are two other mounts with a threaded fitting on the bottom that I left on the spring clips. They can also be fitted with included optical triggers if you are in a situation where you don't have to worry about other flashes.

This picture shows both flashes on the adjustable mounts mounted to the light stands each connected to a battery pack. The smaller black boxes hanging from the grey loops are the receivers for the wireless triggers. On the right is a spring clip with the wireless trigger in it (ordinarily a flash would go there and the trigger in the camera's hot shoe.) The shoe mount on the spring clip can be fitted with an optical trigger (not shown) so these flashes can be used in this manner.

You really need to see this package to appreciate it. For that reason it's for sale in the Houston area only, sorry. If you're interested in this package we should meet somewhere so you can see the set-up, hook it all up and take a few pictures with it to help you decide if this is for you or not.

$350 takes it all. The individual pieces alone cost me more than that and that doesn't include all the connectors, wires, and time. Try to build something similar and you will take forever acquiring all the parts, spend more money, and swear plenty. Buy this today and you'll be shooting tonight. And don't forget to look for the flashmeter I listed. This kit and the flashmeter and you have a complete home studio.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks,
Greg

[bigjon0107]

Are you willing to sell just the flashes, battery packs, and light stands to hot shoe adjustable adapters ?

[Steelsun]

Dang, wish I had the cash for this. I need to learn flash work.

Would you be willing to trade for a Canon Mount Tokina 400mm Prime and EFS 18-55 lens combo?

[gpgyo]

Originally Posted by bigjon0107

Are you willing to sell just the flashes, battery packs, and light stands to hot shoe adjustable adapters ?

Prefer not to split it up at this time. Thanks.

[gpgyo]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

Dang, wish I had the cash for this. I need to learn flash work.

Would you be willing to trade for a Canon Mount Tokina 400mm Prime and EFS 18-55 lens combo?

That trade wouldn't work for me, sorry.

[Cain Bale]

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