What to buy: big strobes or little flash?

[kamari]

I'm lookin to do a little addition/upgrading to my current SB600 (nikon d50 body) to have more light sources because I'm lookin into possibly taking portraits. I talked to our photographer here at work and he swears that all you'd need are a few SB800s and you're set. My question is how does the 800 match up to the big strobes that a lot of you TPFers use?

My logic right now is saying that since I travel a LOT that the 800 would be a perfect addition to fit nicely in the smallest of bags when I use my carry-on. Is it worth the tradeoff to a bigger strobe though?

[Silvernic]

One sb800 would allow you to use all of your 600s wirelessly. Right now all I have are sb600s and a couple of umbrellas and I'm lovin it. Here's a couple shots with only one SB600 mounted on an umbrella (I'm using a d200 to fire it wirelessly, I don't think the D50 will do that alone)

[kamari]

Originally Posted by Silvernic

One sb800 would allow you to use all of your 600s wirelessly. Right now all I have are sb600s and a couple of umbrellas and I'm lovin it. Here's a couple shots with only one SB600 mounted on an umbrella (I'm using a d200 to fire it wirelessly, I don't think the D50 will do that alone)

No, the d50 won't fire the sb600 wirelessly. Just another reason why I shoulda spent the extra $$$ and got the d80. That's another kick for myself. I went to Arlington Camera and asked a couple of question to the ever-so-kind folks there. I think I may just end up getting it this week.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

You can use a wireless system to set off the strobes with your current camera.

There are two camps dealing with strobes, the flash units run off of batteries and the wired units which need to be hooked to AC power and both have their positives and negatives.

I'm suprised that more people don't buy some of the older flashes that can be used with wireless triggers and become inventive with the use of flashes in scenes. You can pick up used flashes pretty cheap on Ebay at times and if they are of more recent vintage you can control each ones power levels pretty well so that you can place multiple units in a scene to add all sorts of lighting effects to a scene. (even put colored gells over some to add special lighting effects to a scene, no need to buy $300+ flashes when you can get close to the same results with $100 units and triggers).

[Gordon]

You don't even need to scrounge on ebay. You can buy Vivitar 285HV new for under $100.

[nikonguy67]

I use the Su-800 remote flash firing device from Nikon. I am up to 8 SB-800's. I used epoxy to keep the on camera flash on both my D200's closed forever.

I do some shooting inside and will typically set up about 5 for coverage. I do a lot outside at night and use my 8 with a friends 5 and can light up most of a building without issues.

I prefer this approach versus the larger light systems as it is all mobile and I can be set up in short order.

[engstrom]

Originally Posted by kamari

My question is how does the 800 match up to the big strobes that a lot of you TPFers use?

I have a 580EX flash and wireless trigger. Along with an umbrella and stand and reflector it can take nice headshots/child 1/2 length/infant full body portraits. The advantage to the big studio strobes is that they have a lot more power and can use large light modifiers (softboxes/octoboxes) to illuminate a much larger area. Depending on what type of portraits you want to do and how much you want to travel with it the SB-800 might be a good option.

[derrickg]

i actually just dove righ in and got some cheap ebay strobe kit. Its ok, but I I decided to just go with a Sunpak 383 and Vivitar 285HV both brand new under $100 each from adorama. I prefer these due to there portability. But again it depends on what your subject is. Visit strobist.com for useful info on these smaller flashes.

[Todd Brewer]

I second the Strobist.com recommendation. Lots of valuable info there.

[prairiefire]

You might want to do a search on this topic on this site. I've written some long responses on it.

Rather than repeat them, I'll hit the high points and if you want more, you'll find it somewhere here.

I have 4 SB800's and love them. BUT, they are not studio lights and won't give you the same power, flexibility and precision that you will get with studio lights.

In my posts I discuss these issues.

Perhaps the biggest concern is that there are no modeling lights -- just a little "fizzle" button. If you are very good at lighting and can place lights without the help of modeling lights, you can overcome this deficiency.

And, they are not cheap. My 4 SB800's cost more than a basic Profoto studio light kit.

If you can't find my other writings, email me. I published them in a Hands On Newsletter and I'll send you a copy.

Hope this helps.

[MarcoLaino]

If you want the best of both worlds, look into investing into a Broncolor Mobil Power Pack and mobilite head. Broncolor has a demo Mobil system on sale right now at 50% of retail (see www.sinarbron.com).

Mobil is a small unit that you can easily travel with and will provide far superior results as a key light over an SB800 for Portraiture. The Mobil operates on a charged battery giving you about 300 flashes per charge. And, you can use the Mobilite in combination with your SB800's (I'm a Canon shooter and I often use the Mobilite/EX550 combo for lighting when I am traveling).

On issue though. The firing of the SB800's will not sync with your Mobil if you are using the Mobil as your Master to trigger your SB800's - the SB800's will fire after a slight delay after the Mobil has fired. This is easily solved by setting your Mobil on IR/cell 'On' and using your SB800 as the triggering flash. And/or you can buy a cable to connect your SB800's directly to your Mobil unit.

You're not going to get the same quality of light with an SB800 as you will with a studio flash unit. It's all a function of how much do you want to spend, how light do you want to travel and will the differential in quality/control provided by a studio flash make a difference to your client relative to an SB800.

If your clients aren't so demanding, then you'll be able to make good portraits with a combo of SB800's and some clever use of light modifiers, bouncing light and really knowing how to control the relative output of your SB800 units to create different lighting ratios - and, you can control all of your SB800's from your Master unit - no need to run around adjusting each unit individually.

You can achieve some really creative lighting effects with a series of "on camera" flash units with the benefits of lower cost (maybe not all that much lower though) and lighter kit. I travel a lot, so I have learned how to keep my kit "lean" without sacrificing quality. I think once you start experimenting with multiple on camera flash units and how to control the output of each individual unit in your armada of flashguns, you will be amazed at how much you can simulate studio strobe lighting with on camera flashguns.

Experiment and experience! Good luck.