Photoflex Triton Flash

Wednesday's is product day on my blog... today I wanted to introduce you to a great portable strobe light...

The Photoflex^® TritonFlash™ is the most advanced Lithium Ion portable strobe available. Built to the high standards of Photoflex^®, the TritonFlash™ is unique and unmatched by any other battery strobe on the market.

·     The TritonFlash™ delivers where others fall short:

·     The TritonFlash™includes a free extra battery module (a $349.00 value) at no extra cost (for a limited time) and softbox included in the kit.

·     Sturdy, adjustable swivel mount track and connecting hardware is vastly superior to any other portable strobe, enabling users to mount the largest strobe softboxes with ease. No other battery strobe in its class can say that.

·     With more than double the power settings of the competition, the TritonFlash™ has 19 super-accurate settings to match any lighting situation.

·     Color temperature is more accurate and stable across all 19 power settings than other battery strobes in its class.

·     The TritonFlash™ recycles 20% faster than the nearest competitor, making it the fastest battery strobe in its class.

·     The TritonFlash™ can power two strobe heads on one battery and fire them both at full power or articulated individually at any proportional power. The competition either cuts your power in half per head or doesn’t even allow this option.

·     The TritonFlash™ has a more efficient heat dissipating flash tube design, a contributing factor to its ability to fire up to 7 frames per second.

When you compare the TritonFlash™ to the competition, there is no comparison.

Rated at 300 watt seconds with a guide number of 185 and up to 750 full power flashes on a single charge, the TritonFlash™ operates in the power range of studio strobes, enabling photographers to shoot large setups in bright sun without the need for AC power. Fast recycling allows bursts of up to 6 shots per second for capturing fast action at weddings, sporting events, or for scientific purposes.

Our lightweight lithium ion battery pack (22 ounces / 623 grams) is extremely efficient and environmentally safe, representing a significant upgrade from heavier Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) systems. The charger automatically adjusts to AC voltages between 100~240 volts for international use. The TritonFlash battery can be charged while it is connected to the battery pack and the flash can be used while it is charging with no adverse effect. The battery can also be removed from the battery pack to charge, which facilitates charging of a spare while the flash is in use with 2nd battery. These qualities make the TritonFlash™ a smart buy for both studio and location photographers.

The kit includes several essential accessories such as an extra small OctoDome^® SoftBox, and a reflector for umbrellas, so photographers have everything they need for location or studio work.

Complete kit includes:

1 - TritonFlash™ strobe head
1 - Power module with connections for two TritonFlash™ heads
1 - Lithium ion battery
1 - Free additional Lithium ion battery
1 - Carrying case for power pack with shoulder strap
1 - Battery cable (4 feet/1.2 meters)
1 - Battery extension cable (9.8 feet/3 meters)
1 - AC powered international battery charger (100~240 volts)
1 - AC power cord for battery charger
1 - AC plug adaptor for European use
1 - 7 inch reflector accessory
1 - Swivel stand mount (all metal)
1 - Flash tube protector cap
1 - Extra small OctoDome® SoftBox in carry bag
1 - SoftBox connector (OctoConnector)
1 - Hot shoe sync cable for direct connection to camera

You can learn more about the Triton Flash and its uses on the Photoflex website, www.photoflex.com

You can come and use the Triton Flash at one of our lighting workshops... http://www.photographers-lounge.com/canadian-workshops/lighting-workshop-series/


Where Can You Buy the TritonFlash?

B&H Photo carries the TritonFlash. See the product here

Vistek carries the TritonFlash. See the product here

Lighting Options for your studio

Lights are probably the most complicated and costly piece of the studio puzzle.

For me there are essentially three primary choices for studio lighting: natural lighting, constant (continuous) lighting or flash.

Natural light speaks for itself and comes as ambient lighting direct from the sun, or off of reflectors.

You don't need a big budget to get high-quality light for your portraits. By using the sun to help you, you can create stunning portraits on a tiny budget.  But for indoor applications, its not going to be that effective. The only time I ever use natural lighting is for shooting moody boudoir imagery.

My advice, “All photographers should begin by understanding natural light and shadows. If you learn how to control the light and shadows from natural light, it will be much easier to transition into using studio lighting that I will address later in this blog post.

Then there is continuous lighting. Continuous lighting has a long association with portrait photography, and for most professional photographers it is no longer their first choice. The main reason for this is because flash is more versatile than continuous lighting. Unlike a flash unit, a photographer has very little control over continuous lights. The least desirable trait of continuous lighting is the amount of heat they generate. That’s why they are referred to as “hot lights.”  Not only are you and your model going to be suffering in the heat, but the high temperatures will tend to dry out and crack your light modifiers in time.

Now that I basically said, “no” to continuous lighting, this lighting source does have advantages…  It has a “what you see is what you get” appeal… or “sneak peak” before the shutter is clicked.  Unlike flash lighting, which generally requires trial exposures to see how the lighting looks, when you’re using a continuous light source, the effect of any light can be seen “live” on the subject. For this reason, continuous lights are great for those starting out in portrait photography who don’t have an in-depth knowledge of flash. The low purchase price of incandescent photo lights also means you don’t have to commit yourself to spending a lot of money if you simply want to give it a go.

But you are also able to achieve this “sneak peak” when using strobes and flashes but you will need to attach a small clip-on light to the light stand and shine it upon the subject. It will not be sufficient to light your subject, but it will give you an idea of how the light will fall.

Flash photography can come from your speedlites or strobe lights. They each offer increased quality of light and give you a much wider range in possibilities. Strobes give you a brighter burst of light to freeze action... Strobes come in intensity of 150 watts all the way up to 600+ watts of power... the later ideal for wedding receptions and large areas that you are trying to photograph. For a home studio though, a 150watt strobe is plenty of light.

So… Are strobes better than off-camera flash? Here are some pros and cons of each… with my personal opinion on at the end.

Off Camera Flash: Advantages

· They are lightweight and you can mount them on your camera’s hot shoe

· They are battery powered, so you don’t have to have access to an electrical plug to make them work

· The transmitter and receiver to be wireless are already built in (in most cases) so you don’t have to buy them separately.

· A good off-camera flash is usually cheaper than a good Studio Strobe.

· These were made for location shoots. Although Photoflex carries the Triton flash with a remote battery pack.

· You can place these anywhere which gives you incredible flexibility about where you place your light.

Off Camera Flash: Disadvantages

· They’re not generally nearly as powerful as a studio strobe

· There is no modeling light in most cases, so they don’t help with seeing your subject, auto focus, or getting a preview of how your lighting will look.

· They need fresh batteries.

· A strobe will recycle faster that an off-camera flash.

· You need a special adapter to put one of these on a light stand.

· You need to have an accessory of some sort to soften and diffuse the light. Gary Fong sells a great series of diffusers.

Studio Strobes: Advantages

· They definitely will throw a lot more light when you need it.

· They were made to have softboxes attached, so you don’t have to have special adapters, specially made softboxes, etc.

· More times than not they come with continuous modeling-lights built-in. These help you see your subject, they help your camera’s auto-focus lock on and they give you a preview of how the shadows are going to fall on your subject.

· Since they plug into the wall, they recycle very quickly and you can fire off lots of consecutive shots without waiting for the flash to recycle.

· They will not cost you a small fortune in batteries.

Studio Strobes: Disadvantages

· The cost of bulbs

· These require a wireless transmitter and receiver to fire them wirelessly. Most come with it, but it does increase the price.

· They’re too big to just throw them in a camera bag. You need separate protective cases to go outside your studio.

· You have to take a certain amount of care not to break the flash bulb, especially if you’re shipping it for a location shoot.

· Good strobes are fairly expensive

So which lighting set up should you use in your studio?

We discussed natural light, continuous lighting, professional, strobes and speedlites... My suggestion is to start out with a combination of a few off-camera flashes and purchase a studio strobe that plugs right into the wall. You can now get a really good strobe almost the cost of an off-camera flash. But I would also buy a professional constant light as well. This will give you some versatility and you can decide from there which way you want to go.
 

Here is a link to constant lighting options for your home studio from Photoflex.

Here you will find a link to a good speedlite kit with a softbox and umbrealla that can be used with your flashes

Here is a link to a good strobe portrait light studio kit from Photoflex

Tomorrow we will look at working with a model and model releases

Studio Photography Tip - Beginner Advice on a Softbox and Speedlites

ABOUT THIS PHOTO: This photo was taken with a speedlite in a softbox that was positioned 4 feet from the model. The softbox had a diffuser panel on it and it was positioned at 2 o'clock so that the flash fell on the hands and face.

To further create some seperation from the backgound i positioned a second softbox 10 feet away behind and to the left. I positioned this softbox to flash between the model and the wall at 1/4 power. This illuminated the wall just slightly so that you could see some seperation and definition in the wall. (note you could also use a small desk lamp sitting behind the model on the floor)



Here are a few basic tips to consider if you want to photogprah a model with a flash and a softbox....

1) Take the flash off the camera and try using a softbox with a recessed panel. The recessed panel will direct the light and give you more creative control.
2) Position the speedlite so that the flash is facing toward the back of the softbox, then set the zoom on the speedlite to the widest possible setting.
3) Position it so that the light falls slightly in front of the subject. This is called "feathering the light."
4) Remember... the closer the light source, the softer the light will be on the subject.