Cactus AF 50

The Cactus AF 50 is the latest TTL flash unit from Gadget Infinity. This unit has many advanced features that are normally only found in manufacturer specific flashes. It comes in five versions: Nikon, Canon, Olympus / Panasonic, Pentax and Sony Alpha / Minolta.

The AF 50 in general has a very solid feel to it and is about the same size as a Nikon SB600. On the front of the flash is the slave sensor and an auto focus assist red light. The battery compartment is on one side with the wireless sensor on the opposite. The unit also has a built in diffuser and bounce card. One of the more interesting physical feature is the mounting foot. It has a push to lock fastener that does a great job of keeping the flash firmly locked into place.

The flash head has the ability to both bounce ( 0-90 degrees ) and swivel 180 degrees one direction and 120 degrees the other.

One the back of the AF 50 you will find the control panel which consists of two buttons and two switches. You have one switch for the power and another for slave mode selection. The way the slave mode is set up is a bit lost on me. When selected the slave mode will skip a selectable amount of flashes ranging from 0 to 9 before it fires. Now, I can see where having the ability to optically fire from another light source is a great thing to have. There are typically two modes needed to use an optical trigger effectively. One mode where the flash ignores the cameras pre-flash and one that it does not and fires right along with it. The slave function on the AF 50 allows you to skip all the way up to nine flashes before it fires. There might be something that I am missing about this feature and if there is please feel free to let me know.



Also on the back of the control panel you will have two buttons: Mode and Zoom. The mode button will allow you to scroll through the functions of the flash like: TTL, manual, STTL then it will return to TTL and the sequence will start over. Now this one button is used to set the mode and also the manual power output, select wireless groups and channels. When you are scrolling through the mode options make sure to take your time with it. If you pass over what you are looking for then you will have to go all the way around again.

The AF 50 modes are:

TTL flash mode

The TTL mode is the default mode of the flash unit. When you power the unit on it will be in TTL mode. This flash does a great job in TTL mode. I have found that in just a few instances that it was a bit over exposed, but not to the point that it is a concern.

Manual flash mode.

Once in manual mode you can set the flash output over six power levels (1/1, ½, ¼, 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32.) The LCD will display distance and exposure information for what it thinks will be the correct information. You can use it to get a rough idea of have far you need to be from the subject to obtain correct exposure.

STTL mode

After manual mode comes STTL which is the AF 50's version of wireless flash control. I have the Nikon version of this flash so this is the mode I would use for Nikon's Creative Lighting System. The AF 50 is completely compatible with CLS and integrates into the system with out any problems. This flash holds it's own against the Nikon SB600 and easily keeps pace with it.

The channel and group selection is a bit cumbersome. As mentioned before you have one button to set all of your modes and their controls, so if you scroll past what you want to select then you have to go all the way through once again. Also keep in mind that if you are using this flash in the CLS system every time you power it off and then on again you have to go through and set the mode and select your channel and group. As you scroll through the STTL mode you will see the channel and group setting as follows: 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c and then you will return to TTL.

Once you have the corresponding channel and group set the AF 50 will function just as a Nikon CLS capable flash would. You will have remote power control and my personal favorite high speed sync. So, you will be able to get your shutter speed up to 1/8000 of a second as long as your camera is CLS compatible.

The second button on the back control panel is the Zoom button. This button will control the manual zooming of the flash head. It has seven zoom positions which are 24-28-35-70-85-105mm. When powering on the flash unit the zoom will default to the 35mm position.

If you are using a zoom lens that sends it's focal length data to the camera the flash will adjust to its relative position. When you zoom your lens from 28-70mm the flash head will follow the zoom to 70mm. This is a very nice feature that helps keep your on camera flash more consistent when using a zoom lens.

Another great feature is the AF 50's power saving function. If there is no communication between the camera and the flash for three minutes then the flash will go to sleep. To wake up the flash unit all you need to do is press any of the flashes buttons.

The rear LCD supplies all the information that you will need plus some. All of the usual suspects are there like power settings, mode indicator, zoom position, ISO and f/stop.



As I have been testing this flash it has yet to let me down while shooting. The body does not feel cheap and its exposure is consistently right on in TTL. Overall the only thing that I would like to see changes is the settings navigation. It might make changing modes and power levels faster if you could cycle through just the modes themselves by pushing and holding both buttons and then once you had selected the mode you want then use the single scroll button to select the setting. Other than that this flash is pretty good.

If you are in the market for another TTL or CLS compatible unit you should take a close look at the Cactus AF 50. You will find a lot of great features at a price around only $150.00 you really can't go wrong.

For more information on the AF 50 check out gadget Infinity's web site: gadgetinfinity.com

Cactus AF 50

The Cactus AF 50 is the latest TTL flash unit from Gadget Infinity. This unit has many advanced features that are normally only found in manufacturer specific flashes. It comes in five versions: Nikon, Canon, Olympus / Panasonic, Pentax and Sony Alpha / Minolta.

The AF 50 in general has a very solid feel to it and is about the same size as a Nikon SB600. On the front of the flash is the slave sensor and an auto focus assist red light. The battery compartment is on one side with the wireless sensor on the opposite. The unit also has a built in diffuser and bounce card. One of the more interesting physical feature is the mounting foot. It has a push to lock fastener that does a great job of keeping the flash firmly locked into place.

The flash head has the ability to both bounce ( 0-90 degrees ) and swivel 180 degrees one direction and 120 degrees the other.

One the back of the AF 50 you will find the control panel which consists of two buttons and two switches. You have one switch for the power and another for slave mode selection. The way the slave mode is set up is a bit lost on me. When selected the slave mode will skip a selectable amount of flashes ranging from 0 to 9 before it fires. Now, I can see where having the ability to optically fire from another light source is a great thing to have. There are typically two modes needed to use an optical trigger effectively. One mode where the flash ignores the cameras pre-flash and one that it does not and fires right along with it. The slave function on the AF 50 allows you to skip all the way up to nine flashes before it fires. There might be something that I am missing about this feature and if there is please feel free to let me know.



Also on the back of the control panel you will have two buttons: Mode and Zoom. The mode button will allow you to scroll through the functions of the flash like: TTL, manual, STTL then it will return to TTL and the sequence will start over. Now this one button is used to set the mode and also the manual power output, select wireless groups and channels. When you are scrolling through the mode options make sure to take your time with it. If you pass over what you are looking for then you will have to go all the way around again.

The AF 50 modes are:

TTL flash mode

The TTL mode is the default mode of the flash unit. When you power the unit on it will be in TTL mode. This flash does a great job in TTL mode. I have found that in just a few instances that it was a bit over exposed, but not to the point that it is a concern.

Manual flash mode.

Once in manual mode you can set the flash output over six power levels (1/1, ½, ¼, 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32.) The LCD will display distance and exposure information for what it thinks will be the correct information. You can use it to get a rough idea of have far you need to be from the subject to obtain correct exposure.

STTL mode

After manual mode comes STTL which is the AF 50's version of wireless flash control. I have the Nikon version of this flash so this is the mode I would use for Nikon's Creative Lighting System. The AF 50 is completely compatible with CLS and integrates into the system with out any problems. This flash holds it's own against the Nikon SB600 and easily keeps pace with it.

The channel and group selection is a bit cumbersome. As mentioned before you have one button to set all of your modes and their controls, so if you scroll past what you want to select then you have to go all the way through once again. Also keep in mind that if you are using this flash in the CLS system every time you power it off and then on again you have to go through and set the mode and select your channel and group. As you scroll through the STTL mode you will see the channel and group setting as follows: 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c and then you will return to TTL.

Once you have the corresponding channel and group set the AF 50 will function just as a Nikon CLS capable flash would. You will have remote power control and my personal favorite high speed sync. So, you will be able to get your shutter speed up to 1/8000 of a second as long as your camera is CLS compatible.

The second button on the back control panel is the Zoom button. This button will control the manual zooming of the flash head. It has seven zoom positions which are 24-28-35-70-85-105mm. When powering on the flash unit the zoom will default to the 35mm position.

If you are using a zoom lens that sends it's focal length data to the camera the flash will adjust to its relative position. When you zoom your lens from 28-70mm the flash head will follow the zoom to 70mm. This is a very nice feature that helps keep your on camera flash more consistent when using a zoom lens.

Another great feature is the AF 50's power saving function. If there is no communication between the camera and the flash for three minutes then the flash will go to sleep. To wake up the flash unit all you need to do is press any of the flashes buttons.

The rear LCD supplies all the information that you will need plus some. All of the usual suspects are there like power settings, mode indicator, zoom position, ISO and f/stop.



As I have been testing this flash it has yet to let me down while shooting. The body does not feel cheap and its exposure is consistently right on in TTL. Overall the only thing that I would like to see changes is the settings navigation. It might make changing modes and power levels faster if you could cycle through just the modes themselves by pushing and holding both buttons and then once you had selected the mode you want then use the single scroll button to select the setting. Other than that this flash is pretty good.

If you are in the market for another TTL or CLS compatible unit you should take a close look at the Cactus AF 50. You will find a lot of great features at a price around only $150.00 you really can't go wrong.

For more information on the AF 50 check out gadget Infinity's web site: gadgetinfinity.com

Pixel Opas

Did I just find my perfect trigger?

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.2

Pixel Opas

Did I just find my perfect trigger?

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.2

Ray Flash Review

Ring flashes give you a very distinctive form of light and shadow characterized by the lack of shadow on the subject. Ring flashes were initially used for macro and dental photography because they gave even illumination. The ring flash does this by surrounding the lens with the light emitting flash head.

The ring flash has made its way out of the dentists office and into the world of portrait and fashion photography. Since they had such a distinctive look and a relatively high price, ring flashes tended to be used by high end commercial photographers. The ring flash units themselves were large and often needed a separate power supply.

Now there is the Ray Flash ring flash adapter. Those size, price, and power limitations are long gone. The Ray Flash is an adapter that you fit onto your camera mounted speed light changing your flash into a ring flash. It is super light weight, small, and does not change the balance of your camera when it is mounted.

You will only have about one stop of light lost with the Ray Flash, and that is definitely not bad. The construction of the unit is very precise and you will need to match up your camera and speed light with the correct Ray Flash so that they will fit together correctly. At first I thought that this was going to be a limitation if I chose to switch to a different flash unit or lens, but it did not affect me nearly as much as I thought it would.

On the top of the Ray Flash there is a locking dial that keeps the adapter on the speed light with out any problems. Once you have it fitted together you will not worry about it going any where. As I mentioned before, the balance of the Ray Flash when mounted on the camera feels just like a speedlight by itself. No awkwardness at all in handling and shooting.

The Ray Flash design for dispersing the light evenly is pretty damn good. You do not get an unbalanced catch light in the eyes. Nice and even lighting. And with that consistency you are able to use it in many different lighting situations.

Using the Ray Flash as an on axis fill is fantastic. If you want to control your hard light while still maintaining the contrast just fill it in a bit with the ring flash and there you go. I have also taken it off camera and used it as a side light mounted onto a stand. You can also bring it around to the front of your subject for some more light shaping fill while it is still mounted off camera.

The bottom line is that you have a ton of different lighting options with this ring flash adapter. I can't think of another lighting modifier that will give you this level of on axis fill so easily while still maintaining some shadows for depth.

The only real challenge to the Ray Flash is it's physical shape. As it is one molded piece it is a bit awkward to find space in your bag for it. If there was a way to hinge the part that mounts onto the flash so that it could lie flat that would be fantastic. If that is the only real issue I have with the Ray Flash then I think that they are doing many things right.

The Ray Flash runs for just under $200.00, and it is a fantastic tool to have especially at that price. Of all the ring flashes that I have shot with nothing comes close to the Ray Flash.

For more information on the Ray Flash head on over to ExpoImaging.com.

Ray Flash Review

Ring flashes give you a very distinctive form of light and shadow characterized by the lack of shadow on the subject. Ring flashes were initially used for macro and dental photography because they gave even illumination. The ring flash does this by surrounding the lens with the light emitting flash head.

The ring flash has made its way out of the dentists office and into the world of portrait and fashion photography. Since they had such a distinctive look and a relatively high price, ring flashes tended to be used by high end commercial photographers. The ring flash units themselves were large and often needed a separate power supply.

Now there is the Ray Flash ring flash adapter. Those size, price, and power limitations are long gone. The Ray Flash is an adapter that you fit onto your camera mounted speed light changing your flash into a ring flash. It is super light weight, small, and does not change the balance of your camera when it is mounted.

You will only have about one stop of light lost with the Ray Flash, and that is definitely not bad. The construction of the unit is very precise and you will need to match up your camera and speed light with the correct Ray Flash so that they will fit together correctly. At first I thought that this was going to be a limitation if I chose to switch to a different flash unit or lens, but it did not affect me nearly as much as I thought it would.

On the top of the Ray Flash there is a locking dial that keeps the adapter on the speed light with out any problems. Once you have it fitted together you will not worry about it going any where. As I mentioned before, the balance of the Ray Flash when mounted on the camera feels just like a speedlight by itself. No awkwardness at all in handling and shooting.

The Ray Flash design for dispersing the light evenly is pretty damn good. You do not get an unbalanced catch light in the eyes. Nice and even lighting. And with that consistency you are able to use it in many different lighting situations.

Using the Ray Flash as an on axis fill is fantastic. If you want to control your hard light while still maintaining the contrast just fill it in a bit with the ring flash and there you go. I have also taken it off camera and used it as a side light mounted onto a stand. You can also bring it around to the front of your subject for some more light shaping fill while it is still mounted off camera.

The bottom line is that you have a ton of different lighting options with this ring flash adapter. I can't think of another lighting modifier that will give you this level of on axis fill so easily while still maintaining some shadows for depth.

The only real challenge to the Ray Flash is it's physical shape. As it is one molded piece it is a bit awkward to find space in your bag for it. If there was a way to hinge the part that mounts onto the flash so that it could lie flat that would be fantastic. If that is the only real issue I have with the Ray Flash then I think that they are doing many things right.

The Ray Flash runs for just under $200.00, and it is a fantastic tool to have especially at that price. Of all the ring flashes that I have shot with nothing comes close to the Ray Flash.

For more information on the Ray Flash head on over to ExpoImaging.com.

Flash Benders Rogue Diffusion Panels

Going to be testing these out this weekend. So exited!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.2

Flash Benders Rogue Diffusion Panels

Going to be testing these out this weekend. So exited!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.2

Help fund Unknown Photographer

I think that this is a fantastic idea and everyone should help out to make season two happen.

Unknown Photographer is about discovering the burning passion that lives inside all of us around every corner of the world! We are going to travel the globe uniting people and places through one universal language: the power of photography.

Check out this video and then go to Unknown Photographer's Kickstarter page and make a donation.

Help fund Unknown Photographer

I think that this is a fantastic idea and everyone should help out to make season two happen.

Unknown Photographer is about discovering the burning passion that lives inside all of us around every corner of the world! We are going to travel the globe uniting people and places through one universal language: the power of photography.

Check out this video and then go to Unknown Photographer's Kickstarter page and make a donation.

The SmugMug Solution

 

SmugMug is a complete solution for photographers. They offer everything that you would need, from an online portfolio website, to password protected galleries for clients to proof and order prints from. SmugMug is easy to use and easy to customize for both the photographer and their clients.



On September 29, 2006 I was given a SmugMug account as a gift for shooting a friend's wedding. Jenn (the bride) was very thorough in her research of online printers. We had a talk about which ones she liked and why and then we both decided to go with SmugMug.

After that decision was made, I didn't give it much more thought. I figured out how to create a gallery and how to upload photos, and that was that. In hind site, I wish that I had looked more closely at all of the features of the SmugMug site as that would have saved me a ton of time and work later. Looks like I pulled the typical guy thing and did not read the directions.

Over the next few months I began to devote more and more time to building my website. The problem for me was how to integrate SmugMug into the site. The best that I could come up with was to have my “Client Login” link from my homepage lead to my SmugMug account in a new window. Not the best option... but it would work until I figured out another way to do it.

One day I was looking at some photography sites and I saw the familiar SmugMug gallery page seamlessly integrated into another photographers site. It blew me away. Here was a photographer that solved my problem. It was not just that one site either. The more I looked for it the more I saw SmugMug in other photographers website. I wanted that.

The answer was actually simple: use SmugMug for my entire site, not just for proofing and purchasing prints. If I had only gone back and looked at all of the features that were already at my fingertips, I probably would have already figured this out.

The more I looked into the customization of my SmugMug account the more I found I could do. It was not all easy though. Most of the customization that I wanted to do was beyond my very basic knowledge of HTML and CSS. SmugMug has a great forum, so I used that as a tool. Between the forum postings and the fantastic help from SmugMug help desk, I was able to design my site the way that I wanted it to be.

Once I discovered the ease of creating HTML pages the sky was the limit.

Now my entire website, with the exception of the blog, is completely SmugMug.

I just cannot say enough good things about SmugMug. From online proofing and printing, to creating a portfolio website, or creating an archiving of all of your photographs, SmugMug offers a vast array of service to both hobby and professional photographers.

SmugMug offers a 30 day free trial with absolutely nothing to lose. Head over to SmugMug.com and give it a go.

The SmugMug Solution

 

SmugMug is a complete solution for photographers. They offer everything that you would need, from an online portfolio website, to password protected galleries for clients to proof and order prints from. SmugMug is easy to use and easy to customize for both the photographer and their clients.



On September 29, 2006 I was given a SmugMug account as a gift for shooting a friend's wedding. Jenn (the bride) was very thorough in her research of online printers. We had a talk about which ones she liked and why and then we both decided to go with SmugMug.

After that decision was made, I didn't give it much more thought. I figured out how to create a gallery and how to upload photos, and that was that. In hind site, I wish that I had looked more closely at all of the features of the SmugMug site as that would have saved me a ton of time and work later. Looks like I pulled the typical guy thing and did not read the directions.

Over the next few months I began to devote more and more time to building my website. The problem for me was how to integrate SmugMug into the site. The best that I could come up with was to have my “Client Login” link from my homepage lead to my SmugMug account in a new window. Not the best option... but it would work until I figured out another way to do it.

One day I was looking at some photography sites and I saw the familiar SmugMug gallery page seamlessly integrated into another photographers site. It blew me away. Here was a photographer that solved my problem. It was not just that one site either. The more I looked for it the more I saw SmugMug in other photographers website. I wanted that.

The answer was actually simple: use SmugMug for my entire site, not just for proofing and purchasing prints. If I had only gone back and looked at all of the features that were already at my fingertips, I probably would have already figured this out.

The more I looked into the customization of my SmugMug account the more I found I could do. It was not all easy though. Most of the customization that I wanted to do was beyond my very basic knowledge of HTML and CSS. SmugMug has a great forum, so I used that as a tool. Between the forum postings and the fantastic help from SmugMug help desk, I was able to design my site the way that I wanted it to be.

Once I discovered the ease of creating HTML pages the sky was the limit.

Now my entire website, with the exception of the blog, is completely SmugMug.

I just cannot say enough good things about SmugMug. From online proofing and printing, to creating a portfolio website, or creating an archiving of all of your photographs, SmugMug offers a vast array of service to both hobby and professional photographers.

SmugMug offers a 30 day free trial with absolutely nothing to lose. Head over to SmugMug.com and give it a go.