Monday, January 12, 2015

Another Lighting Blast from the Past: The Spiralite Model 600

Back in the 70s when I was first starting out in photography, these strobes were a familiar sight in the advertising section of magazines like Modern Photography.  Spiratone was a big advertiser in all of the major photography publications.  I still remember looking lustily at their "complete studio strobe kits."  The Spiralite Model 600 is an edison based (screws into a standard light socket) strobe unit, equipped with a sync cord jack and an optical slave sensor.  The GN is 60 and it has a recycle time of about 2 seconds.  We have much better equipment these days, but that is not to say these old units can't be useful, especially when fired by a wireless trigger (the optical slave is only moderately reliable.)


They make great rim or background lights.  They can also be a part of the primary lighting system.  I often use these units when setting up the mobile studio where I frequently work at close range and don't need a LOT of power.  They were particularly useful when I photographed a 12 member band and I needed to strategically light the stage area; I could have used a few more of these units that night.  

I found 3 of them on Ebay awhile back at a very reasonable price.  At first I just screwed them into clamp light fixtures.  That worked "ok" but not great.  The weight of the strobes often caused the fixture to sag, and they were not always easy to adjust exactly the way I wanted.

Then came my first tripod mountable adapter.  It also works with many light stand adapters with a 1/4-20 mail thread on top.  It was quick and dirty.  Plumbing strap was use to secure a light socket to a small block of wood.  The real inspiration of this first model was the use of a 1/4-20 T-nut to make the block tripod mountable.  Make sure you get a T-nut designed for wood and not metal.  Those intended for use with wood will have rather vicious looking tabs to dig in.  T-nuts for use with metal projects will not have such tabs.

Note that the T-nut is recessed in the block of wood.  See image on right.  That was done because the T-nut wasn't quite long enough to go all the way through the block of wood.  It also looks better.  Recessing the T-nut was accomplished by first using a 7/8 inch speed bore bit  and drilling to a depth of about 3/16 of an inch, then drilling the rest of the way with a 5/16 inch that would allow a snug fit for the barrel of the T-nut.  The rest was easy: a couple of screws and a piece of plumber's strap attached the light socket to the block.

That also worked "ok,"  and better than the clamp lights by a long shot.  But it was a quick and dirty design, made with what I had on hand, only intended to be used until I could come up with something better.  And now I have something better.  Its more secure and it just plain looks nicer.






A Little More on How it's Made

I started with a block of wood from a piece of pine 1x4.  I chose pine because its cheap and easy to work with.  Note that a 1x4 is actually 3/4 inch thick and 3 1/2" inches wide.  From that, I cut a piece 2 1/2 inches long. The T-nut tripod socket was as before.  But in the new design, a length of lamp nipple allows a light socket to be screwed onto the end.  A nut on each end of the lamp nipple holds it securely in the block.

After I drilled the hole for the lamp nipple, I drilled a second hole almost all the way through on the opposite side as an umbrella receptacle.  The accompanying images should tell you everything you need to know.

BTW, once you know the T-nut trick, the possibilities endless for home made accessories, adapters, and whatnot.  



RickArmstrongPhotography.com
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Saturday, January 3, 2015

Want to Use Old Strobes? Read this.

The link below is an invaluable resource for those wanting to use older strobes with digital cameras. Older strobes may have extremely high trigger voltages. If connected to the camera's hot shoe, they could cause damage to the camera. The same goes for your slave triggers. The following link will take you to a very long list of trigger voltages for old strobes. Note the disclaimer on the web site and let me add my own. Use caution when using old strobes with digital cameras or strobe triggers. 


But don't let the warnings dissuade you  from using old strobes.  There are good deals to be had on older equipment.  If you ever have a job where you need a little bit of light in a lot of places, old camera mounted strobes can be a cost effective solution.


RickArmstrongPhotography.com
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Friday, December 26, 2014

My Sunpak 544

Sunpak 544 with Cactus V4 wireless triggerI love my Sunpak strobes. This one (right) is my original Sunpak 544 that I've had for over 30 years; 30 years and still going strong.  It has been mounted on my old Olympus OM-1, then my OM-2n, and now on my Nikon D80 DSLR.  It's a dinosaur but its not extinct yet.  About 5 years ago I found it so useful I located and purchased two more of them.  They can often be found on Ebay or Craigslist for as little as $60.  Note that there are a couple more powerful units available but I chose the 544s because I already had one and I wanted identical units.

When buying these strobes, make sure that it comes with the battery holder.  They can be hard to come by.  And don't forget a sync cord.  If yours doesn't have one, its not a big deal.  Cords can be purchased from places like B&H.  Note that Sunpak uses its own plug size and style so you aren't going to make one with a quick trip to Radio Shack. 

So what makes me love them so much?

One is the grip configuration. It just feels good when I'm using it on camera. The bracket, not shown in these photos also buts the light above and to the left of the lens. As soon as you start getting the flash away from the lens. you notice your lighting gets better.  Granted its not THAT much farther away but at least its not right above the lens.  Want to get your light source even farther away?  No problem.  The handle has a quick release from the camera bracket.  Sunpak handle-mount strobes are great because the bottom of the grip is fitted with a 1/4-20 socket, enabling it to be attached to a standard tripod and most light stands, or even umbrella brackets that include the 14/20 tip or spigot.

Sunpak 544 power settings At full power, it has a guide number of 140, stronger than some of the cheap entry level monolights. That power level is adjustable from full all the way down to 1/64. It's battery powered (6 AA cells) so they can be used in the field. Power supplies can be found, but oddly enough, a fresh set of batteries recycles them faster than the AC adapter.  When I'm photographing events, I usually keep it set to 1/2 to 1/4 power.  It conserves batteries, shortens the recycle time, and is not quite so blinding for your subjects.  The flash head is adjustable on both the vertical and horizontal axises for complete bouncability.


The addition of a wireless trigger makes it a versatile studio strobe.  I use the Cactus V4.  See my blog post below for a review of the triggers.  As an on camera flash, they are rather heavy; that's why they have the grip design.  But compared to monolights, they are pretty light.  Using standard monolights in the field would require a very heavy battery pack.  If weight is a criteria, the old Sunpaks are a great solution.  My three Sunpaks allow me to set up a studio in the woods should I choose to do so.

IMPORTANT NOTE: the output voltage of old strobe units such as this one runs very high. Make sure your trigger unit can handle it. That's one of the reasons why I chose the Cactus V4.  The same goes for your camera. Modern digital cameras weren't designed to handle that voltage. A Wein Safe-Sync will protect your camera.  Read and follow ALL directions when using old strobes with ANY digital camera.

Also note the high tech means (as seen on left) of attaching the Cactus to the Sunpak.  I used to use rubber bands, but a black elastic hair scrunchy, courtesy of my wonderful and very patient wife, looks much better. 

While this strobe does have two automatic modes, its better to use it on "manual."  That may be a deal breaker for some, but if that's the case, you may be relying too much on auto modes.  Go manual and use your knowledge and skills to light your scene as YOU see fit. I'm big on shooting manual, and you will see more evidence of that in future posts.

That's it for now.  I've got another blast from the past strobe coming up, and a couple of DIY projects coming soon.


RickArmstrongPhotography.com
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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Local Wildlife Photography

I made this a few years ago.  Not really a video, just a slide show in a video format. I'm not entirely happy with my narration but its good enough to share. Its geared for people like I used to be... those who think you have to travel great distances to photograph wildlife.

Monday, December 30, 2013

More of My Favorite Photo Tutorial and Photo DIY Resources

 
These are several of my favorite photo tutorial  and instructional sites.  The list was longer a year ago when I first made it, but several of the sites no longer exist.  The dead links have been removed.  It should also be noted that some of these sites are sponsored by camera shops or equipment manufactures, and as such, may contain a sales pitch.  While I'm not endorsing any of the products, I do fully endorse their tutorials, otherwise they would not have made my list.

http://www.apogeephoto.com/   A photography magazine with photo tips, techniques, workshops and online classes. An inspiring photography website to get educated and informed at apogeephoto.com.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/tips_and_solutions/Photography   Photography Tips and Solutions BH inDepth

http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/topics/diy-projects.aspx  To help alleviate some of the “I want” pains, here are several articles that will teach you how to make your own homemade digital photography equipment and photography gadgets, from tripods to backdrop stands. Save money, get creative and have fun with these easy-to-follow do-it-yourself projects designed with the photographer in mind! Including DIY photography crafts to help you show off your photos in style!


http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm   Digital Photography Tutorials

http://www.cameratown.com/guides/   Free Tutorials from Cameratown.com

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/tag/diy-photography/   DIY photography - Digital Camera World

http://www.diyphotography.net/   DIYPhotography.net Hacking Photography For The Love of It

http://digital-photography-school.com/   Digital photography tips and tutorials for camera owners of all levels. Read by over 5 million people per month.

http://www.diyphotographystuff.info/   Diy Photography Stuff Diy Photography Tips Flash reviews Products Photography Basics

http://www.geofflawrence.com/photography_tutorials.htm   Free photography lessons for digital photographers. Great tips and tutorials to improve your photography skill.

http://www.instructables.com/tag/type-id/?sort=none   photography - search Instructables - Explore the Biggest How To and DIY community where people make and share inspiring, entertaining, and useful projects, recipes, and hacks.

http://www.lighting-academy.com/index.php?id=diy_anleitungen   DIY Projects

http://www.lighting-essentials.com/   ESSENTIALS For Photographers Ideas. Inspiration. Fun. Photography.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/   The web's most comprehensive site devoted to the art of landscape and nature photography using traditional as well as digital image processing techniques.

http://www.photoflex.com/pls   Photoflex Lighting School Photoflex

http://photo.tutsplus.com/   An assortment of photo tutorials and ideas.

http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/toc.html   Free photography tutorials. Improve your photograhy by starting with the basics.

http://strobist.blogspot.com/   The world's most popular free resource for learning how to use off-camera flash.

http://www.studiolighting.net/   StudioLighting.net is a free online resource for Studio Lighting for Photography. Site features information on Studio Lighting Equipment, tips, setup, technique and tutorials for portrait photography.

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/HowTo_page.html   Product photography - how to improve your product photos

I May Be TOO Detail Oriented for Blogging

Just realized I haven't posted to this blog in almost a year.  When I left off, I was preparing a set of links to my favorite resources.  It started as a very simple project, then it got a little out of hand.  It turned into a meta tag scanned database of links to individual tutorials on a dozen different sites; THOUSANDS of articles, all searchable.  If you ever did that type of project, you probably know how the fine tuning and debugging can go on forever.  It was never quite ready.  So I'm going to find my original set of links and post them.  If I ever win the lottery and have all the free time in the world, I'll get back to my database.