Vagabond Mini Lithium - A great little power pack.

Vagabond Mini with Alien Bee 1600 Recycle Test


Ever think about taking your studio strobes on the go? The Vagabond Mini Lithium power pack by Paul C Buff is a great way to go. This unit packs a punch of power at only about 3lbs. I received this unit before I got my Alien Bee 1600 strobes, so my first test was with a couple of Adorama 620 Flashpoint II units. The unit responded well. When I got my Alien Bee 1600 I did a more controlled test. (see video for A/C vs. Vagabond Mini Power Supply.) 

The average recycle time is about double that of direct AC power, but for a 3lb portable power supply, I think it’s a great choice. The old standard Vagabond was about 18 Lbs. That is a 15 lbs weight saving. And though it only has two outlets, you can power up to three units with a power strip. I saw were on was testing with four units, but I think 3 would be the max I would push on this unit.


 What you see on the front of the unit is a Power switch flanked by two 120 V Outlets. There is a battery indicator with three lights indicating ¼, ½ and ¾ + power. The unit also has a 5v USB power supply for cell phones and such, but will not charge an iPad. The unit has a 30A flat fuse which replacements could be picked up at your local auto parts store. 


It also has a clamp on the bottom of the unit to attach it to a light stand. The clamp will not hold the unit where ever you clamp it. It will slide down to the next stop on your light stand. I usually attach my unit to the lowest section and allow it to rest where the three legs come together on the light stand.


These units are well-built and made in the USA. The Batteries come from China and are exchangeable for extended use. The Vagabond Mini Unit runs about $240, Extra Battery is 
about $ 90, and a carrying case is about $15.

Video of Vagabond Mini Power pack in Buff Bag with spare battery.

Video of recycle comparison of Vagabond Mini Lithium power pack vs. A/C power. Great little unit for portability.

DIY Adapter for Adorama Flashpoint II light Modifiers to Alien Bees

OK, this is a simple modification to attach Flashpoint II light modifiers to a Alien Bee. You may ask why? Well my first studio strobes were Flash point 620 units, as I hadn't discovered Alien bees. The flashpoint did me well, but I had one unit burn out. They are a little bulky which I did a lot of location shoots an they were kind of a pain to lug around. So I decided to upgrade to Alien Bee 1600, which are 1/2 the size and twice as powerful. Though I can get speed rings to use my softboxes, I still had a beauty dish and snoot which I couldn't use. So I thought I would go and seek out a DIY solution to connect the two. I was lucky to find just the right fix. See the Video to view the Adapter.

What was needed.
1 NDS 4" adapter (Found in the irrigation isle at Home Depot) $2.50
1/4" hard board or MDF $2.50

Tools
Utility Knife
5" Hole Saw
3 1/2" Hole Saw
Glue to connect wood ring to 4" adapter

Cheap Nodal Rail Alternative for Panoramic Photography

Fotomate - Pro panoramic images on the Cheap for beginners.

As one who teaches workshops on Panoramic photography, I am always looking for alternatives for people who can't afford a $350 Panoramic system like a Nodal Ninja. I have been looking at Nodal Rails by a couple of companies as alternatives to a complete system and have found two; however, both are still out of the affordable range. The Kirk is running at about $110 and the Acratect for $199. Then I came across a Macro rail for focusing in Macro Photography. And it hit me this was an inexpensive solution for Landscape Panoramic images. I knew it would be limited; although it would work for people beginning to explore Panoramic photography. 

 **If you are unfamiliar with no Parallax point or what many call the nodal point see the video below. The reason to set your camera up for this is to help the Panoramic software, stitch your images seamlessly. If you don't, often you can get errors, especially in large complex images. This setup will help in getting that seamless 360 degree (horizontal) image. For 360 degree (spherical type) Panoramic images you will need a system similar to a Nodal Ninja.   

The Fotomate Macro Rail works well to adjust for your No Parallax point, also know by many as the Nodal point, though that terminology is being pushed away by Pros as they are not the same thing. By mounting your camera to the macro rail you can easily adjust for the No Parallax point with a turn of an adjustment screw. This $20 unit is actually easier to dial in than my Nodal Ninja system, which was about $350. Granted I have a great deal of flexibility with my more expensive system, however there are many times I shoot in landscape and can easily get away with the easier set up of the rail system. The video below shows how to set up the rail for the No parallax point. It should work fine with most wide angle to short telephoto lenses. I recommend shooting Panoramic images with either a ultra wide angle or preferred normal lens, like a 50mm on a full frame camera or about a 35mm on a cropped sensor. Above the rail is shown with my 10-22mm on a 40D. Works great with my 7D as well. 

The Fotomate Macro Rail can be found on e-bay. I got my for under $20 with shipping included. This unit is really well made. All metal, with metal thumb screws. Solid and no plastic parts. The side facing away in the above shot has two thumb screws, one for adjusting, and another to lock the cameras position. The side of the rail shown above, has measured increments which you could use to easily reset you camera, the next time you are out shooting. Just make sure you find the No parallax point for each lens you use and if you use a different camera body check those too. Also always level you camera before shooting Panoramic images as you will end up cropping out a great deal if your camera shoots on a downward or upward angle.

Yongnuo YN560 (a speedlight NOT worth a look)

**Update - After having 2 of these these for a time, and only using them on a rare occasion  both unit have just stopped working. I wrote Yongnuo and told them what happened, and how they just stopped, and that I rarely used them and they were stored in a climate controlled place, and they emailed back..."what is the problem?" Not helpful at all. Not recommending these anymore. Buyer Beware.

Yongnuo YN560 

With waiting on the release of YN565, I needed to get my hands on a couple speedlights. So I purchased the Yongnuo YN560. This is not an ETTL-flash, and if you don’t mind some manual adjustment, these are nice flashes. When I received them, I was rather impressed by the quality. Solid unit, heavy feel, and doesn’t look cheap. I found mine online for about $63. Now I would have loved to get a few 580ex II, but that was out of my range. I also picked up external battery packs for $20, to allow for extended use. Now the Canon setup  which I have 1, costs about $650 with Flash and battery pack. The Yonhnuo set up cost me $103 with 2700mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries.

Now that I have used them a bit, I like how they work. I plug them into pocket wizards I already own and have no problem shooting at different angles from the flash. They optical trigger works just fine, but for me, I like to know I don’t have to deal with any line of sight issues. So if you don’t have a wireless trigger system, you just need to make sure you have some line of sight to the sensors.  

I do like the manual system. It really puts the ball completely in your game. You have to be aware of everything. With the ETTL system, you get the balance light, and though you can make adjustments, I think getting the full understanding of your equipment, only makes you a better photographer. If you end up in a situation where you get stuck on a manual system, you will have little adjusting to it.  

Now the main question I had is, how does it compare to a 580ex? Well, sadly it doesn’t quite have the punch of the 580, but it still is a powerful flash, definitely more power than the 430ex. The YN560 will mount accessories designed for the 580ex like an omni-bounce The. power packs are interchangeable, and it has a pc port for trigger. The recycle time on the YN560 flash is actually a hair faster than my 580ex. I was quite impressed with the recycle time and pushing the flash a bit to see how it could handle it.  

I have used the flashes both on camera and off. I would recommend the YN560 for those on a budget. I am guessing the New YN565, when released, will be a close comparison to the 580EX II with digital display, and trigger with camera’s like the 7D building trigger function. However, I am sure the price tag on the new YN565 will run a bit higher. I have seen a price range of $150-$250 for the upcoming YN565. So if you are in the market for an inexpensive, but dependable flash look at the YN560.

Hugin Panoramic Software (Freeware Review)

Hugin Panoramic Software

I have been doing panoramic images for sometime mainly in HDR. The two softwares I have had access to have been AutoPano and PTGui. Both have their advantages. However, this is not so much about those softwares for creating panoramic images. As someone who teaches a variety of workshops, including that for panoramic photography, I thought I should sample software which students could get for free, as with the current economic conditions don’t allow for many to purchase a lot of software. So in my search I came across Hugin Panoramic software.  

If you are familiar with PTGui, Hugin is not a long stretch to learn. The interface looks very similar. It’s as simple as selecting your images, entering the focal length, and the crop factor of your camera. Click align, then create panoramic. Granted, this is if your images have the detail to create control points, which will easily connect the images. If not you will have to go through and add control points. This was, in my opinion, easier than the PTGui interface, and quite straight forward. After you have them aligned you can go to the output to let Hugin know what you are looking for, like a Tiff or Jpg or HDR (which needs work).

Most of my Panoramic images are in HDR. I did have a host of issues, which have never really been a problem with PTGui. I just found I had to process them differently. In PTGui, I stitch together all my HDR images then I tonemap the entire Panoramic. I found the software just kept giving me errors and with no result. So I decided to tonemap the individual images with the same settings then went to PTGui to stitch the Tonemapped Tiff together. Finally, after several hours of not getting anywhere stitching HDR images, this method worked, despite what the software was said to be capable of. It did a fairly good job, just on area in my Panoramic was a little ghosting. I figure with a little more time in making adjustments to the area with the ghosting to check the control points, I might have been able to fix it.  

For free software, Hugin works fairly well and is very close in style to PTGui. If you started out with Hugin, and you found that you wanted to upgrade to a $220 software because you become a panoramic photographer, the learning curve is small. If you were to switch to something like AutoPano, the software is a bit different in the interface. I did use the 64 bit version of Hugin, as the 32 bit crashed pretty quickly. However, I was pushing it with large HDR images, which didn’t have the best contrast. After the images were tonemapped for HDR the software has an easy time finding control points.  

You have to play with the software to get a feel for it, but I would definitely recommend it for those who want to save on Panoramic software. I will be making sure all my workshop students use it if they don’t have access to PTGui or AutoPano.  I will be reviewing some Free HDR software soon  for other workshops I create. As I know software accessibility for some is very limited. I have been finding open source software, which I have been very impressed by. If you have recommendations for any open source software, please leave a comment.  

Furthermore, I would like to let people know who teach workshops, that there is a brand-new  website for posting creative workshops. They are giving away free posting to the first 50 people that contact them directly then they offer a trial of $10 for 6 months which then goes to $15 per month to continue to post. They are looking to build their workshop listing as it is a brand-new  site. I paid the $10 for six months to help pay for the work for them to post. I believe in Donating to a good thing, including Open source software. It can take up to 48 hours to post your workshop, but the great thing is, they don’t take a cut of what you charge for a workshop. I have done tutoring, where the tutoring company takes 40%, ouch! Check them out at ArtsAZ.com. If your cities is not listed, they will add it. 

Yongnuo Flashes and the New YN565EX TTL

If you are unfamiliar with Yongnuo Flashes and Photographic equipment, they are a manufacturer of less expensive alternatives to some of your higher name brands like Nikon and Canon. I sometimes look for alternative when I don’t have the funds to purchase the top end equipment, which is often. I was turned on to Yongnuo when doing an interview with David McCourt, photographer and the creator of Slow Photography. He always looks for less expensive alternatives to create his photographic work. Though on a budget, David always seems to photograph beautiful work. So, sometimes you can get the results you want on the cheap. It’s just a matter of knowing your equipment and how to get the most out of it.

 

Most of the reviews I have read about Yongnuo, have been relatively positive. Except for a couple of people who have had a problem with some equipment they received, it seems most that had the faulty piece of equipment had it replaced with satisfaction. Many say that the build quality is not quite that of say name brand Canon or Nikon, but still worth the cost. Mainly, because the savings are so great. If you are looking to build a strobe setup, you can do it relatively cheap getting two strobes with wireless transmitters for the cost of one Canon 580ex II.  

 

They will be releasing a new flash, according to the people at Yong Nuo Photographic, sometime in July 2011. (***FINALLY RELEASED - SEE LINK AT BOTTOM) Most reports I have seen have been May, but in a recent correspondence with the company in China, they said around July. The YN565EX TTL flash is probably the closest thing to a Canon 580EX II. It has a plug in for external power and a pc cord and an LED display similar to the 580EX. It is also supposed to work with the 7D’s built in flash control. I think this will be the first brand outside of Canon to do this. I hear the build quality is decent, but I don’t think it will still be to the level of the Canon’s. However, the cost for what is speculating will be somewhere between $150-$250. I know that is quite the range but compared to the 580ex’s price tag of $460, it’s a bargain. You can find many of their products on amazon by doing a search for Yongnuo. Even so, go to the Yongnuo website to see all their products, and if you see something you like you can search the net for a seller. 

 

If you have any experience with the Yongnuo product line, please leave a comment on your experience. I may be getting one of their flashes to see for myself how these stack up. So you may see an extended or separate blog on this. 

**Update: Added a post about the Yongnuo YN560 (a speedlight worth a look) for a decent flash on a budget (about $65).


***UPDATE: 13 Aug 2011 - Yongnuo YN565EX Available for 179.95 at Ebay - Link

Zeh Bounce hits the UK in the April Edition of Digital Photo Magazine

April 2011

With Digital Photo Magazine's (UK) recent article on How to use your Flash, I am happy to see the popularity of the Zeh Bounce grow. They cover some different techniques, and they feature the Zeh Bounce in their section about using a bounce for lighting. It has also had a surge in places like Europe, especially Norway, which I guess does well due to many people living in smaller spaces. I am guessing more what in America would be considered apartment or condo style living accommodations. In smaller spaces such as an apartment or a house, this can be an ideal piece of lighting equipment.

"How to use Flash" article with Zeh Bounce. (Click image to read.)

 Why to use something like a Zeh Flash Bounce? Some of the best lighting I can get is with the camera's pop up flash. Not to say this is any sort of replacement for a studio strobe kit and gobos and such. However, where this comes into a great situation is in smaller environments. The Zeh Bounce is well geared to being used for things like family shots at family gatherings, or hanging out with friends on the weekend. This is where I found the bounce was great to have.  

Click to see larger image

When hanging with friends I like to bring my camera, but I am not always wanting to carry a ton of gear. I usually grab one lens,  my camera body and that's it. I will grab and slip the bounce into my back pocket, and I am off.  When I get to a friend's house,  I can easily shoot really nice lit images. I was at a small party with some friends down from Seattle, that had brought their daughter with them. She is so adorable I had to get shots of her. And as children do, she was running around and wondering the house, and I would occasionally grab a shot of her.  These shots in the hallway were completely lit with my pop-up flash and a Zeh bounce. The hallway was dark with all the lights off,  but my flash filled the area. The flash lighting cast all around her, giving a nice even lighting.  Now if I shot her with direct flash she would have been blown out. The great thing is these images are as they were shot, no post production work, such a exposure adjustments or color enhancing. They are as they came out of the camera.

  

all images©A. Zeh 2011 

I also find I like the image quality much better when the subject is surrounded by the light rather than direct lighting due to the more natural feel.  There is always a place for directly lighting your subject when you want to shape your subject or add a special drama, but sometimes you want a nice even lighting, and the bounce can achieve this. As with everything though, your environment will dictate what you need to light your subject matter with. However, if I know I am headed to someone's house to hang, I know in most indoor conditions, I can use my bounce to get a great shot. Unless they live in a mansion with 20 ft ceilings (but then I will try bouncing the light off a wall rather than a ceiling).    

Now if you are in a pinch you don't have a Zeh Bounce, you can grab a paper plate or a piece of paper to achieve the same effect. However, the reason to have the bounce was to have both hands free to control the camera quickly. Rather than holding a piece of paper in front of the flash, hoping I am directing the light ok while still adjusting the camera for the final shot. When you see a shot and only have a moment take it, the attached bounce makes for a quick photo. You have much less time involved in composing those candid shots.

Digital Photo Article (Click image to read)

So for a quick and inexpensive lighting solution, which allows you to forgo the extra pound of external flash, or if you just don't have $200-$500 to drop on an external flash, this might be a nice solution.  The Zeh Bounce, for $10 is a cheap solution. I have also tried translucent diffusers for the pop-up flash, but the seem to still let too much light through and give a bit of harsh light, which doesn't have a natural feel. They definitely have a place but bounce light has some of the most natural feel. So if you are shooting indoors in an environment like a home, think about bouncing your light. The Zeh Bounce available for Canon, Nikon and Sony. Also if you have never checked out the UK's Digital Photo Magazine, it's on of my favorite Photo magazines with great How to's for photography and Photoshop, and gear reviews. You can often find it a Barnes and Noble or save $3 and find it at your local Costco.