Nikon Digital Photography Talk

A few sample pictures with the Nikon 50mm F/1.4 AF-S

Here I share with you a few casual maternity pictures I took of this young lady in my studio. They are to be used in her baby shower invitations as keepsakes. I took around 20 pictures and she selected the ones below. Light was measured with my Sekonik L358 light flash meter, an Interfit EXD 200 Mono light with an RPS 40” white translucent umbrella. The pictures were taken at ISO 200, 1/125 @ F/7.1 with the Nikon 50mm F/1.4 AF-S. Printed a 16×20 on a wide format EPSON printer and the results are amazing.

You can find the INTERFIT EXD-200 at Adorama ($229.99). This mono-light is very affordable yet it yield professional results. It is digital and very user friendly especially for those how are looking for a studio alternative over your regular Nikon or Canon flash.
Click on the Adorama affiliate button above and get yours.

Pictures converted with Nikon Capture NX2 and slight post processing with Adobe Photoshop CS2

After reading on the DPREVIEW’s forums from a fellow photographer looking for some RAW pictures to download, I decided to lend a humble hand on the request. The four pictures shown below are available for download. Except for the flower pictures, the other 3 are even Geo-Tagged. This .ZIP file contains the 4 pictures below, it is a 75.5MB file.

Help me help you, feel free to share these thru direct linking to this page instead of a direct link to the .zip folder.

These pictures with the Nikon P6000 were edited using Nikon Capture NX2 and Adobe Photshop CS2.

To download these pictures in RAW, click here-»

I do have plenty of pictures taken in high speed FP mode using my Nikon speedlight flashes but I can’t post them here. Fortunately I can post a few samples taken with a Nikon SB-600 on a D200 using my very own son for the following pictures. You need to set the FP mode on your camera, don’t go crazy looking for the setting on the flash because you wont find it. If you are using a Nikon D200, check on page #160 from your En manual. FP photography is as easy as regular flash photography. You must be careful however not to push your flash unit to the limit, flash output is limited and most likely the flash will work almost as double to produce a balanced exposure.

Actually, my camera is in FP mode full time. In that case if I come accross a situation where the shutter speed goes beyond the top 1/250 of a second, I can concentrate on the picture taking rather than the technical stuff. Don’t be afraid of boosting your ISO for pictures like these. The pictures below were taken in ISO 800 and I used a Nikon 105 F/2 DC lens to capture the images. I had shutter speeds of up to 1/4000 and it was a breeze using the Nikon SB600 for the pictures, this flash works in tandem with my SB-800 and although it has some limitations compared to the top-of-the-line SB800, it is equally capable. The reason why I used the SB-600 for these pictures is exactly to demostrate that @ $229 (approx street price) is as capable as the over $110 more expensive SB-800.
FP stands for Focal Plane and spreads the exposure over the transit time from the curtains in order tu use very short exposure times, in this case @ 1/4000. The higher the shutter speed, the weaker the output starting with a loss of around 1 stop at around 1/2000 sec. These pulses of light coming from your flash are much weaker than a single pulse of light at regular/normal ‘syncronizable‘ shutter speeds.

Previously posted in Nikon in Action
————————————————-

A more advanced ring flash is one of those things that if one intend to use every blue moon  is not worth the investment.  After taking a look at the offerings from some brands I can’t even pronounce their names, the price for a ring flash seems obscene for many smaller studios moreover for a home studio photographer. I was one of those looking for a reasonable alternative for a ring flash without putting a dent on my credit card but prices kept me away until I came across Paul’s C Buff Alienbees ABR800 ring flash system. Heck, even the name is friendly. As with other Alienbees products, the ABR800 has to be ordered thru their site.

The Alienbees ABR800 Ring Flash can be used literally out of the box without much fuzz. The instruction manual is very straightforward and in no time you’ll be shooting with it. The flash is composed of 2 semi-circular 6” flash tubes and 8 small halogen lamps that will work as modeling lights. Life span under normal conditions is from 250,000 to 1,000,000 on the 6” main flash tubes and 300 to 2,500 hours on the modeling lights at $13.00 per set of 8 lights (not bad).

The flash goes from 1/32 to 1/1 full power with its 300 watts (picture #!). Yes, don’t let the model number fool you into thinking that is an 800 watts unit. A very clever idea with a piece of plastic allow us to use the flash as a strobe with an umbrella as seen on picture #2. The flash arrives pre-asembled with minor things to put together. If you click on picture # 2, you will see what’s in the box. The yellow envelope has the optional set of gels filters (ABRW/DF6). The set is priced at $29.95 and my suggestion is, place the order for it along with the ring flash. It won’t add that much to your shipping and eventually you’ll want them. The gel filter add a very pleasant touch to your subjects skin tones, enlarge picture #7 below for a better look. The system works on a har plastic rail that kind of reminds me a macro focusing rail. It can acomodate from a modest DSLR to a big bulky Nikon D200 with its vertical grip attached to it as seen on picture #4.

Although this flash as seen on these pictures is big, it weights around 2.5 lbs and can be used hand held. The pictures shown here where done actually hand held. Another feature this flash has is the ability to work as a slave triggered by another flash, or wireless thru the remote input as seen on picture 1. It has room enough for those big F/2.8 zoom lenses like the 24-70 or 17-55. The flash can be used virtually with any DSLR as it has a safe triggering voltage of 5.5 volts. All you need is a PC socket on your camera. If your camera does not have a PC socket usually on modest DSLR, a special hot show to PC adapter can be purchased from Paul C Buff for around $14.95 USD. Along with the flash is included a 12” PC to 1/8 plug cord.

The ABR-800 Ring Flash is powered by a 15′ 120v AC power cord. A 25′ foot version is available optional at around $14.95.

If you need power on the go, this unit can be used with the Vagabond Power Pack from Paul C Buff for around 100 shots at full power per charge.
Would I recommend this flash to a friend? I definitely would. Considering the output of a dedicated macro flash and its price, considering the cost of a Nikon SB-800 or the new SB-900. The Alienbees system is a steal for $399.99. Along with that price comes a great customer service with 2 years of warranty. Even if the modeling or main lamps fail under normal condition, the guys at Alienbees will replace them. That’s how confident they are about their product.

Yes, I would recommend it to a friend!

INITIAL SAMPLE PICTURES

I’m trying not to reinvent the wheel here so I will post this instead of answering emails with the same question over and over.

If you use Nikon CLS or Canon Wireless flash system, you can take it to a next level using stands and umbrellas. I’m going to show you a very basic and affordable way to use you Nikon or Canon flash using a stand, flash bracket and umbrella. This is my very basic set-up, easy to use and very lightweight with great results yet affordable.

What are we looking below?
This is a simple Umbrella Bracket from Impact. You need this flash bracket for 2 reasons: To be able to set your flash at different angles, and also to attach your umbrella. No flash bracket, no umbrella.

Below you can see two stands with flash brackets, one has a SB-600 flash, the other one a SB-800 with a Nikon SD8A battery pack attached to it.

OK, the stands are IMPACT‘s 2299 that will set you back just $19.99 at B&H Photo. They go up to 6′ and when retracted they are around 24”.

Now, going back to the Umbrella braket: it does include an aluminum shoe for your flash, see the picture below. Whatever you do, DON’T use it. It is metal thus conductive, your flash pins are very close to it and you might short your flash(es). Instead, use it without it. There is a male 1/4” #20 thread connector that you can attach your Nikon or Canon flash stand to it as seen on the picture above.

Last but not least, the UMBRELLA. This is very subjective but I will recommend you a 30”convertible umbrella. I use Photoflex umbrellas but theImpact umbrellas are a good start especially if you are in a budget or don’t want to spend too much.

*IMPACT’s umbrella, click here ($14.99)

*IMPACT Umbrella Bracket, click here ($13.99)

* IMPACT 6′ light stand click here ($19.99)

Total: $48.97 + S&H per flash setting.
However if you wish to use 2 flashes, B&H Photo already have a set for 2 flashes which includes 2 8′ air cushioned stands as seen below for just $98.95 + S&H.
Click here to check it out.