Got a gear question you want/need answered? I want to help and answer it. Send your gear questions to me at Gear Questions and I’ll do my best every Wednesday (use the search to check past answers). Keep in mind the answers are just my $.02 worth and you have to take what works for you and your photography and embrace it and ignore the rest. And if you want to comment, head to my FaceBook page. So here’s this weeks questions ….
Hey Moose,
I see you have used the new Profoto B1 cordless flash. I am trying to compare using one (1) B1 head verses using four (4) SB900’s utilizing high speed sync trying to knock down the ambient light and stop motion. Pricing is about the same, but portability of the speedlights seem better. Just wondering if the Profoto is that much better than a 4 – SB900 setup, just in general outdoor conditions and Is the light output generally the same on both setups? BTW, thanks for Gearhead Wednesdays, it does help us.
Thanks
Ray
Ray … bloody brilliant question! First, as to your question, IMHO the B1 most certainly is better! I can honestly say I have pounded my unit on an almost non-stop basis since I acquired them. The ease and speed of using one head and all the light shaping tools available to it to me is worth the price and weight. Above is a photo from my pilot portrait project where Alan & P-51C is lit by 1 B1 (Magnum 10% grid) and broadside of Betty’s Dream lit by another B1 (with warming gel). I really should do a video on my lighting kit since it now has 50k air miles on it. I’m not sure if you saw, but Profoto just brought out their B2 250 Air TTL camera flash. While I’ve not shot with these, I’m told they are amazing so I’m looking at get one to test. I think either solutions are better than the 4 flashes.
I’ve recently been experiencing a bunch of non sharp images using my Nikon 200-400mm. I used the lens on a d700 & a d800. I’ve been trying to figure out if it was a lens issue, a body issue or a photographer issue. In my experiments I removed some pieces of my Lenscoat coverings and now most of my images appear sharp. Have you ever experienced or heard of the Lenscoat causing this issue?
Thanks!
Steve
Steve, damn great question! Ya, heard of this problem on a 200-400VR2, 70-200VR2 and even 600f4VR2 from a LensCoat, gloves, window pods, a number of things and the majority of the time, folks have their lens set to A/M Mode. It is incredibly sensible and just the slightest resistance on the focusing ring, the AF system stops. It’s one reason why I still prefer M/A. I had this issue wearing gloves but it went away when switched to M/A. Hope that helps you.
I got a Nikon 1 v3 for that throw in camera for trips where I won’t have many shooting opportunities. I’m finding that my photos are fairly noisy and I think I must have it setup wrong. I fairly knowledgeable around Nikon bodies but this one seems to be getting the best of me. Would you mind sharing your base settings that you use for this camera?
MM
Mike
Mike, yep, I’ve found the same thing with the Nikon 1 V3 when you get the ISO over 800. I have no magical setting to deal with issue other than, don’t shoot over that ISO. Now the V3 to me is a primary camera, I shoot about 1K images a month with it, many ending up in magazines. No secret in shooting with it other than what we do with any DSLR. The photo I posted here was taken with the V3, pretty typical of my results with it. I send many of my V3 images to the iPhone for processing using the Nikon App. Noise reduction in the PS App takes care of any I have in a snap. So, wish I had some secret to share, but I don’t.
Good Day Mr. Moose
I have watched your videos about cleaning your gear. BLOT, DO NOT WIPE!!!! I have also seen your videos about being in the snow for shoots. My question is..How do you deal with dust on location?? While shooting a baseball game from the old fashioned completely open dugout last week, all my gear was covered in a silt like dust. I misted some water on a soft cotton rag to blot the dust off, am I heading down the correct path??
Thank you for being the wealth of knowledge you are.
PJ
P.S. just saw the video from when you were on The Grid with Kelby. Looks like you have a good time in that environment.
PJ, thanks for the kind words and a truly difficult question! I’ve not shot from a dugout before so I’ve not personally come across that problem to find a solution. The dust get’s in via the “gap” between the lens and body mounting ring (I’m assuming you’re not changing lenses). Knowing this, when I shoot air to air, I have a rubberband at the rear of my lens that, until knocked, acts like a gasket keeping dust from being blown in. It works perhaps 50% of the time. There is so much air rushing around in an open cockpit with lots of dust and oil, nothing is perfect. And not that it’s much help, but I’ve become a master at cleaning up the dust in post in ACR. Don’t know if you’ve seen this video of mine, it might help too. Wish I had better news for you!