Strobist FAQ

Strobist is a blog, a lighting philosophy, and a standard of photography started by David Hobby in 2006.The Strobist blog features interviews, product reviews, tutorials, and tips on learning to light. It is recommended, if you have never visited the site, to read the following articles first:

1. Lighting 101
2. Lighting 102
3. On Assignment

The blog is built to help you learn to light or to increase your lighting skills. Strobist.com even has its own Flick Group where you can interact with over 90,000 users and share your photos!

Strobist is good for some, but not for others.
Pros:

1. Kits can be incredibly affordable- Learn to light with a 1 or 2 light kit, without dropping large amounts of money on a studio lighting kit.
2. Portability- Photographers are becoming more “on-the-go" Strobist kits are easy to pack, and can be taken on location as they are battery powered. Lumopro flash units are much easier to carry around than a 20lb monolight kit.
3. Resources- Literally at your fingertips, on your phone, tablet device, or laptop, the Strobist community is a plethora of information and tips where you can learn from other photographers and increase your photographic skills. Even if you are using studio strobe or monolights, the ideas behind Strobist are applicable to almost any lighting situation.

1. Shoe mount flashes, those promoted in the Strobist philosophy, are limited in power. While the output is plenty for many applications, you may find that you need more light.
2. Strobist is a DIY (do it yourself) way of life. The accessories for shoe mount strobes are much more limited than the traditional studio strobes. Grid spots, snoots, softboxes, and reflectors are available pre-made from various vendors, however if you want a particular shape of light you will have to build it yourself.
3. Shoe mount strobes are are DC power only, batteries are a must- it’s recommended you invest in a good set of rechargeables and a charger.
4. WARNING: Strobist.com is highly addictive. While as it’s our job to visit the Strobist blog, and the Flickr group throughout the day, we warn you that your boss, spouse, or significant other might not find your addiction as accepting as we do.

Midwest Photo Exchange has been family owned and operated for over 20 years. We do our best to offer exactly what you need. Our knowledgeable sales representatives and staff are active photographers that offer competitive pricing with premium customer service that is becoming rare in this industry. Bottom line, you can expect us to spend the time to answer your questions and get you set up with the gear you need. Our philosophy dictates making customers rather than a quick buck. Our sales staff is not on commission, so don't be surprised when they suggest a product or idea that will save you money. Getting the right gear at the right price, with a person touch will have you shopping with us year after year. Midwest Photo Exchange is the primary sponsor of Strobist.com Expect that we will be helping to keep Strobist free for you all as long as it is around. We stay in close contact with both David Hobby and the Strobist community to offer the products you need, listen to the ideas you have, and to resolve any issues you may encounter. In addition to the custom gel packs, the 43" compact umbrellas, Strobist kits, and DIY accessories, we have many more products planned and being created exclusively for and by Strobists.

Yes. We are located in the heart of Columbus , Ohio and are open year round to the public.
Hours of operation are:
10-6 EST Monday-Friday
10-5 EST Saturday

Our address is:
3313 North High Street
Columbus , Ohio 43202

If you have a digital or film SLR, medium format, or large format camera, the answer is 99% yes All your camera requires is a PC outlet. Most Canon Rebels, and entry level Nikon camera require a universal hot shoe translator to add a PC outlet to those camera models.

Dedicated camera brands/models, ie, Nikon SB-800/600, Canon 580/430EX.
Pros:

1. Highly reliable TTL (Through the Lens Metering) functionality. Allows for quick and easy shooting when you don't have the time to make manual adjustments for every shot.
2. Dedicated trigger systems, albeit optical/infrared.
3. Nikon Dedicated Flashes have a PC outlet for syncing to your camera or slave.

1. Expensive when compared to the non-dedicated flashes.
2. Many do not have a PC outlet for syncing to your camera. Examples include the Nikon SB-50DX, SB6-600, and all Canon Speedlights with the exception of the new 580EX II.

1. For most Strobist applications, a flash such as the Lumopro LP160 is perfect for most any applications. I am yet to see David use or recommend using the TTL functionality of the dedicated flashes above.
2. Much less expensive than the dedicated flashes.
3. The Lumopro LP160 comes with a Short PC cord for easy syncing with your camera.

1. No built-in remote control functionality.
2. No TTL functionality.
3. If you decide on something other than a Lumopro LP160, make sure it has a way to sync to a camera.

The newer digital cameras are sensitive to Voltage emitted by strobes.
For quick reference, any modern Canon and Nikon flash emits a safe voltage for your digital SLR. As well the new LumoPro lp160 is also safe. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH ANY OLDER VIVITAR FLASHES.
For a comprehensive article on the subject:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/06/dont-fry-your-camera.html
For a list of user recorded voltage readings, as well as how to test your own flash:
http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html  

There are a few different light stand options. Here are the two we recommend for most Strobist applications.
LumoPro LP605 Compact light stand:
Pros:

1. Extremely small, folds to 19"

1. Only 7ft. High.
2. Limited Stability (still just a bit more stable than the Bogen 001B.)
3. Not air cushioned (watch your fingertips when you are lowering it so you don't get pinched!)
4. More expensive than an 8ft. Air Cushioned. $39.95

1. Extremely small, folds to 19"

1. Only 6.5ft. High.
2. Limited Stability
3. Relatively expensive ($55)

1. Costs less than the Bogen 001B Nano.
2. Air Cushioned
3. 8ft. high
4. Bigger foot-print, more stability

1. Does not fold as small as the Bogen Nano or LumoPro LP605. 28inches vs. 19inches. Bottom line, figure out what your priorities are. If compact is your biggest need, get the Nano 001B or LP605, for everything else consider the LumoPro 8ft.

David Hobby recommends the 43" Westcott Compact Double-fold umbrellas. The reason is that they fold smaller than any other umbrella on the market, and are a good size for reflecting/modifying light from a shoe mount strobe. Umbrellas are also available in many other sizes, most commonly 32", 45", 60".

The 43" Umbrellas come in 3 varieties:
White: Produces the softest light, with some sacrifice of power. Intended to be used as shoot-through, not reflective.
Silver: Reflects the most amount of light, but is not as soft.
White w/Removable Black Cover: An MPEX exclusive. As the White above, but intended to be used as shoot-through or reflective.

Sync Cords; PC sync cords:
This option requires that your camera and flash have PC connections. If your flash has a male connection (ie. Vivitar
285HV,) you will need a PC extension cord – PC Male to PC Female, also described as PC-PC.
If your flash has a female connection (ie. Nikon Speedlites,) you will need a Male to Male PC cord.

House hold (AC) Sync cords:
This will require a house hold connection to your flash, such as the Wein HSH adapter.
Pros:

1. This is the cheapest and the most reliable way to fire your flash.
2. Extra Extension for a house hold system can be accomplished with a standard house hold extension cord available at any hardware store for very cheap.
3. Extension for the PC route is also cheap. $11 for 15ft. extension.
4. To my knowledge, the only cord that is available for cameras with out a PC jack, but that have a Hot shoe is the Paramount Hot shoe to House hold cord (HS-15S). While it's a bit more pricy ($27,) it's definitely an advantage as an option.

1. Works in the sunlight (some optical slaves don't work well in sunlight)
2. Range (Pocket Wizards have the longest range)
3. Can work around corners or behind objects where you do not have line of sight to the flash
4. Pocket Wizards are every bit as reliable as using a sync cord, with all the features above.

1. Pocket Wizards are expensive.
2. Cactus V5s are very affordable, but not always reliable. Don't be surprised if these slaves do not fire your flash everytime, and expect athere is a pretty limited range. There are a few modifications you can do to extend the range, check the Strobist Flickr group for more details.
3. As with any trigger system, if you have a Canon flash or any other flash without a PC Jack option, you will need to get for a Pocket Wizard or Elinchrom Skyport system: Paramount Miniphone to Hot Shoe (PW-MHSF1), $38.95.
4. Elinchrom Skyports will not work with Vivitar flashes at this time.

1. Can be triggered by the pop-up flash on the camera or an on camera flash or a master flash that is triggered by wire or RF.
2. For the most part they are Reliable and have no power issues (they don't use batteries.)
3. Much cheaper than going the Pocket Wizard Route.

1. Anyone with a flash will trigger your slaves. Bad for places like weddings and parties where there are others with flash cameras. This is not an issue if you are shooting in a controlled environment like a studio.
2. Limited range. Many are limited to less than 30 ft.
3. Does not always work with Canon Speedlights

For doing photography indoors, I highly recommend having a set of Rosco Gels on hand. One of the huge advantages of using a digital camera is the ability to control White Balance. By using a Gel on your flash, you are able to imitate the color temperature of fluorescent or tungsten (household, incandescent) which will assist you in obtaining consistent White Balance between subject and background. The Rosco Pro Gel pack will cover corrections in just about any lighting situation.

Rosco Sample Gel packs are no longer free, they were redesigned and now sold as the Strobist Collection.

This is most commonly accomplished by using an umbrella swivel. For more information visit:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157594509310065

We are happy to announce in March 2007 we began to offer Custom Strobist Kits. Please keep in mind that kits may be unavailable from time to time as some of the common items get nationally back ordered.

One of the reasons for purchasing a kit is that it is discounted up to $40 for the total purchase. We are able to do this based on the volume of the order as well as our ability to preassemble it. Too many changes take away that preassembly advantage.
Up to one item in each kit can be substituted or subtracted. Of course you can always add items.
If you need to make more than one substitution, you can just purchase the items individually.  

We have created a DIY accessory kit which should provide hours of entertainment. There are many things you can use this kit for, I see new ideas popping up on Flickr. Keep in mind that the Rosco Cinefoil is metal and has sharp edges, so if you are planning on doing any Origami, put on some gloves. Many of these items can be substituted by common household items, but we have attempted to put together a kit for a reasonable price which includes a few things that may not be readily available. The Cinefoil and Smooth Silver come in 25-50ft rolls, and for the end user, that is usually just not practical.
The Kit includes:
1x Sheet of Rosco Cinefoil 1x2feet (Excellent for making Snoots, Barn doors and Gobos.)
1x Sheet of Smooth Silver 1x2feet, with Sticky back. (For building reflectors of all types.)
2x Packs of Black Straws, 3mm and 4mm. (For building Gridspots.)
Cost of kit: $9.95

For some ideas on what to do with your new kit, here are a few links from the Strobist Flickr group:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idreaminir/2080418669
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruimleal/543898185/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157600056846795/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157594559173628/?search=snoot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeroneg1/1046039870/

There are many reasons for customers overseas to place an international order with us. In many countries the majority of Strobist gear is not available at all, or at a cost that is much higher than purchasing from us in the US . In addition, you will find that our international shipping rates are usually much better than the competition.

Feel free to call or email with any additional questions you might have. For technical questions, it is often better to call as answers often require more information than may be provided in an initial email.
I highly recommend that you first do a search on the Strobist Flickr group as the knowledge base there is just astounding. http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist
This is also the place to go when you have questions about technique. While we are photographers, and are more than happy to spend the time to help you figure out what you need to get going, we can't teach you how to shoot a wedding or basketball game.
Please visit our contact page here to contact us by email or phone.