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Nissin announces new powerful MG10 flash – How does it compare to the Godox AD200?

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The Godox A200 seems to have become the new standard by which many new flash releases are judged. It appeared in a new class of its own on release. Too powerful to be called a speedlight, but too small to really be considered a strobe. It was sort of the iPad of the flash world. It fits in between two other categories, as the iPad did between phones and laptops.

And just as the iPad saw many tablet competitors appear in its wake, others have shown up to challenge the AD200, too. First, there was the Cactus RQ250, which looks like a very promising little unit. Now, Nissin has announced the powerful new MG10 hammerhead style flash, which could potentially give the AD200 a run for its money. But how does it compare on paper?

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hähnel announces new Modus 600RT wireless speedlight for Micro Four Thirds

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The hähnel Modus 600RT speedlight for Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fuji has proven to be fairly popular. Not quite as popular as Godox, perhaps, but popular enough that hähnel have seen fit to release one for Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds systems, too.

As is the trend these days, the Modus 600RT is a lithium-ion battery powered flash. And as such, it boasts longer life and faster recycle times than traditional AA powered speedlights. It supports TTL, High Speed Sync, repeat flash and full manual control. But is it worth $250?

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Photographer creates painterly masterpieces inspired by the old masters

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I would probably need an infinite number of counting beads to count how many times a photographer says they are trying to capture the master painters of old in their work. But one photographer embodies this style whilst infusing it with their own master touch more than any other. Meet Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk, one of the sweetest people you will ever meet and a master of portraits! I first saw Gemmy’s work a few years ago and was blown away by the attention to detail and subtle touches. At first, I thought they were paintings until I looked closer. Her influences are worn clearly on her sleeve for all to see, but she never copies. Gemmy’s work forces you to star at it, looking for the little touches that add character, and that is where the magic lies.[Read More…]

Turn cheap household light fixtures into DIY studio lighting modifiers

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There is an almost endless supply of lighting modifiers available on the market right now, some are cheap and some of the better ones are certainly a lot more expensive. But does cost directly relate to quality? Well, a lot of the time yes it does if you’re referring to build quality.

In general, the more you spend, the more well-made and durable the modifier will be. But does that extra money you spend mean you’re getting a better lighting modifier overall? I would have to say no, in fact for less than £15/$20 you can get some stunningly beautiful light from a homemade lighting modifier. Read on to see examples of the stupidly cheap DIY lighting modifiers I’m referring too.

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This is what each of the lights do on a studio portrait set

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Shooting portraits in the studio with flash can be daunting to newer photographers. They look at the setups like the one above and have no idea what each of the lights is doing, how or why. This video from photographer Mark Wallace is a primer to flash-lit portraits in the studio.

Mark explains what each light is, its purpose, and how each of them contribute toward the final shot. It’s a great breakdown showing you exactly what everything does. No matter how many lights or what lighting setup you’re using, the same principles apply.

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Why Godox is succeeding where Yongnuo failed

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The flash market used to be rather simple. You go to one company for speedlights, usually your camera manufacturer or a specialist brand like Metz. Then, you go to another company, such as Bowens and Elinchrom, for strobes when you needed more power. The strobe market stayed largely stable, but then Yongnuo came along and upset the speedlight scene quite drastically.

Last night, as I was in bed, browsing Facebook on my iPad, as you do, I ran across a post over on Flash Havoc. Described as “something of an open letter to Yongnuo”, I thought it seemed to hit the mark pretty well on many points. So, here’s some of my own thoughts.

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The Strobist offers up some advice for those starting out with flash

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David Hobby is the man who started off the whole strobist movement. He literally is the Strobist. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him on video, and he took a bit of a break from the site for a while, too. He is now back, with a new free Lighting 103 course, focusing on colour.

The Phoblographer caught up with David recently at the Fujifilm Festival in New York City. Naturally, out came the camera, for David to impart some of his wisdom. Specifically, it’s aimed at those thinking about, or looking into getting their first flash.

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Continuous LEDs vs strobes: which is the best solution for studio photography?

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If you’re new to studio portraits, there’s just so much to learn about the light. Also, you have a choice between strobes/speedlights and continuous LED lights. If you can’t decide where to start, the latest video from Joe Edelman could be helpful and get you on the right track.

In this video, Joe breaks down the differences between these two types of lighting. You’ll learn their main uses, and also why it’s good to use one or the other in different situations.

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See the pros and cons of using natural light and off camera flash outdoors

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Before the proliferation of speedlights and portable strobes over the last few years, people always asked me why I’d take flash out in the daytime. It was often difficult to formulate an answer that they’d accept. They never really “got it” unless I took them on a shoot with me so they could see first hand.

This video from photographer Manny Ortiz embodies the answer in my head, though. Essentially it’s about having options. Sometimes the natural light will give me exactly what I want, and sometimes it won’t. In the horrible British weather, for me it’s more often won’t. So, I take flash with me.

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How to fire your strobes 3 different ways and when to use each one

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All the time, I see new flash and strobe owners ask “How do I fire these things?, which isn’t an unreasonable question. For speedlights, it’s fairly straightforward. You buy the one that fits your camera’s hotshoe, slide it on, and beyond that you read the manual to figure out what all the different functions do. But what if you want to get it off your camera, or you’re using studio strobes?

In this video, Jay P Morgan shows us the three main ways to fire flashes with your camera. It’s fairly simple to do using either a sync cable, optical slave or radio slave. But each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Not all methods suit all circumstances. So, it’s good to know and understand all three, and when might suit a certain situation best.

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