Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

You can buy hotshoe adapters that fit on the SB600, and have a sync port. I use them to trigger my SB600s with cybersyncs. I think they may even sell or link to them on the AB site.....

we do sell the SLFA here: http://www.alienbees.com/parts.html that can attach your SB600 to a reciever. Remember, you will not be able to adjust your SB's with the Cyber Commander

Oh, well then. You guys have everything covered..haha, thanks!

I think I'll just get the CST instead of the Cyber Commander anyways, and adjust the flashes through trial and error shots. The Cyber Commander is a bit too expensive for me right now if I want to get all the other things I need.

Sure you can - they have a hot-shoe adapter available that you put on your flash, and it has both pc and 1/8" jack. I have one for my Canon 550ex flash which has no pc either.

Still waiting for my Vagabond Mini and I'm still undecided on what flashes to get. I thought I'd have it figured out by now. Im starting to consider the Einstein but I see they're on back order and do not really want to wait. What are the big differences between the Einstein and the b1600? I didn't know I'd be dealing with blur with the AB's for skateboarding..thats kind of a problem. I need a really short flash duration, so whatever light freezes the fastest is what I should be going for. I have a fisheye so Im usually really close to the skateboarder and they're flying by the lens pretty quick..

Also, any idea how long the wait is for the Einsteins right now? Thanks

Check this out:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_ ... 0053-10715

The Einstein has significantly shorter flash durations than the ABs. Also note that reducing power on AB's INCREASES the flash duration, while reducing power on Einstein REDUCES the flash duration.

Thanks for link...So the Einstein should be perfectly capable of freezing action shots like skateboarding then? I cant find any sample shots from anyone who uses the Einstein for outdoor shots on flickr. I've been told not to get ABs for skateboarding. I guess I'll have to go with 2 Einsteins instead anyways..more money and a longer wait..bummer..

Anyone use an Einstein for outdoor shots? Any comments would be appreciated.

AB 400 and 800 have the shortest durations of any monoflash other than Einstein on the market, and are quite popular for skateboarding, basketball, etc. But use them at full power.

Einstein is the fastest pro light in existence . . . faster than the $10,000 systems like Scoro and Grafit. But must be used a reduced power to achieve super fast durations. 80 to 160WS offers the best tradeoff of power VS speed.

Common speedlights are the fastest of all, but only achieve super speed at extremely low power levels in the 1 to 4WS range.

Using the silver PLM is advantageous because of it tremendous efficiency in getting the light to the subject.

Now Im really torn on what to do here.. After looking into some skateboarding photos taken with AB 800s and 1600 set up, I noticed the blur that I was warned about and I simply do not want to deal with that.. but I would like to get the units ASAP and don't want to wait for the Einstein. Also have no real sample shots to go on because I cant find any skateboarding photos taken with an Einstein set up. Wondering if the Einstein will be powerful enough to light up the shot and freeze the action without the blur the ABs produce, or if I should just suck it up and get the 800s.

What is the result, what decision has you made since last post? I am interested in whats going on now with you and your skateboard photography.