Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

The guide number is the same as the B1600, and can be found here: http://www.alienbees.com/specs.html (about 3/4 of the way down). As stated before, GN will change based on the modifier used, so you must be very careful in comparing lights. Make sure you are comparing at the same ISO (i have seen GN listed at ISO 200, where most are at ISO 100), and especially sure the angle of coverage. A GN from a 70 degree reflector will appear less powerful than the same light with a 50 degree reflector, even though they are the same power.

With our 50 degree reflector on an E640, the GN is about 450, vs 211 (*note this was edited from the previous statement of 244 vs 211) on the Compact 600R, which is just shorter than a Nimitz class carrier (really, about 2 feet long). So, yes, it can achieve power gotten from bigger lights.

All emails are typically answered within 2 business days, however, we cannot guarantee ship times of any of the backorders as there are too many variables. We are getting lights and Vagabonds out the door as fast as possible, and in date order.

Thank you everyone for all the replies. Customer service at PCB is GREAT. :D I got an email yesterday saying my Einstein would be here in time with no problem, which will give me time to practice, and the Vagabond Mini should be here on time. If not, I will use extension cords as suggested. Because of their great service, I just may order another and hope it gets here in time for the event so I can have complete coverage of the huge gym the reception is going to be in, but that will mean another pocket wizard, too. :o

As for modifiers, they have the 64" White PLM, but they don't have the black cover for reflecting the light, and don't know for sure when they will be back in because of the Chinese New Year. I guess we know where they come from. So, now I have the choice of getting the 64" umbrella and shoot through, or the 64" Silver and reflect the light, at a significantly higher cost, and if I want to soften the light some, buy the front diffusion fabric at even more expense. What do you experts suggest, with the prior mentioned knowledge that I am shooting this wedding, and potentially one more three days later for FREE to get images for my portfolio and prove to prospective brides and grooms that they would be well served paying me for my "talents"? To say I am on a budget is an understatement.

Thanks again for the great advice and suggestions.

I think the 64" white umbrella without the black outer cover will be fine. The outer cover makes the reflecting somewhat more efficient.

I would still use it in REFLECTIVE mode rather than shoot thru for this event. You'll have plenty of power with the Einstein, anyway. On the off chance that you have to position the umbrella close to an oddly colored wall, take a simple fabric (a small cheap black curtain from Target) just to cover the outer side of the umbrella (a couple clips will hold it). This is unlikely to be needed, but if you were say up against a bright lime green wall, the portion of light that passes thru the umbrella and hits the wall could reflect back a bit lime green color cast on people nearer the umbrella. (This is why a black cover is a good long term investment--for example, if I want to shoot a quick portrait in a living room at someone's house, the walls/ceiling are close, and they can act like being Inside a colored softbox. Controlling spill is important then). In this venue, I doubt this will be a big concern.

So, two 64 whites, and another Einstein will certainly allow you to cover a bigger area, and seems reasonable to me. Otherwise you might only be able to capture images in one corner.

You can get lightstands with wheels, so you could periodically "migrate" your setup (very carefully) but this would be undesirable, prone to a multitude of mishaps. BTW, get some sandbags for your light stands (Cowboy Studio via Amazonhas a pretty good deal, and a couple bags of sand from Home Depot fills em up: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AHALEC/)

You'll want to consider safety at the shoot, both for participants and for your gear :-) The sandbags will help prevent your lightstands from getting knocked over. In addition, I would use some bright safety orange or safety yellow duct tape: tape the ends of the legs to the floor, put small strips up the legs for visibility. It is really easy to trip over them, especially people unfamiliar or just otherwise engaged. You might even consider some small orange safety cones.

When using power cords, be sure they can't be snagged or tripped over. The cord from your Einstein down the stand should be kept close to the stand, not dangling where someone could hook it with an arm, etc. I use some orange plastic power cord clips from home depot, as it puts a little more orange on the stand for people to see and avoid. When the cords reach the floor, and particularly with a routed extension cord, get it over to a wall and follow a baseboard to the outlet. Tape it in place at several places along the wall. Wherever the cord is on the floor, cover it completely with brightly colored safety tape, and choose your lightstand position so that it is out of the way, and the cord is not in any place that might conceivably be used as a walkway by an inebriated person or a child :-) Don't try to blockade around it with chairs, as you are inviting people to sit there, lean or grab your lightstand, or they will go grab a chair to move somewhere, and thwack your lightstand good.

In general, while the attendees at the event are your subjects, friends, customers, when they approach your gear, they become unintentional threats. Divert, prevent, protect.

I'm assuming, but do not know, that you have a speedlight? Your plan to light the room in general ways is good for the general coverage, but you will, I assume, also need to get certain moments (cake cutting, toasts, first dance, etc.--btw, meet with the couple in advance and create a list of the must-have shots, take it with you as a checklist). Scout the venue, know the planned layout, and select your lighting locations so that those events are able to be lit (maybe you have to swivel the light a bit at a certain time). Plan to be surprised--when you get to the actual event, things will not go as expected. Tables may be arranged differently, etc. But if you have planned ahead, then you can recognize what has changed, how it might affect you, and adjust accordingly).

If you can enlist a volunteer second shooter with a speedlight (who knows what they are doing), that is a good back up for roving around, and for getting detail shots, special moment shots.

If you can have a friend/family member be a "gopher" that can be very helpful. They can go find someone who needs to be in the shot, go grab your gear bag if you need something, keep tabs on what is going on (like come get you if the cake cutting is about to start suddenly).

You can ask the wedding party to help, too--you can ask a groomsman or bridesmaid to go find a 'missing person', etc.

Scout the venue, plan where you will set up, with back up options (tables or a wet bar or a dj may be set up where you planned to, check with the couple for plans if possible).

In general, think redundancy (within your budget, of course): if you have a second camera, take it. Take enough extension cords even if you have the vagabond. Take extra batteries for your cameras, pocket wizards. Have extra lenses. Extra memory cards. Have your speed light with you, even if you don't plan to use it. With extra batteries. Imagine variations on the plans: be ready to shoot outdoors for some shots, be ready to shoot with only available light indoors if need be: there may be a killer shot in a hallway, be ready to goose ISO, go full auto, or whatever works on your camera to get that shot, and then know how to quickly get back to settings for strobe use. If you have a point and shoot camera, drop it in your pocket. 99% of the time, you won't need any particular back-up item, but when that 1% situation occurs, it will make the prep more than worthwhile :-)

You have some time to do google searches, get a good book or three, and pick up both do and don't pointers. Preparation will diminish surprises and stress, and you can enjoy yourself a lot more at the event. (I had a friend who had never shot a wedding get called on a Friday evening by a friend who's wedding photog had cancelled last minute--so she went and shot the wedding on Saturday afternoon--talk about stress! Her email signature for several weeks afterwards was "never shoot weddings!")

Also, keep in mind: I have not shot a wedding. I have done events, though, and I have used Einsteins, modifiers, speedlights, etc. So most of my comments are fairly generalized. You will definitely want to get some books specific to wedding photography. Jasmine Starr did a live wedding shoot at Creative Live as an online web class. http://creativelive.com/courses/jasmine_star I have seen part of it, could be worth watching, but it might not be worth the $ to you. I am sure there are other options out there.

Again, Good Luck, and Have Fun!

@BDP THANK YOU!!! That reply took an incredible amount of time to type out and I don't take that for granted. Your suggestions are fantastic and I appreciate them very much. I will now be ordering another Einstein, PW, two umbrellas, another lightstand, sand bags, and make a trip to Home Depot or Lowes for the rest.

If anyone else has any additional input, please feel free to add. I can't wait until I can share some images of this event requiring lighting with all of you. In the meantime, here is an image with available light shot with my D200 downtown in a city here in So. Cal. that I am kind of proud of:



Thanks again. Have a great weekend everyone.

"With our 50 degree reflector, the GN is about 244, vs 211 on the Compact 600R, which is just shorter than a Nimitz class carrier (really, about 2 feet long). So, yes, it can achieve power gotten from bigger lights. "

Is this correct? I too was trying to figure out guide number based on reflector used on the Einstein 640. The link lists the GN for the 1600 w/ the 11inch (50 degree) reflector as 450 not 244...?

Thanks,

-John

No, that statement is incorrect. Thanks for pointing it out. I got my self mathmatically tripped up converting meters to feet and converting the specs from B&H into GN. I think i converted our specs to meters at some point where it was not necessary. I have triple checked my math and have edited the information above.

For what it is worth, I got the Profoto info here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... _Pack.html

f/64 times 3.3 feet= 211, thus a GN in feet of 211. (at ISO 100)

211 vs 450 from about the same Ws ratings is a big difference, almost 4 times the amount of light.

That said, with the way reflectors are designed can impact the absolute validity of GN comparisons. Beam spread is universally accepted (or near universally accepted) as the angle measurement from center out to -1f. If there is a lot of spill beyond that that is less than -1f, that can be a lot of light not factored in. This is why we state Lumenseconds, as it is the only true measurement of output of a flash. Unfortunately, no one else uses the measurement.

Either way, the comparison does illustrate our compact flashes can hold thier in terms of power vs. physically larger flash units.

Ok excellent, thanks for clarifying that!

Holy Moses! Have you already shot the wedding? Baptism by fire is accelerated graduate learning, and there's nothing like someone's cannot-repeat-moment (i.e. wedding) to force the fight part of the fight/flight reflex... I genuinely hope you do, or have already done well.

Either way, I've learned it's not about the camera, lenses, strobes or speedlights. It's about your perspective relative to the subject and the light (natural or flash) and its relative perspective to both the camera and subject.

The best thing I ever did is absorb the venerable text "Light: Science and Magic." I too shoot with a D700, fast glass and 640ws strobes (moving from AB to Einsteins as I type). Though I'm giddy as a school child to learn how to wield the power of of IBGT strobes, I know deep down that it's all hit or miss unless I understand how the light interacts. That book really helps and will help you get the most out of your talented eye.