Light is a precious commodity in close-up and macro photography. The closer you get to your subject, the more light you lose through lens extension. Move to within inches of the subject and your camera or body may block the existing daylight. Also, the closer you get, the more depth of field you lose, so it would help to stop down. All of this translates to a need for additional light—in other words, a supplementary light source. What’s more, when shooting live critters and wind-blown plants, we may also need that light source to freeze subject movement, or at least provide shutter speeds that are fast enough to contain movement. To meet these needs, I’ve often turned to a macro ringflash and, alternatively, a macro twin flash. An economical alternative is an LED ringlight.
The studio lighting genie is not going back into the bottle anytime soon and LED light sources are finding their place in more and more camera rooms. Clever and versatile lighting systems such as Rotolight’s new Anova V2 and their compact RL48-B battery-powered portable lights are part of the reason why.
The new Pelican 9490 Remote Area Lighting System (RALS) is a self-contained, mobile lighting solution that features a quick release and a rechargeable (swappable) power supply. The 9490 RALS has a suggested retail price of $999.95 and offers up to 6,000 lumens, three preset light levels and up to 24 hours of run time.
Photokina 2014 in Germany has been covered widely on the Internet already—including our own extensive reporting on the show on Shutterbug.com—so there’s no need for me to rehash the major announcements from the event, such as the latest full-frame cameras from Canon and Nikon and the like. My photo report here is aimed at sharing some wider ranging thoughts and perspectives on this important biennial show and what it told us about photography today and where it might be heading tomorrow.
Profoto just released the new, more compact B2 off-camera flash along with a bevy of light shaping tools, designed for fast, easy on-location photography. The Profoto B2 is the follow-up to the pioneering B1 off-camera flash from 2013, which combined the portability (and ease-of-use) of a speedlight with the performance of a pro monolight.
We’ve seen colorful orbs in a light painting before but never as many as the East Coast Light Painting (ECLP) group crammed into a single exposure this past summer. In fact, the Guinness World Records just confirmed that the ECLP set the world record for most complete light orbs in a single exposure with 200 orbs.
Nissin recently took the next step in the evolution of their popular flash with introduction of the Di700A. This updated model includes a built-in radio receiver—a key part of the new Nissin Air System (NAS). Nissin is also introducing the new Air 1 Commander to wirelessly control the new flash.
Adorama has released a bevy of new lighting products as part of their award-winning Flashpoint accessory line. The latest releases include the Flashpoint Auto Stand (in 7' and 9’ models), the Flashpoint Telescopic Reflector Holder, and two new Flashpoint Flip-Flash Brackets. All items are now available with free shipping.
Rogue Photographic Design has updated their XL Pro Lighting Kit, adding new attachments and various improvements that include: a new Strip Grid, lighter weight materials, quicker attachment and a travel bag. This lighting system includes the XL Pro Reflector with two quick change attachments that allow users to create a softbox or a strip grid.
Adorama expanded the Flashpoint lighting line with the launch of Zoom Li-on, a collection of on/off camera flash products with internal lithium ion batteries—providing all of the benefits of an external battery pack. The Li-on line offers a range of high-power flash units and lighting accessories in easily transportable packages. Products include the Zoom Li-on speedlight Flash (available in manual, Canon TTL and Nikon TTL models), and the Zoom Li-on Flash Commander Transmitter/Receiver Set.
Metz has unveiled the new Mecablitz 26 AF-1, a compact flash unit with high-end features. The new pocket-sized Mecablitz 26 AF-1 is designed for use with compact point-and-shoot cameras and mirrorless interchangeable lens camera systems (with built-in hot shoes), providing more power than integrated camera flashes.
If you are a night owl and love the art of light painting then the Pixelstick should certainly be on your holiday wish list. The Pixelstick transforms the darkness of the night by adding a rainbow of bright LED color to your light painting photography.
We reviewed the Profoto B1 500 AirTTL battery-powered studio light earlier this year and while we, generally, loved this portable strobe solution the one thing missing was high-speed sync. Profoto corrected that this morning by offering a new High-Speed Sync (HSS) feature to the B1 that’s available now via a free firmware update.
Giving a more modern twist to tradition, a team of digital imaging specialists from the Smithsonian Institute created a 3D portrait of President Barack Obama using eight high-resolution sports cameras, six wide-angle cameras, and 50 custom-designed LED lights.