What’s Your Preference?

sydneyns · #1 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011, 09:19 PM

First off would you have to buy their soft boxes that way over priced or could you use other brands with the Flashes Can I use these Flashes with a Nikon D5000.

StarFire™: digital flash

Thank you
Art

zona5101 · #2 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 02:32 AM

Photoflex makes good affordable stuff. Their softboxes are not expensive compared to Chimera and Profoto but are equally used by pros. Haven't used the flashes and triggers - they have only been making them for a little over a year iirc. I own a bunch of their stuff and wouldn't hesitate to buy these if I didn't already have strobist gear. They have excellent customer service.

inkista · #3 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 02:33 AM

Looks an awful lot like a rebranded Yongnuo YN-460 II.

sydneyns · #4 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inkista

Looks an awful lot like a rebranded Yongnuo YN-460 II.

Would the YN460II be worth buying for someone starting out and if you had more then one what would be the best way for triggering them.

I would like to start out with taking pictures of the guys in the Fire Department I belong to instead of the same old boring ones sitting there with the uniform on...lol

I was also wondering if it would be worth buying a few of these The SoftBox LTp for the flashes.

Thanks

inkista · #5 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sydneyns

Would the YN460II be worth buying for someone starting out ...

Depends on how you plan to use the flash. If you want to use it on-camera with bouncing, or for run'n'gun event shooting, I'd say no.

If you want use it exclusively for off-camera "Strobist" setups, then maybe. There are better flashes out there, and Yongnuo doesn't have the greatest reputation for copy consistency of build quality. You want cheap? This is cheap. In every sense of the word. They work, though, and many love them. Feature-wise, though, there's no PC sync port, and no zoom capability on the YN-460 II's. I'd actually go with the YN-560II when it comes out, but I'm kind of spendthrift. You can find the YN-460II on Amazon in the US for around $50.

I generally recommend that if you can afford it, going with a mid-range or high-end OEM flash (SB-700/SB-900 or 430EX II/580EX II) is likely to be better for a first flash, because you can use it both on and off camera, and you have all the bells and whistles and the best future compatibility. If you can't afford an OEM, then maybe a 3rd party with TTL capability (and preferably CLS/wireless eTTL slave capability). Then the all-manuals.

Quote:

...and if you had more then one what would be the best way for triggering them.

Again, depends on your budget and usage. If you're using them indoors in a relatively small space, and you want cheapest possible, I'd go with the built-in slave sensor, and use a pop-up or one of the flashes on the hotshoe as the main trigger.

If I were working outdoors and had a bit more budget, I'd go with cheap radio triggers, like Cactus V5s or Yongnuo RF-603s.

Quote:

I was also wondering if it would be worth buying a few of these The SoftBox LTp for the flashes.

Not for speedlights. For monolights, maybe. But it's awfully big, and a lot of weight to have hanging off the head of your flash. I'd go more for one of the softboxes with a bracket, so you aren't putting strain on your speedlight, like the Lastolite EzyBox Hotshoe. I got a (cheaper) similar one from Cowboy Studios ala Amazon.

sydneyns · #6 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 12:47 PM

I will check out some of the equipment you have mentioned in your reply..

Thanks

ChrisAdval · #7 (**permalink**) 12-19-2011, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sydneyns

Would the YN460II be worth buying for someone starting out and if you had more then one what would be the best way for triggering them.

I would like to start out with taking pictures of the guys in the Fire Department I belong to instead of the same old boring ones sitting there with the uniform on...lol

I was also wondering if it would be worth buying a few of these The SoftBox LTp for the flashes.

Thanks

I highly recommend any of the yn flashes, its a good starter flash and learning tool when you have to learn manual flash for the manual only flashes from yn which are most of them I think, but I would get the YN565 TTL since I know manual flash pretty well now, but for the half the price in your shoes I'd get the YN560 manual only flash, also getting yn602 (or 603s) would work great with them too as the best choice for wireless triggers for manual flash units, in my opinion of course.