Can anyone share experiences using HSS on the 850's with either the Cell II's or other HSS transmitters? The reviewers make it sound great but I'd just like to hear other's experiences. I've been watching these 850's since the reviews started popping out and I'm close to 100% sold on them. I only wish there were units in my local brick and mortar's so I could get a hands on with them.
First thing I did taking my V850 out of the box was test HSS to make sure it'd actually work with my Nikon gear. I used YN-622N transceivers to test it. Some notes:
1) HSS is only going to work on Canon or Nikon with an appropriate wireless transmitter. I think you may already know that but just in case :smile:
2) You need a separate wireless trigger that triggers the HSS signal (see the flashhavoc radio trigger alternatives page). The flash itself still works in all manual mode and is controlled by the FT-16S transmitter/receiver pair, but the firing signal comes from the other transmitter.
3) HSS does NOT work on-camera, unfortunately. It's off-camera with wireless triggers only for whatever reason. Not a huge limitation for me as I'm much more likely to need HSS off-camera anyway, but it confused me until I read the manual.
Off-camera using YN-622Ns with the flash a few feet away I was able to sync up to 1/8000s shutter speed on my Nikon, with the usual loss of flash output as you'd expect from HSS.
Ok so any reason not buy these "Neewer" brand "TT850" flash and FT-16 transmitter/receiver set on Amazon in comparison to say the Godox or Cheetah branded ones. They are a good amount cheaper.... Links:
Ok so any reason not buy these "Neewer" brand "TT850" flash and FT-16 transmitter/receiver set on Amazon in comparison to say the Godox or Cheetah branded ones. They are a good amount cheaper.... Links:
I bought the Neewer brand TT850, it's the exact same flash and it's compatible with the Godox stuff if you buy later. Godox makes various flashes and offers a rebranding option to other companies so you'll find the exact same units branded by Wintstro, Neewer, Cheetah, and even Adorama/FlashPoint, to name a few.
Important note: do NOT buy the FT-16! What you need is the FT-16S model for the V850. Exact same transmitter, but a different receiver unit that is made to clip on the V850 or V860 units. Unfortunately, I was trying to buy a second one myself today and the FT-16S appears to be out of stock everywhere stateside. You'd have to order from ebay or a Chinese company direct (like Eachshot), or wait for a US supplier to get more stock.
To add to the Cheetah vs Neewer... Cheetah is a 1yr warranty while Neewer is 6 months. Honestly, for the 850, I'm not sure it matters much. It's not hugely expensive and if they fail (but if they do in year 2, it'll be hard to consider it again). Though, with the 180/360's... kinda wish they had 2yrs or something.
First thing I did taking my V850 out of the box was test HSS to make sure it'd actually work with my Nikon gear. I used YN-622N transceivers to test it. Some notes:
1) HSS is only going to work on Canon or Nikon with an appropriate wireless transmitter. I think you may already know that but just in case :smile:
2) You need a separate wireless trigger that triggers the HSS signal (see the flashhavoc radio trigger alternatives page). The flash itself still works in all manual mode and is controlled by the FT-16S transmitter/receiver pair, but the firing signal comes from the other transmitter.
3) HSS does NOT work on-camera, unfortunately. It's off-camera with wireless triggers only for whatever reason. Not a huge limitation for me as I'm much more likely to need HSS off-camera anyway, but it confused me until I read the manual.
Off-camera using YN-622Ns with the flash a few feet away I was able to sync up to 1/8000s shutter speed on my Nikon, with the usual loss of flash output as you'd expect from HSS.
OK Jay, so HSS works with Nikon (and Canon). But were you able to get it to work with Olympus or Panasonic M4/3? I am a little confused, is the only trigger available for M4/3 the Cells II, and has it been confirmed it actually works at high shutter speeds for Olympus?
My previous posts with photos a couple pages back were one light test shots using the standard reflector for the CL360 and V850. It was my first time with the new Cheetah lights and it was meant as a learning experience to see what could be done within those limits of the basic light modifier.
This past Saturday I did a photo shoot for owner of a local bikini company who wanted shots for posting on Amazon and some for a web site she is developing. For the Amazon shots the background had to be near white and the photos clearly show the bikini, with a 3/4 body pose of above the knees to top of head. I only found out about the white backdrop requirements the night before, and as the shoot was done in a small backyard with a big pool and hillside, setting up the backdrop and keeping it up in the windy conditions that day was a bit of a problem. My setup had the main light CL360 (bare bulb) in a 48" Westcott Orb Octabox and the V850 speedlight in a Westcott pop up 12" by 36" strip box, mostly aimed at the background. The whole setup was in the shade and not in direct sunlight. The CL360 at 6' was fired at 1/32 to 1/16 power depending upon the shading and reflectiveness of the bathing suit, and the V850 was set at 1/64 up to 1/32 power. I was shooting full manual and had the hotspot blinkie indicator on my EM1 view screen, so if I got any hotspots, it was so easy to adjust the power of both flashes up or down. The goal was to highlight the suit but not create any hotspots on it, yet try to get a clean mostly white background. (Ideally I would have had 2 background lites on the backdrop alone, plus main and fill, but I only have 1 CL 360 and V850 right now). Both lites were buried in umbrella type softboxes, and having the ability to turn on the sound confirmation beep when adjusting the power from the transmitter for each flash was great.
At these low power ratios, the recharge time for both lights was instantaneous. I took over 850 photos this way and both battery packs still show 4/4 bars! I can't believe the MH4500 still shows a full charge. And without any misses of the lights firing via the CL TX transmitter mounted on the EM1. I was a machine gun monkey… line up a girl up, snap, turn, snap turn, snap, turn, next girl please, snap snap, snap... Did this for 2-1/2 hours straight until I took 8 or 9 photos of each of the 92 bathing suits….While I would not want to do this all the time, it did give me a great opportunity to play with the lights and their settings, and I learned a LOT! The 48" Octabox was just fantastic, it lit up the girls (camera right about 15 degrees and at about 7' at top) so well. The strip box was 30 degrees camera left and aimed mostly at the backdrop, but also used to feather some lite onto the girls right side. Every shot was with my 45mm Olympus f/1.8 lens, full frame 90mm equivalent, ISO 200, 1/200ss at f/4. I tried a few at a slower ss, increasing the ambient and making the backdrop a bit more white. But it also showed every wrinkle in the backdrop, so I quickly went back to 1/200ss.
Wow I am very impressed with these lights, they did every thing I needed on full manual. And so was another photog friend there at that shoot, he is now planning on buying 2 CL360's, replacing old Norman heads and power packs.
These are jpegs straight out of the camera. The client is going to crop and clean up as needed. The owner loved the photos :smile: and asked me to do the next shoot.
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OK Jay, so HSS works with Nikon (and Canon). But were you able to get it to work with Olympus or Panasonic M4/3? I am a little confused, is the only trigger available for M4/3 the Cells II, and has it been confirmed it actually works at high shutter speeds for Olympus?
No, as I said HSS on the V850 ONLY works with Canon and Nikon.
Since I already own Nikon gear it's a nice bonus perk for me, and on m4/3 I have to stick to manual only flash with the V850s.
The flash needs to be able to speak the TTL language for HSS enough to receive the trigger signal for HSS, so it's dependent on the manufacturer to build that functionality in, and on the trigger to send the appropriate TTL fire signal. Hence why this is Canon/Nikon only, and why you need a compatible wireless trigger to make it work.
Complicated I know, but that's TTL for you... lots of proprietary systems and they all have to be reverse engineered by each third party manufacturer.
As mentioned in the post above, after shooting with the white backdrop I had about 30 minutes to shoot the girls in natural settings. Here I used the V850 (mounted vertically and set to 24mm) in the same Apollo 12" by 36" strip box and these shots were taken at 1/16 to 1/8 power.
As above these are jpeg's straight out of camera, client is to adjust as needed.
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I bought the Neewer brand TT850, it's the exact same flash and it's compatible with the Godox stuff if you buy later. Godox makes various flashes and offers a rebranding option to other companies so you'll find the exact same units branded by Wintstro, Neewer, Cheetah, and even Adorama/FlashPoint, to name a few.
Important note: do NOT buy the FT-16! What you need is the FT-16S model for the V850. Exact same transmitter, but a different receiver unit that is made to clip on the V850 or V860 units. Unfortunately, I was trying to buy a second one myself today and the FT-16S appears to be out of stock everywhere stateside. You'd have to order from ebay or a Chinese company direct (like Eachshot), or wait for a US supplier to get more stock.
To add to the Cheetah vs Neewer... Cheetah is a 1yr warranty while Neewer is 6 months. Honestly, for the 850, I'm not sure it matters much. It's not hugely expensive and if they fail (but if they do in year 2, it'll be hard to consider it again). Though, with the 180/360's... kinda wish they had 2yrs or something.
^^^^ Thanks for the reply's all three of you. Greatly appreciate it. I think Ill just fork out the extra few dollars and get the Cheetah branded ones from Edward or the Godox branded ones from an overseas seller if I can't wait for Cheetah to get stock in. It was down to either getting these V850 flashes or the Yongnuo 560 III but I decided the extra $$$ for the V850 is well spent and leaves the door open to integrate them along with the CL-180/360 in the future much easier as part of one system for OCF. I would wait it out for the upcoming V860 TTL flash coming out but Im 99% certain it will be CaNikon only support for TTL just like HSS is only CaNikon so no point in waiting.
Glad to see there are more and more photos popping up and the popularity of these lights rising. In my honest opinion, these Cheetah/Godox lights are the new standard. For the price, you get a ton of light and an even better triggering system. To be honest, I was moments away from buying Pocket Wizards because it was considered the "industry standard" and another set of FL-600r. Although I find it useful as an on-camera flash, I think these lights have opened a lot more doors from a creativity standpoint. The shot below was taken with three lights - 2 v850s and one CL-360 as the main light
Gee a lot of information here. I have a specific question on the Godox 360 which I wonder if someone can answer.
I will be shooting with one tonight and need a very short flash duration. The Godox specs say flash duration is 1/300s (presumably at 1/1) to 1/10,000s (presumably at 1/128). I basically want to know roughly the maximum power output that will get 1/1000th sec flash duration or faster. Does anyone know?
Thanks Happyfish... never did find the answer but luckily the girl I was shooting was prepared to play a little 'trial and error'. I was trying to freeze water and there is usually a limit as to how many buckets of water you can throw over someone.
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I eventually settled on 1/16th with othjer lower powered speedlights also 1/16th. I am really impressed by the Godox 360 (especially its price). Buckets of power and it also generates a very sweet light.
Just ordered one after lot of reading of this thread!
What are some of the best modifiers you all have used ? Also is the umbrella holder you all are using the one you can get made for it on ebay? I'm looking for what I would need for some on location shooting and for weddings
Beat elinchrom but needs adapter and expensive
Without knowing what kinda light you like
Best for the cheetahs but huge but amazing is the photek softlighter 60 inch not as good for moving around but use it in people's homes etc... So more setup in location outside would need a solid stand or helper
Slowly converting everything over to apollos for the octa stuff
If you are starting out the one 43 Apollo kit with the octa stand and adapter is like $149 or so would be a great start get a grid later on
The other is a smaller wind strong if you want to do a lot of outside stuff would be a 22 beauty dish would need a way to hold the flash the S bracket I think they call it seems nice and compact
This http://www.amazon.com/SMDV-DIFF60-D...TF8&qid=1398543408&sr=8-1&keywords=60+softbox
They make a rear speed ring that has a way you can mount the cheetahs with out the adapter boxes this size are handy at wedding where you are moving around a lot in and out and less prone to blow over in the wind
Have had and used the square pop up style flash boxes that are common and don't like them at all ? But others do
Use Bogen or good umbrella bracket/holders
Stands some of the cheetah seem nice the one 10 model they have the legs collapse when picked up could be handy
I use large Bogen stackers or Kupo C stand
I would say get the 43 Apollo kit again has everything for $149 as a great starting point http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/820999-REG/Westcott_2340_36_Apollo_Orb_Speedlite.html
Or the smdv with the cheetah 10 foot stand that has the legs that collapse when picked up if. I know I was doing more weddings where I was having to walk around more and no assistant
I second Chads vote for the Wescott Apollo Orb, it is a easy to setup and use modifier. Great light bounce back design with the bare bulb flash. I have the original, the Orb and the stripbox and now they are my go to lights for location work, so easy to carry in my stand bag. The only limitation is the tilting ability due to the light stand being inside the zippered section. There are tilting booms that can take care of this such as this clever design- http://www.adorama.com/PH87520.html Me, I use a super clamp with flex arm if I need to point it down, see the photos back in post 72 if you haven't already.
I have 2 of the 24" square pop up boxes, one Cheetah QBox and one Lastolite. Actual light diffuser size is 20" square. Both have a 2nd inner diffuser and the Qbox comes with a grid and circle masking for free. Greet for location work for 3/4 body or tighter. Each has its own clamping bracket system that works with speedlights and with the 360/180 lights via hotshoe mounting, but the new Godox S bracket is a more secure way of attaching either a 360 or 180 light. I just ordered 2 and really like them, they have replaced the original brackets. Got to believe the Cheetah Q box will soon have the option to order the kit with the S bracket.
Cheetah also has a inexpensive umbrella metal reflector with umbrella adapter that screw into the side of the 360/180 head. It puts the umbrella shaft as close to the light center as possible. It's a steal at $13. https://www.cheetahstand.com/product-p/cl-s6.htm
And for lighting up dark corners don't forget the Cheetah mushroom light modifier. I was quite surprised by the nice job it does. See below photo, shooting at f3.5, it allowed me to pretty much equalize her backside with the exterior ambient light in this shot. The mushroom was about 8' away directly 90 degrees to her left
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Hate to revive an old thread, but just wanted to know if anyone has used these lights with a sony A7. Just wondering if you're getting the 1/250th sync speed the A7 advertises. Thanks in advance
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