Hi,

 

Normally I am shooting with 2x In Z240 which are okay for most situations.

I am heading to the Maldives in January so a lot of WA is on the menu.

The last time I was there I noticed I lacked strobepower from the 2 Z240's. I am not looking for investing in a couple of new guns, but i do have a spare Z240 wich I can use.

I also have enough spare arm-parts and cables to fix the extra Z240 on my rig.

What are the experiences with shooting with 3 strobes?

Edited December 1, 2024Dec 1 by DuikKees
Typo

8 hours ago, DuikKees said:

Hi,

 

Normally I am shooting with 2x In Z240 which are okay for most situations.

I am heading to the Maldives in January so a lot of WA is on the menu.

The last time I was there I noticed I lacked strobepower from the 2 Z240's. I am not looking for investing in a couple of new guns, but i do have a spare Z240 wich I can use.

I also have enough spare arm-parts and cables to fix the extra Z240 on my rig.

What are the experiences with shooting with 3 strobes?

 Hi Kees,

 

Were you thinking of having the third off-camera, more like a remote? Or using this on the rig? It's an interesting proposition, but it may just be unwieldy. Perhaps the simplest course is to shoot as wide as you can and get as close as you can. I shoot Z240s also, but I haven't tried this.

I am planning it to use it on the rig in a 9-12-3 position.

 

 

 

I'd have thought that the strobe in the 12 position is going to end up lighting the water between the lens and the subject? That's the last thing you want as it'll increase backscatter. 

 

I've long given up trying to light the reef no matter how powerful the strobes. My experience is to use natural ambient light for the majority of the width of the scene, and to use the strobes to highlight one or two colourful elements perhaps just to one side of the image.

 

Here's an example where I've moved both strobes ( 2x Inon Z240s) to the 3 o'clock position. I could have got a bit more light on the background with a slightly slower shutter or enhanced the Shadow detail in LR.

No reason you couldn't do it, apart from being potentially unwieldy.  Probably be fine getting on and off the boat in calm seas, also consider if currents might be an issue.

 

I would also consider that if you could double your light output by adding an extra flash, that is one stop of light.  Your might get maybe 1/2 - 2/3 stop more light with the extra flash. Depending on where you are on shutter speed you could achieve more or less the same results with one stop more on ISO.  Maybe try something like opening up by 1/3 stop and 1/3 stop higher ISO?

1 hour ago, DuikKees said:

I am planning it to use it on the rig in a 9-12-3 position.

 

 

 

 

 

I have heard of someone using a 3-way clamp on one side at the middle joint.  (i.e. middle joint of either the left or right arm) He mounted the 3rd strobe to a small arm at the 3-way clamp that positioned it more towards the middle on that side.  This would also give a bit more power if it is moved closer to the main strobe on that same side.  You could also use the 3-way clamp at the end of the arm and mount 2 strobes side by side, angling them slightly away from each other increase power on that side overall.

 

With that said, he reported the 3rd strobe is also more cumbersome to maneuver both on the boat and in-water.  I tend to favor Tim's suggestion of leveraging more natural light, even if I have to use a higher ISO, and then use the strobe(s) to highlight a subject or area.  Most strobes with a diffuser will give up to a 160 degree of coverage, which can be overlapped in the middle if a large shadow area appears. 

 

Let us know how it turns out

chip

 

11 hours ago, TimG said:

I'd have thought that the strobe in the 12 position is going to end up lighting the water between the lens and the subject? That's the last thing you want as it'll increase backscatter. 

 

I've long given up trying to light the reef no matter how powerful the strobes. My experience is to use natural ambient light for the majority of the width of the scene, and to use the strobes to highlight one or two colourful elements perhaps just to one side of the image.

 

Here's an example where I've moved both strobes ( 2x Inon Z240s) to the 3 o'clock position. I could have got a bit more light on the background with a slightly slower shutter or enhanced the Shadow detail in LR.

I really like the color and light on this pic buddy. Nice one! 

18 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

No reason you couldn't do it, apart from being potentially unwieldy.  Probably be fine getting on and off the boat in calm seas, also consider if currents might be an issue.

 

I would also consider that if you could double your light output by adding an extra flash, that is one stop of light.  Your might get maybe 1/2 - 2/3 stop more light with the extra flash. Depending on where you are on shutter speed you could achieve more or less the same results with one stop more on ISO.  Maybe try something like opening up by 1/3 stop and 1/3 stop higher ISO?

Shooting wide angle reef scenes i am shooting at least iso400, up to 800 if the ambient light is poor.

Edited December 2, 2024Dec 2 by Dave_Hicks