YS-110's To little for macro work?

Hey all,

This is a total newbie question. I'm shooting to YS-110's with a housed 5D. With macro, I could only stop down to about f16 @ ISO400 with both strobes at full power. Is this normal? I'd like to get at least another stop out of them at ISO100. Is this an strobe placement issue? I'm aiming them above the lens and slightly down to wash the subject with the edge of the beam. I do have the diffusers on both, but I can't imagine that a guide number of 32 could only be putting out this much light. I thought it might be a sync issue, but I slowed the shutter down to 1/100th to be sure and could only eek f16 out of both of them. What do you think? I shot this shrimp this way. Not to much post work on it.

Thanks,

Dan.

Hey all,

 

This is a total newbie question. I'm shooting to YS-110's with a housed 5D. With macro, I could only stop down to about f16 @ ISO400 with both strobes at full power. Is this normal? I'd like to get at least another stop out of them at ISO100. Is this an strobe placement issue? I'm aiming them above the lens and slightly down to wash the subject with the edge of the beam. I do have the diffusers on both, but I can't imagine that a guide number of 32 could only be putting out this much light. I thought it might be a sync issue, but I slowed the shutter down to 1/100th to be sure and could only eek f16 out of both of them. What do you think? I shot this shrimp this way. Not to much post work on it.

 

Thanks,

 

Dan.

Hi Dan, you dont say what lens you're using, but with either the 50 or the 100 it seems like it would not be normal. My wife's using 2 YS110's right now, Nikon D2x, 105mm, always on ISO100, with diffusers on the strobes, and I just checked some of her macro shots she took this afternoon. They're mostly taken on 1/250s F16-f22 and look like they have good exposure.

So at ISO400 in 1/100s you should be seriously overexposed unless you:

- have a 2x teleconverter on

- are placing your strobe wrong (but at this distance, placing them somewhat to the front should give you enough light

- have your strobes too far back

- have your strobes dialed back instead of full

If all that is not the case, then I have no idea what could be the problem.. since you're wondering about placement I suppose you may indeed be placing them way off. Just play with it underwater.

Cor

The 110 GN is actually 22 according to S&S web page. The diffuser costs you about a stop. That said, I'm using a pair of 90DX's (same GN) w/o diffuser with a D70 for macro (60mm & 105mm), ISO 100, & typically can stop down to 16-25 depending on subject. There is some light fall off on the edges of the beam but I don't have any definitive info on it. Maybe aiming the strobes alittle more directly at your subject?

All Nikon shooters should realize that Canon cameras only show the marked lens aperture, not the effective aperture (when magnification is taken into account). Dan may well be at f22+...

would also like to clarify that the YS 110 GN of 22 is rated by S&S in meters, ISO 100, on land.