Will these strobes work?

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Deanimator
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Will these strobes work?

Post by Deanimator »

Having just gotten my first real job in nine years, I've got some more money to invest.

Would these strobes be appropriate for macrophotography, particularly with the Amscope 4x and 10x objectives?

I suspect that I might have to use light stands (which I already have) instead of magic arms for these.

https://www.adorama.com/fp320m.html

Image

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

I have these 320M, they are good for macro use, but very old design.

However the better value IMO is the Studio Strobe 300 AC (have these also) which is 300WS and has a built in RF receiver, 320M has 150WS and no RF Receiver. Also the 320M has an Adorama specific mount while the Studio 300 has a universal Bowens mount (better light modifiers options). The Studio has a uniformity output spec of 2%, whereas the 320M has none.

I'm in process of upgrading to the Studio 300 AC as my "go to" macro strobes.

Any of these strobes are much too heavy for anything but a very sturdy light stand or C stand (has an arm which allows direct placement of strobe near subject at just about any position). With the C stand I can hang my strobes around subject almost as easily as I could a speed light.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

mawyatt wrote:I have these 320M, they are good for macro use, but very old design.

However the better value IMO is the Studio Strobe 300 AC (have these also) which is 300WS and has a built in RF receiver, 320M has 150WS and no RF Receiver. Also the 320M has an Adorama specific mount while the Studio 300 has a universal Bowens mount (better light modifiers options). The Studio has a uniformity output spec of 2%, whereas the 320M has none.

I'm in process of upgrading to the Studio 300 AC as my "go to" macro strobes.

Any of these strobes are much too heavy for anything but a very sturdy light stand or C stand (has an arm which allows direct placement of strobe near subject at just about any position). With the C stand I can hang my strobes around subject almost as easily as I could a speed light.

Best,
Thanks. That's very useful information.

The price is certainly right.

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

mawyatt wrote:However the better value IMO is the Studio Strobe 300 AC (have these also) which is 300WS and has a built in RF receiver, 320M has 150WS and no RF Receiver. Also the 320M has an Adorama specific mount while the Studio 300 has a universal Bowens mount (better light modifiers options). The Studio has a uniformity output spec of 2%, whereas the 320M has none.
I was waiting for my first paycheck from the new job to get a couple of the units you recommended. Just my luck, they're out of stock at Adorama right now.

So instead I bought an Adorama R2 trigger/receiver set and another 11" Neewer magic arm from Amazon. I can use this stuff for my field rig to replace the ETTL cable which gets in the way. When the strobes are back in stock, I can use the trigger for them.

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Earlier they (300) were priced a $99 as a special, $20 off. You don't need the R2 receiver with the 300, it's built-in.

BTW one thing I forgot to mention about the 320M is that it can be battery powered, the 300 doesn't have this capability, only AC power.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

mawyatt wrote:Earlier they (300) were priced a $99 as a special, $20 off. You don't need the R2 receiver with the 300, it's built-in.
They come as a set. As noted, I can use the receiver for the Sigma flash on my field rig. When the strobes are back in stock, I can use the transmitter for them as well as the Sigma.
mawyatt wrote:BTW one thing I forgot to mention about the 320M is that it can be battery powered, the 300 doesn't have this capability, only AC power.

Best,
The strobes will only be used in my living room, so battery capability is nice but unneeded.

dolmadis
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Post by dolmadis »

Hi

I am in the UK and even when in stock in the USA the shipping costs are too high.

I found this item.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godox-Smart- ... SwZ1Falo0X

Is it in the same clone series?

Thanks



John

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Post by Deanimator »

dolmadis wrote:Hi

I am in the UK and even when in stock in the USA the shipping costs are too high.

I found this item.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godox-Smart- ... SwZ1Falo0X

Is it in the same clone series?

Thanks



John
Flashpoint is Adorama rebranded Godox.

I think it's at least similar to the picture I posted.

RobertOToole
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Post by RobertOToole »

Deanimator,

I use 4 of the smallest godox flash wireless units, the TT350. I normally only use 2 and get away with 1/32 to 1/4 power with 2 layer of diffusion at ISO 100.

Those studio strobes look like they really tough to position to light the subject?

What am I missing?

Are you lighting a huge area or a group of people?

Robert

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Post by Deanimator »

RobertOToole wrote:Deanimator,

I use 4 of the smallest godox flash wireless units, the TT350. I normally only use 2 and get away with 1/32 to 1/4 power with 2 layer of diffusion at ISO 100.

Those studio strobes look like they really tough to position to light the subject?

What am I missing?

Are you lighting a huge area or a group of people?

Robert
No, just tabletop macro subjects.

They're definitely harder to position than the manual speedlights I use, but much more consistent, and I wouldn't have to worry about batteries.

mawyatt
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Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:54 pm
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Post by mawyatt »

RobertOToole wrote:Deanimator,

I use 4 of the smallest godox flash wireless units, the TT350. I normally only use 2 and get away with 1/32 to 1/4 power with 2 layer of diffusion at ISO 100.

Those studio strobes look like they really tough to position to light the subject?

What am I missing?

Are you lighting a huge area or a group of people?

Robert
Robert,

It's actually really easy to place if you use a studio "C" stands like I use. You can position the strobes just about anywhere and they can rotate out of the way when fiddling with things.

Moved away from speedlights over 10 years ago, got tired of dealing with batteries, chargers, long recycle time, inconsistent outputs, overheating & melted heads and so on. Of course I'm abusing them by asking for up to 1000 repeated flashes, with only a few seconds between, then a few minutes rest and doing it all over again, so brutal use! I've even had 3 cheap Neewer strobes actually explode, the energy storage capacitors would fail and explode. When I went to the Adorama strobes thing got much better, the Studio 300 AC is the best value IMO, and a great workhorse for macro work with built in RF trigger and control for ~$120. I have 4 and plan on replacing my other 5~6 strobes with them.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

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