Lightsphere advice frm wedding photographers pls?


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redmonsoon

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Aug 6, 2004
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I'm not asking if its good etc, that has been discussed to death..Pls dont do it in this thread.

There has been many talk abt how it sucks batteries. May I know for any pros who uses it at wedding banquet, how many pairs of batteries do you typically use for a standard Chinese dinnar?

Thks.:)
 

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I'm not a wedding photographer, but I did use it once to cover my own sec school prom. Shot about 1000, so probably about 600 was with the flash and LS. I just scraped through with 2 sets of 4 AA batts. The venue was very dark, about ISO1600 ƒ/2.8 1/20 for dinner tables area, and 1/60 for stage area. My batts took 20 secs to charge a 1/1 power shot after that, twice, and then died - I tested after the event, of course.
 

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I'm not a wedding photographer, but I did use it once to cover my own sec school prom. Shot about 1000, so probably about 600 was with the flash and LS. I just scraped through with 2 sets of 4 AA batts. The venue was very dark, about ISO1600 ƒ/2.8 1/20 for dinner tables area, and 1/60 for stage area. My batts took 20 secs to charge a 1/1 power shot after that, twice, and then died - I tested after the event, of course.

Thks, just the kind of answers I'm looking for..wonderful.:) And what brand batt are those?
more,more..
 

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Ah... I spotted a mistake. You should be asking how many sets of 4 batts others used, not pairs :)
 

I tried it for a banquet before and realised that it really wastes a lot of light.
Even if the ceiling is low, the light spread to the sides and back are all wasted due to the large size of the ballroom.

Don't have any numbers for the batteries cos I gave up using it and used a good 'ol bounce card instead. Anyway the number of batteries used would depend on the size of the banquet. It could range from 10+ tables to 50 tables or even more.
 

Depends on the mAh rating of the batteries...
 

Depends on the mAh rating of the batteries...

Good answer :thumbsup:

I use 2 set of 4x AA batteries with my 580EX MkII on 2 wedding, 3 event shoot with the lightsphere. Don't feel that the lightsphere suck more batteries any more than other.

Btw..... I use Eneloop batteries :thumbsup:
 

I'm not a wedding shooter but do concerts and functions. For high ceiling venues, I put an inkjet paper inside and use it as a reflector to push more light forward.
Using 2700 MAH batteries, freshly charged, I can shoot about 600 shots, usually at full or near full because I want shutter speed to be over 1/80 and ISO under 400.
 

I know depends on this and that, in which case pls kindly state what batt you're using, or if you're shooting x100 tables, super high ceiling;which is not average, then of course pls say so rite. Just trying to get a general idea for a noob.

Thks for some of the answers. At least now I know x2 sets is min, x3 gd, x4 safe.. Something like that.:)
 

not all wedding banquet venues are the same, some low ceiling, some high ceiling, some dark color ceiling.....

and not all photographers shooting same style, some machine gun, some only shoot necessity shots. some shoot high ISO with wide aperture, some shoot mid ISO with f5.6....

so the consumption of battery power are all different, it depends on people and the venues.

anyway, I usually use 11 batteries for a typical type of 30 tables ball room wedding banquet, 5 in my flash, 6 in my external battery pack, have a backup flash with battery loaded, also bring one set of backup batteries. total bring 24 pieces of AA NiMh batteries for a banquet shoot.

btw, I don't use half charge/used batteries on a job, even it is only a simple two hours shoot.
 

I have been carrying 24 AA batts (8X Sanyo 2700, 8X PowerEx 2800, 8X Imedions) for big events like AD wedding. I use 2 flashguns and 1 battery pack. More often than not, I won't even need the Imedions which are reserved for backup. The Sanyo and PowerEx are usually adequate for the entire day of heavy usage. I do use flash not just in the banquet or hotel room etc but also in well-litted condition as fill.
 

Thks again for the wonderful replies.
Again like I say, I know all the variables involved and these experiences shared are great.

BTW, are these replies for lightsphere or otherwise?If so, pls kindly state. I reckon its gd info as well.:)
 

Lightsphere... as in the modifier? If so, I have used, am using, will only use Sto-fen with hole cut on top (maximum output for bouncing). Sometimes understanding technique of bouncing light and balancing (or not) flash with ambient light is more important than getting the right flash modifier. There are instances where I don't even wanna use sto-fen cuz of the over spilling and bouncing of light.
 

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