Nifty Three-way Flash Bracket at WPPI
Cool little triple flash bracket from Lastolite, the "Triflash," is being shown on the floor of WPPI this week. Being a Bogen Imaging product, I can only think McNally had something to do with this. Not available yet, so we'll have to wait a bit.Looks very useful (and small) for spreading a decent amount of speedlight juice into an umbrella. You can mount one, two or three strobes easily.
I am liking the clamp. But my favorite thing about this photo is that someone is actually making fake speedlights for displays now. Just like the fake TVs in the Ikea showrooms. We've arrived.
[UPDATE: No, we haven't. Those are apparently Metz strobes, as per the comments. Sigh.]
More info: Lastolite Triflash
(Thanks to Curtis Joe Walker for the heads-up.)
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Posted at 12:00 AM.
46 Comments:
I love the bracket and the fake speedlights.
Forgive me if I seem like an idiot.. but I need to use 3 sync cords if I use this?
I just figured this would also be handy for when you are working with grids for rimlights. If you mount one flash horizontally, the spread is more like a striplight than when it is mounted in the normal way. I've been pondering a way to do this for a while now, and Lastolite beat me to the punch.
That does look like a Joe McNally setup. If i get one and meet Joe sometime, I'll have to get him to autograph it. :)
Hehehe,
David you probably have an NDA in place but can you give us a little hint - have you posed for the full size David Hobby cardboard cutout to go with this display?!!
I bet he came up with the idea while in the desert!
This will be useful for doubling or tripping up speed lights on a single speed light for the likes of sports photography, il be getting a few
Hi,
I saw these at Photokina last year and was kinda waiting the release date. Probably the most antcipated item I could afford at the show. It came right after the new 39 megapixel Hasselblad (kidding). Will be a handy item for a shoot like Joe Mc Nally did overpowering the sunlight in broad daylight using HiSpeed Sync.
Hey David, I'm sorry to disappoint you but those are Metz speedlights.
We're not there yet, haha.
The bracket was featured on his blog here:
http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2009/01/21/the-lighting-workshop-day-twoor-jasmine-came-back/
about half way down he says
"Quick note….the Bogen Tri-flash I mentioned….here it is…The proper part number is L LLA2412 and street price will be at about $75, from what I am told. It’s so brand new, probably not represented yet in the catalogs, but it’s coming….Bogen, in combination with Elinchrom and Lastolite, has got tons of stuff in the wings, ready to cut loose."
Yes, you are right, McNally are using this things for a while. He has published some images in his blog and commented the "future availability" of them.
Mockup flashes... definitively the civilization is doomed :-)
just wondering if this suits strobists former slogan "less gear more brain".
3 flashes at one umbrella? less brain ...?
i really don't know when i should use this.
jens
Let's just step back for a moment....
3 x SB-XXX @ $350ea = $1050
Lastolite bracket = $75
3 x PC cords @ $15 =`$45 for the cheep version.
1 AB something = $400 or so
1 Vagabond = $ whatever they cost.
This strikes me as the 8mm fisheye of lighting. They exist, someone will buy one, and there isn't much practical use for the thing.
@ anonymous / post 2:
Yes, you will need ideally 3 sync cords.
That said there are plenty of options what don't involve expensive gear:
1. a Single receiver and then cable splitters / like the headphone splitter that you used as a kid to listen to your walkman with 2 headsets.
2. A single receiver and the other 2 are in slave mode (will not work will if you have other flash shooters around)
Blaise
Those flashes are Metz 58-AF 1 models. I got one of these, pretty neat speedlight.
Lastolite triflash is my favourite bracket for flash mounting on tripods, i can use it on elinchrom light stands and also on manfrotto stands. As you are saying that thing isn't in stores yet, i'm correcting you, beacuse i'm having my for two months.
As Joshua James said, Mcnally did mention it. But at $75, according to Mcnally, it seems way too expensive for a little piece of attachment that goes on top of your umbrella bracket. I'm sure one can easily come up with a diy alternative at a fraction of that cost. Just look closely at it in the lastolite website and you'll know why 75$ or eben $50 would be too expensive. However it'll be a must in your camera bag
Interestingly you can get two-way radio triggers, presumably for the same thing, at Dealextreme here.
There's a thread dicussing them here.
Hi David,
Are you telling me that we've beaten you yanks to it?
We've had these for a while. You need to be a real hardcore Strobist to have one of these :-)
http://www.theflashcentre.com/lastolite-triflash-i3225.html
kind regards
Alex
TFC
Instead of using 3 flashes, why not use one powerful flash like a Metz 45 or Metz 60 ?
2 x Nikons SB's = 1 Metz 45
4 x Nikon SB's = 1 Metz 60
Just remember, when we double up flashes, we gain 1 stop and the guide number increases by 1.4 fold.
So the 3 flahs bracket solution, equipped with Nikon SBs is just a bit more powerful than one Metz 45 gun :)
PS: To compare flash GN, I like this resource: http://www.joesmalley.com/flashes/
I would have to agree that $75 is a lot for something that's easily made from mounts most people already own. Mine can be seen in this post
While this looks like a "fun" thing to use, I really wonder if it's best left to the folks who are given equipment by camera manufacturers. As one commenter did in an earlier post, do the math! Three smart flashes and triggers add up to over a $1,000 worth of gear. Maybe for some that's a small price to pay in order to shoot flash outside at 1/8000 sec. I for one would rather invest that money on an Elinchrome, Dynalite, Porta or Paul Buff portable unit, shoot at 1/250 sec and add ND filters if necessary.
As the old saying goes, just because you can, should you?
The Woodbridge, VA Ikea has real TVs in the displays now. I saw them on President's day. It's crazy.
I don't need the bracket at the moment but would love the fake flashes. Would I need more PW's to fire each of those. :-)
Other than making the flash more powerful I don't really understand the benefit of using three flashes on a shoot thru umbrella.
When I use my SB-28 zoomed out to 20mm the flash covers the entire umbrella, so three flashes aren't going to make the light source any larger, just brighter.
I guess you could back it up and shoot from a further distance, but isn't the point of a shoot thru umbrella to be able to get in close?
You're right that Joe McNally had something to do with it. I saw him playing around with this last month at his workshop.
Why not save yourself a few quid(or bucks for you US types) and get an Al Jacobs bracket.
http://www.aljacobs.com/Perfection%20Bracket.html
Although it is designed to hold two flashguns, with a bit of fiddli' you can mount up to four flashguns on it quite comfortably by mounting the other two underneath the bracket.
I use mine with two 285's and a Pocket Wizard mounted comfortably on Manfrotto lightstand and it has completely replaced my Lumedyne rig for normal use.
It is really well made and will last a lifetime.
Two light bracket for only $25 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/90003-REG/Morris_32203_MTH_203_Umbrella_Tilt_Head.html
NaturaLight.us
True that one more powerful flash could cost less but you don't have the flexibility of breaking that one big one up into three smaller ones.
what a cool setup, that has to be put out a lot of light!
I agree with Mark S. above. Sometimes if I move into the sun and want to use an umbrella, I'll have to gang my SBx00's up, but I still have the flexibility to use them individually in the shade or in twilight.
That said, the $75 will cover a Justin clamp to hang the flash off the stand, and thanks to the ballhead, I still have my little eyes facing the camera when I am shooting CLS. Looks to be a neat item, though.
artoris: the point is more light. not softer light.
mark scheuern got the one advantage right: flexibility. one moment you're firing three strobes into an umbrella, the next you're using those three strobes in different locations individually.
and like others have said, build you're own. I got an angle bracket from the hardware store, a couple of bolts and nuts, and regularly use it to mount two speedlights in an umbrella. there's room for a third, but i've not mounted it yet. i'd show you a flickr image of it, but i can't be bothered to find the link.
@ Dave Prelosky - Your right the ABee would be a better fit but as I already have 3 flashes, and most people have at least two it is not much of a strech to do this. Especially if your working out of a suitcase or only need this type of lighting once in a while. Not to mention the ABee doesn't work TTL wirelessly off of my camera.
I have already made one from Homedepot&FlashZebra.
4 HD 2" L-brackets $0.69 ea.
4 HD 1/4" screws $0.12 ea.
3 FZ#0066 Shoe Adapter $4.00 ea.
1 FZ#0098 5⁄8 Spigot $4.00 ea.
Total price $24.24 or if you want PC wired hotshoes FZ#0069 $67.74
Mine works but it's ugly like a holga
For those who say it costs more than a studio stobe:
That's true...if you don't already have a few speedlights lying around. How many does that apply to here?
This looks like a GREAT way to break a foot off the flash in no time flat and would produce three shadows.
It is possible to dismantle some brackets and mount them to the umbrella pole itself: http://flickr.com/photos/johnmclellan/3194269799/
Because most umbrellas have a hexagonal design, you get even flash distribution unlike the Bogen, and it comes at a much cheaper price.
Has anyone done the lighting maths on this, or actually taken a light meter to the output?
It looks to me like those extra speedlights are blocking light coming off the reflective brolly, or will cause too much overspill on a shoot through.
Seems like the Quantum strobes might be a better option for more power on the shoe.
Pretty sweet product! I have been meaning to get or make something that would allow me to mount up to 3 flashes into an umbrella or Softbox so I could maintain portability but gain the power I tend to need on location.
Just seems like it three flashes on one stand defeats the point...not sure how many stops you gain...for the key.
It would make perfect Strobist sense for three lights in a cross light application...but for a key light why wouldn't you go with something like an Alien Bee with portable power?
Or you could go have a beer or two until the ambient favors your liking and get away with one of the portable flash heads.
I thought the quote went something like...
More brains less gear
As someone else mentioned earlier, Joe McNally was using one of these at his Dobbs Ferry one-day workshop not too long ago. It's definitely a good way to get more power (and better recycle time) without having to use a flash at full power.
What was once old is now new again...
I've had something like this for over 30 Years. It was called the spiratone tri-flash bracket and had a built-in slave eye and three pc connectors. See the following link for a look see...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2237/2035820726_daf8beb0b9_o.jpg
and
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2204/2035020983_9543f8fdd1_o.jpg
... and it was only about $17. Ahhh, those were the days.
Spence
That looks like a very useful piece of kit - if only I had one more flashgun :-)
Only 3 strobes?
Why not 12?
http://pixsylated.com/2008/12/i-shot-ben-willmore-in-broad-daylight-gang-light-part-1/
the Lastolite has proved invaluable for location shoots where everything is against you, like a YMCA pool: available darkness, high humidity, and quick set-ups.
How secure are the flashguns? I cannot see where a bolt is screwed in to make it a rock solid cold shoe. Am I missing something. Anyone got a link to close up shots of this bracket?
Ronan
here is a better deal...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009UTL1/ref=oss_product
just buy as many as you need and mount them on a triangle of your choice...
tws
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