Remote flash for live concert shots

[caspill]

at the moment i have some items on ebay im selling to get a good flash, i need the kind you detach and can hold in different areas because ill be shooting live concerts with bands we are playing with on the road. do you know of any sites or forums where i can learn everything i want to know about the 5d specifically? it seems like all the sites i go to speak to you as if you should already know certain things so its hard to get what they are saying.

Thanks for the help again.

[Colin Southern]

i have some items on ebay im selling to get a good flash, i need the kind you detach and can hold in different areas because ill be shooting live concerts with bands we are playing with on the road.

Canon's top-of-the-range flash is the 580EX II, and you can get it off camera by using an OCSC3 (Off Camera Shoe Cord v3). You can get longer battery life and faster recycling using a CP-E3 powerpack, or there are other external power options if you're interested. Idealy bands are best lit using remote flashes triggered with pocket wizards (well ideal from a photography point of view, logistically it's a different story).

Just be aware that with this type of photography the term "there's no problem that money can't solve" tends to apply - it's not as easy as just whacking a flash on the camera and blazing away with Rambo to get professional-looking shots.

do you know of any sites or forums where i can learn everything i want to know about the 5d specifically? it seems like all the sites i go to speak to you as if you should already know certain things so its hard to get what they are saying.

Just post them in the open discussion forum here - I know most of the canon lineup pretty well, and I'm sure that with others here we'll be able to answer any questions you'll have - and of course our friendliness and helpfullness is legendary

[caspill]

awesome! and remote flash even for live shots? that would be cool if i could work it out.

[Colin Southern]

awesome! and remote flash even for live shots? that would be cool if i could work it out.

There's no problem that money can't solve ... so long as you've got enough money!

For live shots, the ideal setup (assuming that your presence is sanctioned and approved by management) would be to have at least a couple of 580EX II flashes mounted on light stands (or tied to the lighting structures used by the bands) - fed from some an external power source and triggered by some pocket wizards (the new ones also do what's called ETTL-2 metering via wireless which may help) - but each of these components costs a few hundred dollars (on average) - and you're still going to need fast lenses and other stuff (more $$$).