Aperlite YH-400

[DennisS]

Looking for feedback on the Aperlite YH-400 Flash. I have the SB-700 and a monolight and was looking to the YH-400 as a secondary light - backlight or hairlight. I do not need TTL just a reliable manual flash for indoor home studio work.

For the price this appears to be a good buy.

[IzzieK]

How reliable is it? My cheapest speedlight is a Yong Nuo brand and had the first one for years and still working. So the successive ones are also of the same brand just to even up the phase. Anyway, did it have a good review? I always read the 1-3 stars first...to get a grasps of what went wrong...

[Manfred M]

There seem to be new Chinese manufacturers hitting the market quite frequently; so the real issue is determining which ones are producing good, reliable products. Occasionally we find reviews of some of these new units, but that tells us nothing about longer term reliability.

Right now there seem to be three "established" companies that are now producing quality units; Yongnuo, Godox and Phottix. As for the others. I'd tend to wait and see as to how their products end up working out.

For a hair light or rim light, you will need to use some form of light modifier to ensure that you can control the direction of the light and control light spill. This means a light modifier; a soft box or grid are commonly used. These devices are generally not well suited to small flash; even for home studio. I have 2 speedlights an 4 studio flashes and a hybrid (300W-s Speedlight). I rarely if ever mix, small flash with studio flash.

[rpcrowe]

Regarding low priced flash...

Unless you absolutely need a battery operated flash and if you are doing portraiture or merchandise photography; I'd recommend that you get a couple of inexpensive Chinese studio strobes.

Sure, I would not choose this type of strobe for 8-hours a day, five-days a week professional use but, they are good for the occasional use that a non-pro photographer would use them for. Here is an example of what I mean...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-160W-Ph...item5aeaac4c9c

I am not recommending these specific units, just giving you and idea of what I am talking about. I have been using a pair of cheap Chinese studio strobes as BG and hair lights for a long time. I think that I spent about $40 for each of these little strobes over 10-years ago. they have been working just fine for their uses. No problem mixing these lights with other strobes...

The advantage of these units over a hotshoe flash is that they have modeling lights, can easily be used with modifiers, set up on stands without accessories needed, use a/c current rather than puny AA batteries so the recharge is consistent and usually quicker. They are usually more powerful than hotshoe flashes. The ones I linked to are the least powerful and also least expensive on eBay. However, the power is fine for close-in work since you get the softest and most pleasing light from umbrellas or softboxes when they are close to the subjects.

They do not have auto exposure control but, that has never fazed me. No studio strobe that I know of has TTL. I didn't use a meter for the below images of dogs after using lights for a while, you can pretty well judge the exposure.

As another low priced option, the Paul C. Buff original White Lightning units are great and can often be had quite inexpensively. I have been using a pair for over twenty years and they just keep going and going.



They are powerful and while they don't have all the bells and whistles of more expensive units - they can do the job. Paul C. Buff still supports these old units with replacement parts such as flash tubes. But, nothing of either of my lights has ever failed. The modeling lights have burned out but, these units use standard incandescent house bulbs as modeling lights. Another advantage of these modeling lights is that I can work in a fairly dark room with the only illumination from the modeling lights. That way, there is no other light to intrude on my exposure.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paul-C-Buff-...item1a010b6f2c

I really like the quality of the light. I think that it stems from having a rather large reflector which is quantum larger than the tiny hotshoe flash reflector. Doing a bit of simple geometry, I calculate the size of the White Lightning reflector to be seventeen times larger than the reflector on my Canon 600EX RT hotshoe flash. The larger the light source, the softer the light.

Here are some examples of the results from a couple of WL500 units bounced into umbrellas...







I consider the ability to retain definition in an all white dog as an extreme test of any lighting...

[DennisS]

These devices are generally not well suited to small flash; even for home studio.

I'd recommend that you get a couple of inexpensive Chinese studio strobes.......I think that it stems from having a rather large reflector which is quantum larger than the tiny hotshoe flash reflector.

Thank you Manfred and Richard for the detailed explanation. Good to know the reasons for not using a flash in a home studio environment. I will consider a larger light source and not mix in flash.

From a hairlight point of view though, would it not be preferable to have a directional light source - maybe a flash with a snoot?

I should mention that my intent would be portraiture for the most part.

[Manfred M]

From a hairlight point of view though, would it not be preferable to have a directional light source - maybe a flash with a snoot?

The main reason for not mixing is the maximum power level of a speedlight; somewhere around 70 W-s, whereas my studio lights have a rating of 640 W-s, so the small lights simply can't "keep up". I've tired the as small secondary lights, for instance, I've stuck them inside a lamp to make it look like it is "on" during a shot, but that's as far as I've been able to use them.

I wouldn't use a snoot as a hair light; too small and narrow a beam. The main reason that I use a hair light is to separate the person's hair from the background, so I want a bit wider beam than a snoot would give me. I tend to either use a gridded reflector when I want a fairly concentrated hit of light or a stripbox (also gridded) when I want something that lights a larger area (combo hair light and rim light). I generally have hair lights behind and above the subject and try to get the light to wrap around the head a bit.

I've seen some rigs that cluster 4 speedlights inside a small softbox, just to increase the power output to a more reasonable level (softboxes are not all that efficient so you need a lot of light going into one).

[DennisS]

I've stuck them inside a lamp to make it look like it is "on" during a shot, but that's as far as I've been able to use them.

Ha - I would never have thought of that...!! Way cool....!!!

[rpcrowe]

"Good to know the reasons for not using a flash in a home studio environment. I will consider a larger light source and not mix in flash.

From a hairlight point of view though, would it not be preferable to have a directional light source - maybe a flash with a snoot?"

The standard portrait setup is three to four lights, Main Light, Fill Light, and either a Background Light or a Fill Light (or both).

I shoot my dogs with a hotshoe mounted Canon Speedlite modified with a Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro. I began shooting all my dogs with studio lights and umbrellas but, my wife wanted me to put away the gear after every shooting. When I started shooting almost every day and sometimes two to three dogs in a day, I decided to simplify my setup. The hotshoe flash modified with a Flash Diffuser Pro and a four CFL bulb softbox works OK for that and it is a heck of a lot easier to set up.

There is nothing wrong with shooting home portraits with a hotshoe flash. I do it all the time...

Here are some portraits shot with only a single Canon Speedlite modified with a Flash Difuser Pro on a camera flip flash bracket. Although my 7D will often be able to trip my flash, I don't rely on it. Instead, I use an Off Camera Sync Cord...

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Portraits...ional/n-LPGK4/

What I was getting at in my post is that if I were purchasing lights for portraiture, I would not (despite the claims otherwise from a well known Internet site) purchase hotshoe flash units for the job. I would get studio strobes, even cheap ones. IMO, by virtue of the modeling light, they give you more control than do hotshoe flashes.

[DennisS]

Wow Richard - those photos are awesome.

I do own a Flashpoint 320M, 150 Watt Monolight Strobe. I use that as my main front light (shoot through umbrella @ around 4 feet) and use a large reflector as fill. I get decent soft shadows with this setup. This appears to work in my home studio. So far I have been using my SB-700 to blow out a white backdrop but am now looking for hair separation with a darker background. I can achieve at best 7 feet between subject and backdrop so blurring the back is a bit of a challenge with the current lenses I own - use my 60mm macro f/2.8 now - and the distance I can step back from the subject - at most 15 feet. That is one reason I also plan to spring for an 85mm f/1.8.

[Loose Canon]

Hi Dennis!

Your lighting scheme doesn’t sound too bad but I wonder if you are going to find some issues down the road?

Unless you are shooting very tight, you can’t evenly light a white BG with one speedlight.

If you want to shoot on dark, and are looking to accent lights, and color balance isn’t a huge issue for you, I think one thing to maybe consider is that light is light. Well, kind of!

The difference that is made is in the modifiers that shape/control the light.

At your stated shooting distances you will most likely get a lot of spill on your BG from your umbrella/reflector. It’s doable, but I think you will find this is the case. Especially if you want a solid black BG in camera.

For your accent (hair/rim) light? This needs to be tightly controlled for best results. It will be okay for general stuff if you just point a light and fire it, but at why point will you find it is producing unwanted effects in unwanted areas (hotspots, spill etc.)?

There are a lot of posts here that ask about “what light to get”. And for good reason of course. But it doesn’t stop there by a long shot. The question might better be what is available to make what you get do what you want it to do, for your purposes, after you get it. And should those purposes change as you do other things, will there be a way to make that happen with the lights (and modifiers available for them) you have chosen.

This is why I couldn’t recommend going cheapie Chinese. Unless you further research if you could make some soft boxes, strip boxes, reflectors, grids, snoots, work for them.

Light is what it is Dennis (sort of!) and is a big consideration. But the key after you have become aware of this, is controlling it.

[Manfred M]

Dennis - I just wanted to add something to Terry's comments

Studio lighting equipment is a bit like cameras; for the most part lighting equipment and light modifiers are proprietary and brand specific. The speedrings that are used to mount the modifiers to the lights are usually NOT interchangeable (there are some exceptions). The triggers (unless you are using basic synch cables or optical slaves) are often proprietary as well, so unless you want a major headache. About the only thing that is relatively proprietary are the stands used to hold your lights.

So much like cameras, it's best to stick with a single, preferably well known brand.

To give you an example; I own two Nikon Speedlights and four Paul C Buff Einstein 640 studio flashes (with lots of modifiers). I have radio triggers (all Pocket Wizards) that let me remotely set and operate these lights.

I recently picked up a Godox Wistro 360; a very portable, high powered barebulb flash (not much larger than a speedlight). Their system is only compatible with their own proprietary radio triggers, so I had to buy a new transmitter and receiver unit. So far as I can figure, they use a Bowens style speed ring, while my Paul C Buff lights use the Balcar system. I think I can remove my Paul C Buff (Balcar) speedring from one of my soft boxes and replace it with a Bowens style speedring, but I won't know for sure until the parts arrive from China...

Buff does not make a small bare bulb flash unit, so I had to try a third party unit...

[DennisS]

Hey Terry - thank you for your response. Yes, I have faced the whole spill issue and have reviewed barn doors and such, but at this time I am slowly trying to build up a setup that is usable albeit not the best for now. I am not looking to go all professional as yet, but would like to get the best out of a limited situation. I am not exactly aiming for cheap stuff but trying to live within a budget.

What I am getting from this thread so far, is that I may be better served to invest in another strobe with a soft box and maybe with a grid. I have been doing portraiture for family and friends for now mostly for experience. So far, the feedback from them is good and I see myself getting better photos over the past months/year. That tells me that I could possibly invest more in the coming months although not all at once. I am stuck with the home studio's limited space though, so that is a challenge and I would need to work around it to produce better quality.

I appreciate all the advice given here. That has helped me a lot in my decision making process. Initially it was all about the speedlite, but now I understand I need to look at the overall lighting situation.

As an example this is what I am able to get with what I have now:

[Manfred M]

That is a tricky setup to work with; white jacket on a white background = no separation. This is not something I would likely try just because everything blends together; you need some separation there.

Have you tried shooting with a reflector low down and in front of your subject to push light up into her eyes? Just a large piece of white foam core or coreflast does an adequate job and these materials cost almost nothing. One of my favourite reflectors was the back of a white project board one of my daughters had used for a school project. The front had stuff on it, but the back was plain white and cost me nothing.

[Loose Canon]

Hey Dennis!

I hear ya knockin’ and I totally understand how expensive it can get.

But I just wanted to add to the awesome responses you have gotten on your thread that sometimes when you are seriously looking at a particular path (and I assume in your case the studio path), if you don’t take a good look at the “Big Picture” and where you see yourself going you can easily end up spending more $$ in the long run to get to where you wanted to be in the first place by investing in stuff that won’t serve you well into the future. And not only that, but having more issues and having a progressively harder time getting what you want out of that equipment that was purchased. Then, you will be back at Square One looking to upgrade as you see that you need/want some gear that will serve you better. I’m getting here that you are not just looking for a hot-shoe flash to play with on a rainy day when you have nothing else to shoot!

I can already tell from the portrait you have posted that you have a great eye for it (and heed Manfred’s comments) and maybe if you spend judiciously (though maybe a piece or two at a time) now, you might be better off in the long haul.

Its just my opinion Dennis that if you can start with a good established lighting system, with awesome modification, that can be built on in the future, that you will save money in the Haul, have more fun and learn more along the way, get better results quicker, and have a great lighting foundation to take you through. No matter what you decide to shoot or how you decide to shoot it in your studio environment in the future.

[DennisS]

Have you tried shooting with a reflector low down and in front of your subject to push light up into her eyes?

I used a large reflector on camera right but will try your suggestion. As a matter of fact I do have several of those white foam boards that my wife uses for her designs..!!! I should have controlled the shoot a bit more by advising my friend to put on a darker shade before the pose. Of course, I could also get a darker backdrop but the light spill from the front light would have probably caused more issues since the backdrop was not too far behind.

you can easily end up spending more $$ in the long run to get to where you wanted to be in the first place by investing in stuff that won’t serve you well into the future

Totally agree..!!! I don't want to fill up my already small space with stuff that could soon outlive it's usefulness...!!!