If you are like me, you sometimes have to shoot in bright sun. Anyone have a wedding or family portrait session this summer and wish you could have had an extra 2 stops or more to balance out your exposure, or even use a shallower depth of field to make for a less distracting background? Using cameras with a maximum of 1/200 flash sync can be frustrating. Stopping down to f22 isn’t always the answer.
Last week I spoke to DJ LaDez, (The Main Man) at Lumedyne, the innovator of portable flash equipment for over 35 years. DJ has enlightened me on how it can be done!
OK, here is what you will need. A Nikon D300, D700, D3, or newer. A Nikon SB800 or SB900 a set of PocketWizard Plus, Plus II or MultiMax and a Lumedyne 200ws pack and head. Please, PLEASE, PLEASE run this test for yourself before using it on a job. This may also work for Canon, but I use Nikon. I plan on testing this with Canon as soon as I am able to nail down Steve and run the tests.
Go in to your camera’s menu and select the flash sync with the 320FP setting. Place your Nikon Strobe on the body and the PocketWizard into the Nikon Strobe. Your PocketWizard receiver will be placed on the Lumedyne head. The Lumedyne Pack must be set to 200WS. It will not work at lower settings, and you will not gain exposure by using higher WS settings. If you need more power, you need to add another Pack with head and an additional PocketWizard.
How can this work, you ask. It’s not simple, but here is how it works to my understanding. The FP mode does not send the signal to the strobe until the first first shutter curtain is fully open. A 200WS burst from a Lumedyne pack is approx 1/800 of a second. So, you get full illumination across the entire exposure.
Remember!!!! The Nikon strobe is being used to trigger the Lumedyne at the correct time. If you look at the back of your SB800/900 it will show your TTL distance of only be 3-6 feet. You will either need to use a flash meter or Visually inspect the the image and Histogram on the back off the camera.
My thoughts on Lumedyne are simple. It works day in and day out. It is not meant to make a fashion statement, it is meant to give the creative photographer versatile tools to make a statement in their photographic abilities and images. Dollar for dollar, it is the most modular and accessible portable strobe system available. Their current packs and heads offer many useful features, but if your budget does not allow for new, there is a good supply of used packs and heads available online at the usual suspects. I would however recommend that you send any used items back to Lumedyne for a once over as well as any updates that may be available. Their repair rates are reasonable and the turnaround time is very good. Please read this next sentence twice. Never ever open a strobe head or pack or Speedlight to see if you can fix it, IT CAN KILL YOU!!!! Leave it to the Manufacture to check, update, repair, clean, etc. By the way, Lumedyne is American made.
PocketWizard is the most reliable wireless triggering available. They have several models available. This test was done with Plus and Plus II units. I know it will also work with the MulitMax. I cannot speak for the new ttl units. Did I mention it is the most reliable remote triggering system available!!
Posted by S.A.Levine 
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