For some time I've been using second-hand Metz 45 flashguns, plus either home-built Gibson or bought Firefly units taped onto them, transported in a drybag inside a small tacklesack. I'm getting increasingly frustrated with this arrangement for a number of reasons:
- The flashguns just aren't robust enough. The main problem is the battery compartments which are flimsy and prone to coming loose. They often fail to contact properly during use. Not to mention broken diffusers, parts rattling around inside, etc. Old Nissin hammerheads have better battery compartments, but are hard to come by.
- The flashguns are huge. In a small Beast bag I can just about fit three plus a Gorillapod, but it's a hassle getting them in and out, and the bag won't really close properly.
- Transport in a drybag isn't really sufficient when the whole lot might get submersed. I lost several in a cave last year when this happened, and the bag leaked.
- There are issues not specific to these flashguns such as the lack of waterproofing, which is bad for making them last, and potentially hazardous to an operator. It also prohibits situations where you might want to put a flash underwater.
- The slave units aren't very reliable - another one died on me last week in Matienzo out of the blue for example; and there are a surprising number of times when they just don't trigger - and the Firefly 2 units in particular aren't waterproofed at all when you buy them. (It would also be nice if they weren't triggered so easily by a Scurion.)
I'm starting to wonder what a better solution might be to get high-power, robust, waterproof flashguns that work reliably every time. The ideal would seem to be something like dismantling a Metz 45 and encasing it in a strong fully-waterproof box, along with a slave unit, and some straightforward way of charging it (possibly without even opening it). I would imagine the box shouldn't need to be very big. Has anyone built and used anything like that? I'm wary due to the potential hazards during development, although I could probably find someone more competent with such things than I to help mitigate this.
And to be honest, given the age we live in, I wonder if going to such lengths it would be worth just designing a wireless transmission system that eliminates the possibility of caplamps triggering the flashes.
Another solution would be to invest in more expensive but smaller flashguns, such as the newer Nissin models for example, and wrap them up somehow (easier than wrapping a hammerhead) before transporting them all together in a Peli case. This solves the size and slave unit problems. The cost would be excessive, though, and it isn't clear to me how long they might last. There is also the problem of lack of power -- the most powerful Nissin/Nikon/Canon models are I think around up to a full stop less bright than the Metz 45 range -- and moreover, they still won't have any significant amount of waterproofing nor padding. I guess you could try to find a waterproof box in which one of these will fit, which might actually be the best all-round solution here, though costly.
Any other clever ideas?
- The flashguns just aren't robust enough. The main problem is the battery compartments which are flimsy and prone to coming loose. They often fail to contact properly during use. Not to mention broken diffusers, parts rattling around inside, etc. Old Nissin hammerheads have better battery compartments, but are hard to come by.
- The flashguns are huge. In a small Beast bag I can just about fit three plus a Gorillapod, but it's a hassle getting them in and out, and the bag won't really close properly.
- Transport in a drybag isn't really sufficient when the whole lot might get submersed. I lost several in a cave last year when this happened, and the bag leaked.
- There are issues not specific to these flashguns such as the lack of waterproofing, which is bad for making them last, and potentially hazardous to an operator. It also prohibits situations where you might want to put a flash underwater.
- The slave units aren't very reliable - another one died on me last week in Matienzo out of the blue for example; and there are a surprising number of times when they just don't trigger - and the Firefly 2 units in particular aren't waterproofed at all when you buy them. (It would also be nice if they weren't triggered so easily by a Scurion.)
I'm starting to wonder what a better solution might be to get high-power, robust, waterproof flashguns that work reliably every time. The ideal would seem to be something like dismantling a Metz 45 and encasing it in a strong fully-waterproof box, along with a slave unit, and some straightforward way of charging it (possibly without even opening it). I would imagine the box shouldn't need to be very big. Has anyone built and used anything like that? I'm wary due to the potential hazards during development, although I could probably find someone more competent with such things than I to help mitigate this.
And to be honest, given the age we live in, I wonder if going to such lengths it would be worth just designing a wireless transmission system that eliminates the possibility of caplamps triggering the flashes.
Another solution would be to invest in more expensive but smaller flashguns, such as the newer Nissin models for example, and wrap them up somehow (easier than wrapping a hammerhead) before transporting them all together in a Peli case. This solves the size and slave unit problems. The cost would be excessive, though, and it isn't clear to me how long they might last. There is also the problem of lack of power -- the most powerful Nissin/Nikon/Canon models are I think around up to a full stop less bright than the Metz 45 range -- and moreover, they still won't have any significant amount of waterproofing nor padding. I guess you could try to find a waterproof box in which one of these will fit, which might actually be the best all-round solution here, though costly.
Any other clever ideas?
