Originally posted by mcgregni . I do now want to look at getting a gridded softbox.
Be warned: grids* can be expensive, and not all manufacturers provide grids with their light modifiers [Elinchrom,Bowens,Profoto are all guilty of this] - some are sold as an optional extra from the manufacturer which often command outrageous price. There is also the method of attachment of the grids, some are attached by velcro into a recessed hood of the softbox, some softboxes do not have a hood and therefore require the grid to be attached by elastic that fits around the front scrim on the softbox.
Personally I don't like the velcro attached grids, they tend to sag a lot [especially in the center] which doesn't look good and probably doesn't help with their light efficiency. The elastic ones hold their shape better and stay taut against the front scrim - but they have to be carefully made to fit the soft box in question. There is a third option, which I work with,** are grids from
lighttools their grids are custom made with collapsible metal frames and fit
perfectly. Lighttools make grids with different cell sizes to suit to just about every light modifier produced by a major manufacturer on the market, and they are built to last...but they are
expensive.
Originally posted by mattb123 Those WITSTRO flashes look pretty nice and would probably suit the kind of things I'd want to do with athletes outdoors.
The set of Witstro flash units I have been working with have been excellent. I have only had minor issues with battery life, and the transmitter: which after a few quick e-mails to my supplier were remedied in less than a week.
Originally posted by mattb123 Has anyone had luck making HSS work wirelessly with them? How about with two of them?
Canon and Nikon can use wireless HSS through the basic 433Mhz FT-16 transmitter, though for a lot of my outdoor portraiture I use the Leica S2 which doesn't need HSS***. To the best of my knowledge Pentax HSS with the Witstro flash units is effectively a no-go.
*also can be referred to as egg crates or honeycomb grids - they are all the same thing. They often come in a range of cell sizes ranging from 60 degrees to 30 and sometimes even as narrow as 5 degrees. Like all flash modifiers there can be a loss of light output when these are used.
** I thought I would mention this for the sake of disclosure. Before I was working commercially, I worked with cheaply made grids before..I hated it. When I started working full-time as a commercial photographer getting properly made grids was a priority. I have used Lighttools grids for about 10 years now. I still use the original ones I bought, but since then I have added more of them to my working set.
*** The basic FT-16 transmitter has difficulty with synchronizing at shutter speeds above 1/250th - so I use pocketwizards for their reliability, but I keep the FT-16 at hand when I want to change a flash units power level remotely.