Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
03-06-2009, 12:18 PM   #1
New Member




Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 5
Pentax 67II Off Camera Lighting Kit

Hello all,

New member here...this looks like an excellent discussion forum.

I have a Pentax 67II and would like to assemble an off-camera lighting kit for it (flash or strobe, light stand, umbrella, etc).

Do any of you have recommedations regarding compatible flash or stobe units that can be synched with the 67II, along with information regarding the connection requirements?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Ellen Rutchick

03-07-2009, 06:51 PM   #2
Inactive Account




Join Date: May 2008
Location: Edmonton, Canada
Posts: 322
Well, I shoot 135, but things will be the same.

check out Strobist for an excellent site/blog about all things off-camera lighting. The lighting 101 section is quite good.

To start, you'll need a strobe, I'd recommend a Vivitar 285, gobs of power, built in 'calculator' and adjustments for manual power output. Stick it on a lightstand with a bogen/manfrotto umbrella clamp, and I'd probably say a 44" white shoot-though or silver reflective umbrella.

Since I'm pretty sure the 67II has a PC sync port, you'll need a PC sync cable of your choice, (I have 3 and 10 meter cords) and probably a PC-to hotshoe adapter for the vivitar; the hotshoe adapter screws into the umbrella clamp (which mounts onto the stand) and then the flash slides into the rails. the PC sync cable connects to a little sync cable coming out of the adapter.

That's good for one light, you can duplicate the setup and use optical slaves once you have the first strobe synched to the camera, assuming the lights can 'see' each other.
03-08-2009, 09:01 AM - 1 Like   #3
Moderator
Loyal Site Supporter
Wheatfield's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: The wheatfields of Canada
Posts: 15,903
You can sync anything off the 6x7. There are none of the worries about trigger voltage that plague digital camera users.
I'd go a little more powerful than a 285 myself. If you are dead set on portable strobes, see if you can find an old Metz 60 series flash, the CT-2 is excellent, that would be a better choice, methinks.
The Metz units also had the ability to plug multiple flash heads into the same power pack using MecaTwin heads (stripped down 45 series heads).
I used this set up for many years shooting weddings.
However, and I'm quite serious, look at a set of studio strobes instead of battery powered flash units. You are going to want quite a lot of power with the 6x7 lenses, which are quite slow, and I know you will find battery operated flash units to be very high maintenance regarding battery changeouts.
Been there, done that.
If you do go with battery powered flash units, you will be better served by silvered umbrellas rather than shoot throughs. Again, this is a power issue, where you want the most efficient modifier possible to compensate for the low power flash.
I have an 800ws box and cable strobe set that is, when all 4 heads are hooked up to it, is just barely powerful enough for portraiture with the 6x7 and 100 ISO film using softbox modifiers. I use metal pans instead and find that to be better, but for groups they have to be diffused which eats power.
You might find, as I did, that 400 ISO is the better choice if you are shooting negative film. When I started with the 6x7 it wasn't a great option, but I think now the films are a lot better than they used to be.

Last edited by Wheatfield; 03-08-2009 at 09:12 AM.
03-09-2009, 10:38 AM   #4
New Member




Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 5
Original Poster
Re: Pentax 67II Off Camera Lighting

Thanks for the responses!

You have given me some good information and a set of options to explore.

Best regards,

Ellen Rutchick

05-08-2009, 10:22 AM   #5
K-9
Veteran Member




Join Date: May 2009
Location: USA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,971
For the 67II or any camera for that matter, check out the Ritz cameras that are going out of business in your area. Light kits are about 50% right now. I saw a nice continuous lighting setup (which I prefer over strobe) that originally was $400 down to about $200.

With continuous light, no need to worry what syncs up to what camera (I always hated that). HMI daylight is the best continuous lighting source, if you can afford it. Damn, I wish they had some of that on closeout at Ritz!!
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
67ii, camera, flash, kit, medium format, pentax, pentax 67ii
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
For Sale - Sold: Pentax 67ii KIT + 7 lenses & acc (Worldwide) knumbnutz Sold Items 7 06-06-2010 05:42 PM
Using 67II with off camera lighting Jake67 Pentax Medium Format 3 06-09-2009 08:13 PM
67II -- which sync cord for TTL off-camera flash? Dick Sanders Pentax Medium Format 2 05-29-2009 07:57 PM
Trying to find lighting kit Gadget_Guy Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 14 04-25-2008 08:31 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:48 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top