Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi all,

I am starting up with studio setup at home, and am a complete noob. Earlier last month i brought the 86" PLM silver-soft umbrella, 64" PLM Silver-Soft Umbrella, 30" x 60" Giant Softbox with same size grid, and soft diffuser cover, for the lighting i brought 2 x e640 strobes. I also have the cyber commander, cyber sync transmitter and receiver.

I have been successfully able to get the e640 running with the cyber commander, was able to discover them. (help through reading the forum).

However, now i need help in the initial configuration for these two strobes.
I mean the settings/numbers and selections that is ideal to start with.
I am attaching screenshots of my current settings on both the strobes. Please help me with whats good to begin with. I realize each scenario is different, and the power needs to be set according to the exposure and speed. But apart from that, what other things i need to set correctly, please have a look and let me know.

Strobe 1.


Strobe 2.


Also,
When i turn on the strobe, this yellow light is on all the time, is it advisable to keep it turned on?



Not sure but with the initial tests, the background in the pictures doesnt seem to bright, they are like offwhite...

My apologies for the lame jargons, i am trying to learn and understand... and this is my very first few days.

P.S. not sure why the image flipped :(

Ok, the yellow light is your modeling lamp, and it will tell you how and where your shadows will fall. It is OK to leave it on, unless you are running off a battery pack.

The background will never be as bright as something in front of it, unless you light the background seperately. This is because as the light spreads over distance, the intensity will reduce. I will not get into the inverse square law here, (you can read more here: http://www.paulcbuff.com/sfe-inversesquarelaw.php), but there is a predictable manner in which light falls off. In a nutshell, the farther away the back ground is, the darker it will be than the subject (assuming there is no additional light on the background). The ratio of light to subject vs. subject to background will play a role in this. If you back the lights off, and put the subject against the back ground, you can get the back ground very close to white.

Most settings look fine. You have a model lamp offset on both lights, but I would not worry about that now, as they are equal. As for what power setting you want, this will vary greatly depending on what you want. Generally, you will want ISO 100-200, and set the shutter speed to your x-sync speed (1/160 to 1/250, depending on camera model). You also need to choose what aperture you want to use. Something wider for a shallow depth of field, or something smaller for better sharpness? Doesn't matter to anyone but you, but you need to know where you want to be so you know where you are going.

I would then start by selecting the main light on the Cyber Commander. Meter the main light from the subject's position. Then select and meter the fill light from the subject's position. Adjust the fill light's power in relation to the main. In other words, if you want the fill 1 stop under the main, adjust the power so that it is one stop under (f/8 main vs f/5.6 fill, for example). This will set your ratio.

Then, select ALL channels, aim the dome at the camera and meter both lights at once. You will get an f/stop reading at the top. You can adjust this number up or down to match the desired aperture you want to shoot with.

Also, remember the numbers after the apostrophe are important.
f/11'0 is f/11.
f/11'3 is f/13
f/11'7 is f/14
f/11'9 is almost f/16.

Full details on the meter readings are in a chart in the manual (pg42).