Can I Use Phottix and Nikon Sb Speedlights Together

Comparison ability: Studio lights vs. speedlites / speed lights

Speedlights pack a huge amount of light for the size. Very portable, and loaded with sophisticated features, owning a speedlight is a must. A simple choice.

Studio lights and the larger portable flashes such as the Profoto B1 TTL flash (B&H / Amazon) , offering a lot more power than speedlights. Exactly how much more than powerful, isn't all that easy to gauge. There's very little bachelor as direct comparison. Fifty-fifty the specs aren't directly comparable. Speedlights' ability is given as a Guide Number (GN), and studio lights' power is commonly given in Watt-second. Non an obvious translation between the two of them.

The Profoto B1 flash (affiliate) is quite powerful, offering 500Ws as a maximum. Information technology also features TTL capability, and can be wirelessly controlled. All this gives the B1 a flexibility approaching that of speedlights. The question so inevitably comes up just how much stronger the Profoto B1 is than a speedlight. Stated in some other fashion: how many speedlights would you lot take to gang up to match 500Ws of studio low-cal output?

Let's encounter then how studio lights compare to speedlights / speedlites in terms of output.

I had a model, Melanie, in the studio to practise a series of examination photos. I used a Nikon SB-910 Speedlight (affiliate) vs a Profoto D1 Air 500Ws studio light (chapter). The studio-leap Profoto D1 is similar to the B1, except that the D1 doesn't run off a bombardment.

500Ws is a typical ability rating of this kind of studio light. For this comparing, keep in heed that the Nikon SB-910 Speedlight (affiliate) has the aforementioned output as the Catechism 600EX-RT Speedlite (chapter)

ane.)  Direct flash

Comparing the Nikon SB910 gear up to 50mm zoom, and one/i transmission output … vs the Profoto D1 at full output.

I had both flashes at 10 ft away from Melanie, who stood a few anxiety from the studio wall. The speedlight offered a surprisingly small-scale aperture value for that central spot. About 1 terminate under the much more powerful D1 / B1. Yet we can clearly see only how wide the Profoto D1 throws its light. So in that location is obviously a lot more lite coming from the Profoto head than merely what would requite correct exposure for a pocket-size central area.

Find that the shadow backside Melanie is less pronounced with the Profoto D1 caput, because of the corporeality of low-cal existence bounced around the identify.

As an aside: the exposure values for the SB-910 very closely matches what we'd expect from the guide number. Check this tutorial on how to employ the guide number of your flash.

The next step would exist then to use a lite modifier for both flashes, and see where we end up.

2.)  With a flash modifier

Adding the huge Westcott 7′ Parabolic Umbrella (chapter), equalized the comparison between the studio calorie-free and the more meaty speedlight. Here is the review of the Westcott 7′ Parabolic Umbrella.

This light modifier is massive and would spread the calorie-free quite widely.  I added the inset photo to bear witness how wide the light from either wink spreads into the umbrella. This didn't announced to have an obvious effect on how evenly the parabolic umbrella spread the light into the studio area.

Now we get a better sense of the actual output of the respective flashes. The 500Ws juice from the Profoto D1 gave us about 3 stops more output when used like this. (Actually, it appears closer to 2.7 stops, judging by the light-meter and the photos.)

This implies, that to get the same exposure (with the same light modifier), we'd accept to gang up 6 to 8 speedlights to match 500Ws.

Summary

This might seem like an unequal comparison, but a speedlight volition most likely always exist your best option for portable lighting. Small and powerful. A peak-of-the-line speedlight is very sophisticated, with TTL capability and high-speed flash sync. Every lensman should ain a few.

For sheer fauna power though, it can't match a studio-type light. And this is where the Profoto B1 battery powered flash (chapter) shines. True wireless control and with TTL capability, it becomes very easy to utilise and set upward on location.

This also takes us in an interesting management. It is quite often mentioned that powerful portable lights such equally the Profoto B1 are quite expensive. Only if you break it down into a comparable number of speedlights and wireless transmitters (and possibly battery packs), then the all-speedlight option becomes quite expensive also. An interesting consideration.

Related manufactures

• tutorial: How to use the guide number of your wink
• Getting the most power from your flash
• Photographing in fractional sunlight & shade
• Using the Profoto B1 wink at a wedding
• Which is the all-time flashgun, and what should I purchase?
• review: Westcott 7′ Parabolic Umbrella  (model: Ulorin Vex)

A little bit of homework

• Why would a 3-stop deviation in output equate to having to utilize 8 speedlights to match the studio low-cal?

• Calculation up all the accessories you'd need with multiple speedlights (and wireless triggers and battery packs) and a clamp to hold multiple speedlights – how would this compare price-wise to a unmarried Profoto B1 ? (And aye we all have a few speedlights already anyway, it does help equal out the final figures.)

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Source: https://neilvn.com/tangents/comparing-power-studio-lights-vs-speedlites-speedlights/

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