PIXAPRO® LUMI II 200 200Ws Studio Flash (GS200II)

Answer:

This product is provided with a UK 3-Pin Power cable, if you require an EU power cable please notify us when purchasing your item.

Answer:

To see a Specification & Price Comparison with other popular brands, please go to the following link HERE

Answer:

While the screen at the back of your camera will give you a fair idea of how your photograph is going to look, it doesn’t give you an accurate representation of your exposure as the screen on the back of your camera isn’t calibrated. If need to see a more accurate representation of your photograph as you shoot, it is possible to connect most DSLR cameras to your computer which will give you a more accurate representation of your exposure (tethering to a computer with a calibrated screen is recommended).

In order to do this, you will need software that supports “Tethered Capture” (such as Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture etc.) and also some way of connecting your camera to your computer (usually via a USB cable).

Please NOTE: Not all cameras support Tethered Capture, and not all software that supports tethered capture supports all cameras. Check with the manufacturers beforehand.

Answer:

With our Pro AC Triggers, you have the ability to remotely control the Power Output of all of our flashes individually, or simultaneously in up to 16 different groups. This saves you from having to go up to each and every light individually to change the power of each light. It is also great for lights that are on a boom, removing the need to climb a ladder or to lower your boom to change the settings. You can also switch modelling lamps on and off with our triggers.

NOTE: Only compatible with PIXAPRO Studio Strobes and Portable Flashes.

Answer:

The Lumi heads all feature an intelligent slave mode (slave mode 2) which allows them to be triggered with a TTL speedlite or your Camera's pop-up flash. However your camera’s pop-up flash or speedlite can only be used to optically trigger the Lumi flashes.

Answer:

This is not the case. You cannot directly compare the Guide Number (GN) ratings for Speedlites and the GN ratings for Studio lights as they are measured in slightly different way.

When Speedlite Guide Numbers are measured, it is usually at its highest possible Zoom setting, which creates a very small concentrated pool of light. The guide number of Studio flashes on the other hand, are usually measured with a standard reflector mounted on the front which produces a much larger, pool of light.

For example, if you had a Speedlite with a GN of 56m that had a zoom range of 24-105mm, the guide number of the flash, would be 56m when zoomed to 105mm. However if you zoom it out to give your speedlite an equivalent beam angle of a studio flash with a standard reflector (which normally falls between 35mm and 50mm), the actual GN of your speedlite would fall to somewhere between 38-44m.

Answer:

The Guide numbers give you a more accurate indication of the flash power as the amount of light put out by different flash heads of the same Watt second (Ws) rating can differ.

The Guide Number tells you the maximum flash-to-subject distance (normally given in metres or feet) that will give you a correct exposure at a given ISO (usually ISO 100) with a standard reflector attached to the flash. For example, Lumi 200 has a GN of 49m at ISO 100 with a standard reflector should correctly illuminate a subject 49m away at ISO 100 with an aperture of f/1.0 (or at an ISO 200 with an aperture of f/1.4 which is more realistic).

Please note that different modifiers can affect the amount of light that tomes out of your flash.

For a more detailed explanation, Please Click Here.

Answer:

There is no simple answer to this question, as it depends on the type of work that you are doing and the size of the space you are working in. For example, if you are shooting simple portraits with a medium-sized softbox or umbrella in your living room, then you’ll probably would be able to get away with a fairly low powered flash. If you are shooting a large group in a large venue or studio, then you may want something more powerful.

If you find yourself ever needing more power, you could always compensate by turning your ISO up a stop or two, which will effectively double or quadruple your flash power. Modern DSLRs can produce fairly clean images at ISO 200 or 400. Even slightly older DSLRs can produce relatively noise-free images at ISO 200.

Answer:

Currently we do not have any software or apps that can do this, but it is something we may look into in the future.

However you can control each of our flash heads, with our Pro AC Trigger set. You can control flash heads in up to 16 groups, and is also cross compatible with our Speedlite trigger set and our High-speed transceivers. Please read this article about the Pixapro Flash Ecosystem for more information.

Answer:

TTL flashes send out a pre-flash which it uses meter the scene and find out what flash power is needed to get the correct exposure, and then flashes again when shutter opens. This all happens very rapidly, to you it looks like one flash but in reality multiple flashes have occurred.

The reason that your slave flashes didn’t register in your photo is because they had already fired by the time the shutter in your camera had opened (in other words they were triggered by the Pre-flash and not the main exposure flash).

This issue can be resolved by switching your Lumi head(s) to Slave Mode 2 (indicated by a red light where it says “Slave”) which will ignore the pre-flash and fire when the main flash goes off (when the shutter in your camera opens).

Answer:

There are a few things that maybe causing your slave flash to not fire:

• Slave flash doesn’t have direct line of sight with master flash; obstacles such as walls and sometimes the type of modifier on your master flash (especially modifiers that restrict the spread of light) can prevent your slave flash from seeing the light from the master flash.
• Strong sunlight; if you have your slave flash outdoors, or near a window on a bright sunny day, the sun is possibly overpowering the master flash preventing the slave flash from seeing it.

Answer:

When you use your camera in any of its auto or semi-auto exposure modes (also Auto ISO mode), you camera automatically meters for the ambient light in your environment. Your camera doesn’t take your flash(es) into consideration because as far as your camera is concerned, they are not there. When you take a photograph, your camera will expose for the ambient light, plus you are adding more light into the equation with your flashes, which will cause your photo to be over exposed.

When using studio flashes (or any non-ttl flash) you need to have your camera set to manual mode, and your ISO set to as low as possible to maintain maximum image quality.

Answer:

These days it is only higher end cameras that come with a PC sync socket, however there are a few ways to get around that problem:

• You can purchase a hot shoe PC Sync adapter, available at most photographic retailers.
• Use a wireless radio flash trigger such as the Pro AC Wireless trigger set.

Answer:

So long as your trigger has a 3.5mm jack connection, then your trigger should work with no problems. If your trigger has the larger 6.3mm jack connection, you can get a 6.3mm to 3.5mm jack adapter from most electrical/audio supply stores.

Answer:

Yes you can, although you will either need access to a mains power supply, or a generator such as the PowerGenerator 800.

Please be aware that these units are not weatherproof, so caution should be used if you are using in less than ideal conditions.

Answer:

Yes it should sync at 1/250th no problem, although there are a few things that can affect the maximum sync speed that can be achieved with this flash: a) The max sync speed of your camera which varies from camera to camera (please refer to you camera’s user manual) b) The max sync speed of the flash trigger that you are using can achieve which is sometimes lower than the camera's max sync speed. Flash exposure isn't affected by shutter speed (the shutter speed in flash photography is only used to control the amount of ambient light that appears in your exposure). Shutter speeds of 1/125th and up are usually enough to cancel out any ambient light in and normal indoor studio little to no direct sunlight entering it (unless you're using a really wide aperture e.g. f/1.8).

Answer:

If your camera has a PC-Sync socket, then it will work with your camera no problem. If your camera doesn’t have a PC-Sync socket, you will need to purchase an adapter to convert their proprietary hot shot mount into a standard hot shoe mount. Once you have this adapter, then our flash kits should work with your Sony Alpha/Minolta camera with no problems.

Answer:

If your photographs are coming out with a strange colour cast, the chances are that you are using the wrong White balance setting on your camera. Set your camera’s white balance to “Flash” balance and this should fix the problem. Some cameras also allow you to set a custom white balance by shooting something that has a neutral colour (like a grey card) and you can set your white balance that way also. (Please refer to your camera’s user manual).

Answer:

All of our mains powered products require a voltage of 220-240v (which is the mains voltage used in the UK and most of Europe) to operate properly.

Answer:

To achieve a pure white background you need to light your background separately to your main subject otherwise the background will appear grey due to light fall off. First of all, you need to be able to pull your subject away from the background if possible to prevent any bounced/reflected light from the background affecting your subject. Then you need to light your background to be about 1-1½ stops brighter (2x brighter) than your main subject allowing you to essentially blowing out (over exposing) your background. If the output from your background lights are too low, the background will appear grey. However, if your background lights are set too high, the light will begin to eat into your subject resulting in an undesirable muddy look with little contrast. You also increase your risk of getting flare in your lens. Ideally your background needs to be lit with at least two lights (one from each side) resulting in a more evenly lit background and to avoid getting dark areas on your final photograph or video footage.

Answer:

Colour Temperature refers to the colour cast given off by various light sources usually represented by a four or five digit number followed by the letter “K” (which stands for degrees Kelvin. e.g. 5500K). For Example, Tungsten/ Incandescent lights are usually rated between 2700-3500K give off a warm orange coloured light. Electronic Flash, Daylight and anything daylight balanced is usually rated between 5000-6000K will give off a more neutral white light. Anything rated higher than 6000K (e.g. overcast days, LCD/CRT screens) will give off a slightly bluish light. Most cameras come with a range of pre-set White Balance options to help compensate for any colour casts given off by the type of lighting that you are using. Some cameras also give you the option of creating a custom white balance profile, by either shooting something that is of a neutral colour (such as a grey card) or by directly inputting the colour temperature of your lights into your camera.

Answer:

A slave cell is a sensor built into all of our flash heads that will trigger your flash when it detects the light from another electronic flash, or from an infra-red flash trigger. Slave cells require line of sight, so they may not operate around corners and bright sunlight can sometimes interfere with the signal from another flash. In a home or a in a small to medium sized studio they work with relatively few problems.

Answer:

Although our Flash kits do have continuous modelling bulbs, but they're not really bright enough to do any video work or photography. They are only designed to give you an idea of where the highlights and shadows are going to fall on your subject when you take your flash exposure. Though it is possible, we would not recommend that you use the modelling lights on your flash kit as a constant light, as the modelling lights are generally not as bright as the lights from a dedicated continuous lighting head. In order to get a decent exposure, you would need to use a very high ISO and/or a very wide aperture setting on your camera. Using a higher ISO setting will result in a reduction of image sharpness due to increased noise in your image. When using a wider aperture, your focusing need to be more critical as when you are using very wide apertures (e.g. F/2.0 or F1.4) your depth of focus is very shallow, and the slightest movement could cause you to miss focus completely.

Answer:

The chances are your shutter speed is too high. The maximum shutter speed that can be used with a studio flash is called the “Sync Speed” which varies from camera to camera but is usually between 1/125th sec and 1/250th sec (please refer to your camera’s user manual). Most SLR cameras use what’s called a Curtain Shutter which consists of a first curtain, and a second curtain. When you take a photograph, the first curtain will open, and at the end of the exposure the second curtain follows behind it to close the shutter. At shutter speeds below your camera’s sync speed, the first curtain will open fully before the second curtain closes. However, at shutter speeds faster than your camera’s sync speed the second curtain doesn’t have time to wait for the first curtain to fully open and starts to close while the first curtain is still going. Since flashes don’t fire until the first curtain is fully open, at shutter speeds faster than your camera’s synch speed, the second curtain has already started to close leaving you with a black bar (which is actually the second curtain starting to come across). Sometimes the flash trigger that you use can affect the shutter speed that you can use also, so if this is still happening whilst using your camera’s sync speed, check that your flash trigger can be used at that particular shutter speed.