off camera lighting supplies help

[fast eddie]

Summary at the bottom

Ok, I am gearing up to get a large group photo of Indiana's Lawyer-Legislators in the State Capitol Building. The lighting inside is pretty minimal, as it's a 100+ year old building.

This is the current setup I have (I am not a photographer, by the way. My graphic design setup is much more impressive )

Nikon D40
18-55mm standard Nikon AF lens
55-200mm standard Nikon AF lens
Nikon SB-600
Cactus transmitter and receiver (one of each)
Two (2) basic panning tripods


Now, I know I'll need another receiver, probably by Cactus to keep things consistent. I know they suck, but I also know that they can be modded to have a better range and reliability. I was looking at some Vivitar 285 flashes on eBay, as well as some cheap umbrella/stand combos. My work is fitting the bill, but I can only get this stuff it it's under $250.


SUMMARY:
Can anyone point me in the right direction for moderate pricing on the following:
a receiver that will work with Cactus products from Gadget Infinity
Umbrella/stand combos with two (2) umbrellas and stands
a flash or two that are compatible with Nikons
anything else you may think might help


Thanks!

[nb]

PRIORITY- Buy a long sync cord, if those cactus go tits up youre going to be left red faced. Have a backup.

-http://www.zarias.com/gpp-group-shot-pressure-that-can-make-diamonds/ Something you might find interesting.

- Ebay would be my port of call for those items aswell

[ADLAVINSKY]

quick note on the SB600. to my knowledge only hot shoe ittl syncs will work, it does not have a traditional PC input like the 900/800/28

[al dolega]

B&H has a two-stand/two-umbrella/two-swivelbrackets combo pack for around $100-$109, and it should be a bit better quality than ebay stuff. Plus you'll have options for returning it, warranty issues, etc.

There have been a lot of different GI/"ebay" triggers in even the few years I've been shooting; I would email GI, let them know which model you have, and order the receiver directly from them.

A 285HV is a solid choice, I would either go new, though, or get a used one ASAP so you can check it out and make sure it works ok.

If your GI triggers have a PC port, you can go with a Vivitar-to-PC cord for syncing, which are all over ebay. Your other option is to replace the stock plastic shoe/foot with a metal foot, those are also all over ebay and will give you a PC port. Then you just use a PC-to-PC cord.

Your SB600 does not have a dedicated sync port AFAIK: you will have to get a shoe adapter, which are tempermental from what I've heard but will give you a PC or 1/8" sync jack.

Ideally, though, get rid of those GI pieces of shit and upgrade to Cybersyncs or Skyports, it will help you stay sane.

[al dolega]

Oh, and you asked for a flash that was "compatible with Nikons."

Any flash will be compatible with Nikons when shooting manually off-camera (i.e. with the Cactus triggers). All radio triggers (well, this class of radio triggers) do is tell the flash to fire: they do not control the power, zoom, etc.

If you want a "smart" flash, that will work with your camera's meter/computer to determine exposure automatically.... you're going to be spending at least $250 on the flash alone.

[fast eddie]

sweet, thanks! Al, if I was to get a Elinchrom EL-Skyport RX Dedicated Radio Slave System, is it dependent on some kind of super expensive power supply? I can't find any plain language, and everything I see infers that a $1,000+ power supply called an RX Ranger battery pack is needed.

Can't they be used like the Cactus ones? oh, if life was easy...

[fast eddie]

nevermind, I called a distributor and i'm out of luck.

[Crazy Tom]

when is the shoot?

[fast eddie]

it's the first week of March. But now I am getting the feeling that were just going to hire someone to come out and do it, instead of buying gear. Easy solution for my work, bad news for me. I was looking forward to using that shit for skating, and I always tell my boss when I need to "test" new gear.

[al dolega]

The Skyport RX system is not what you want... well, the transmitter is but not the receivers. You want the Skyport Universal kit:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...dio_Slave.html

extra receivers:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Receiver.html

or the Paul C Buff Cybersyncs, model CST and CSRB (bottom of the page):

http://www.alienbees.com/cybersyncplus.html

Neither can be used with Cactus/ebay units, thank god.

[Crazy Tom]

I was asking because I will be in Indy the 4th-7th to shoot a wedding on the 6th and I might be available to help you out.

[Corey O.]

GIs have a built in hotshoe, so no adapter needed there. actually if you wanted to you could use a GI receiver as an adapter if you have a flash without a PC plug on it. I am ordering three pocket wizards on payday, but right now I have been using my GIs with the flash mounted on the hotshoe of the receiver AND plugging in the sync cables (I have a few 285HVs)

you can mod them but I honestly dont think its worth it. they work good with one receiver but when you get two or more it starts turning into a 50/50 chance whether or not its going to work or not. half the time its the batteries and the rest of the time it may fire but it will fire late.

[Pollux]

sweet, thanks! Al, if I was to get a Elinchrom EL-Skyport RX Dedicated Radio Slave System, is it dependent on some kind of super expensive power supply? I can't find any plain language, and everything I see infers that a $1,000+ power supply called an RX Ranger battery pack is needed.

Can't they be used like the Cactus ones? oh, if life was easy...

For your transmitter/receivers the Paul C bluff "cybercyncs" are both inexpensive and really reliable. Like everyone else is saying you'll need a hotshoe adapter with a PC sync plug on it to run it with your Sb600 since it doesnt have an optical SU-4 slave option like the Sb800 or a Sync plug built into it.