Toronto Photography Meetup Group

MPEX is awesome, unlike B&H, you can use non-UPS methods to save yourself some money. You still pay taxes though. I've ordered twice from them, mostly umbrellas and swivels, also a light stand

Thx! Which of the shipping methods do you suggest and how long did it take for you get the products in hand? Cheers.

around 6 days usually, I use USPS Priority mail, last quote was $31 (lightstand + umbrella and swivel) $14 in taxes on top

Thank you!

I'm too cheap to buy a set of gels. I grabbed the free LEE Filters sampler pack from Vistek. It comes with 270 of their gels, scrims and reflector material. They are bound together by a simple plastic post, which you can saw through in a few seconds with a serrated steak knife. The gels are big enough to cover the flash head of an SB-900. Use the included gel filter to clip it securely in place. The hole through which the post used to go makes for an easy handle to remove the gel.

http://www.slayerphoto.com/2009/01/free ... mple-pack/

Do they still give them out for free? The latest news (at least from David Hobby) is that companies have started charging even for the sampler packs, due to the whole Strobist thing and companies realizing they're losing money giving them away...

what's that gel holder on your flash?

It's the gel holder that comes with the SB-900. It's the transparent plastic piece in the lower-left corner of this photo:



http://www.nikonsb900.net/nikon-sb-900- ... n-the-box/

Canon sucks

Ditto!! Nikon wins hands down on their SB900 over the 580EXII and CLS system.

I'm not sure. I grabbed mine a few years ago while at Vistek buying some gels for my Alien Bees. Lee Filters has a Toronto address... maybe you can call them up or drop by?

Lee Filters Canada
103-7 Labatt Ave.
Toronto, ON
M5A 1Z1
416-361-9390

got my free LEE sample in the mail today. I m trying to make my own filter holder for canon 580.

I thought I read in one of the Joe McNally books that when a Nikon S B-900 has a colour correcting gel in the holder it altars the WB in the camera - now THAT is cool!

Alters to what? when used with auto wb in any camera it will be different, as flash sends info on temp and tint itself, so I assume gel will do it's work as supposed to. Unless you're talking about actual wb preset for each gel...doesn't make much sense though

Brian would be in a better position to answer this but my understanding is, a flash is typically 5500K and the ambient might be 6500K (warm) - what does your AWB choose? If you use the SB-900 with its own colour correcting gels it influences the AWB to go to a warmer setting if you slotted in a CTO, as an example, regardless of the ambient setting (I think).

Beats me! I shoot raw, so I don't care what the camera uses for AWB. The SB-900 can tell which gel has been inserted (there is a recognition tab on the gels that you slot into the SB-900), and can then tell the camera the correct colour temperature of the light passing through the gel. I don't have the details handy on exactly when this works. It probably only applies to AWB and maybe to the "flash" WB setting. And it may only work if the flash head is pointed directly in front. If you bounce the flash, the colour of light will be modified by whatever reflects it back to the subject anyway.

Thanks for the tips!
I went to visit Patrick at Merkle after work today and grab a pack. Super nice guy.
Now to try my hand at a DIY Gel holder

edit:
Here's my super quick and cheap holder
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho ... tcount=150

can't see any, no login

You need to register an account at POTN... it's those clip-on name-tag holders. You know, it has a clip and is clear, and you can put a piece of paper inside that says "Hello my name is ___"

sorry 'bout that... I guess Nikon folks probably won't care to join POTN

here ya go

Did the sb-800 come with a gel holder like the sb-900 does? I picked up a used sb-800 with the original pair of white balance correcting gels but am trying to figure out how nikon wants us to attach them.