Better Beamer
 

UPS brought me a Better Beamer this week with a Wimberley F9 bracket to mount the whole set-up for use with my 500. Generally, if I am using a flash I am shooting people in manual mode using a light meter, etc... which isn't going to be the case now.

Anyone have experience with the Better Beamer? I read everything I can find on the net. I am shooting coastal birds this weekend. I guess I will start in TV mode @ 1/200th of a second and use the Better Beamer strictly for fill. I never use ETTL flash mode normally so I hope the camera knows what I want!! I may also use 1/500th of a second and just try to crop the black bars out in post.

I will post a pics of the whole camera rig and whatever pics I manage to get.

Rob, I just order one and hopefully gets here tomorrow, I want to try it out at the winter
fest rail jam Saturday night. Check the N&W forum on FM and do a search, I have seen some articles about them in the past, lots of bird shooters use them.

Randy, if you haven't got one yet grab a Quantum SC power supply for your flash. It cuts recycle time time to about 1.5 seconds at full power and faster and faster as you turn the power down. The Quantum is expensive but sweet.

Let me know how it works, I bought one 2 years ago and never have taken it out of the package :-(

I know Artie Morris uses one for just about everything he shoots.

Due to ridiculous fog, no Better Beamer pictures from this weekend. My trip to shoot coastal birds turned into a journey to Transylvania!! I have never seen it stay foggy ALL DAY but it did this weekend. The Better Beamer is cheap but the gear to go with it isn't. I only looked at two flash brackets: Wimberley and Really Right Stuff. I went with the WImberley and it was around $190 I think (cheaper than the RRS). Then the Quantum SC and cord was around $500.

I took a few test shots of ducks using a 100-400 with the 580EXII and BB mounted to the camera and I didn't like the results- duck red eye! Raising the flash up with the flash bracket should eliminate that.

Rob, got mine today, looking forward to trying it out on some birds. Until I can afford the 500 f/4 (damn I wish Alex was out of college!!) I won't need the bracket, I'll just use it on the camera with the 400 5.6. Let me know if you will be around before the Texas Pro Tour stop, I might come out a day early and maybe we can go shoot some birds.

I should be around Randy. Shoot me a message on FB and we can hook-up for some wildlife. Not sure what will all be around here then but I can do some scouting. Most of the ducks and geese in my neighborhood will have bugged out by then.