Bruce Gildens Flashgun; What is it?

[Benjamin]

Hi, does anybody know what flashgun Bruce Gilden uses, purely out of interest?

It's pretty massive, and he holds it in his left hand with a sync cable to an MP I think. You only get 1/50's flash sync with an MP right?

Thanks,

Benjamin

P.S. Merry Christmas x

 

[usagisakana]

It's a vivitar. probably either a 285 or 283.

 

[rlouzan]

It´s a Vivitar 285w/Holly flash foot + homemade 6v. 1,3Ah. Lead acid battery (velcroed on top.)

Similar battery:
http://www.underdog-battery.com/

 

[.ken]

Anyone seen Mark Cohen video where he also uses a flash? I'm trying to figure out how he does it...

How does one use a hot-shoe cable connected to a flash? Which flash cable do i get to connect from a M4-2 to a flash. I have that tiny screw that blocks the flash from going all the way in. I'm trying to connect a Olympus fl-36 and it randomly engages the flash during wind-up etc...

 

[rlouzan]

Use off- camera flash, a heavy flash can damage the flash block (causing intermittent flash firing or worse jamming the shutter.)

Get Paramount sync cords (model type depends on flash) or remote trigger.

 

[35mmdelux]

Or, use a small SF20 off camera w/ short cable.

 

[Ronald_H]

Nikon SB-30 will do the trick as well. Just bought one for my M2.

 

[.ken]

What cable do you guys recommend? A PC to hotshoe cable?

I am looking at an Olympus S20 flash right now which looks like it would do the job.

 

[Nh3]

Just a week or so after Gilden's (in)famous video appeared on youtube I saw a guy here in Toronto with a flash attached to a small retracted monopod and he was using the flash with a DSLR in broad daylight. However, the interesting part was that he was using the flash raised and pointing downwards... I guess he wanted to acentuate the vertical light that you get anyway during daylight. 😉

 

[.ken]

His book "Grim street" is indeed interesting, but seeing him working left me a bit disappointed....

I just got the book as well. I have some favorites in there... how so did he disappoint you? just wondering. I'm not sure if there's a "good" way of approaching a street/strobe photography.... or maybe its because at least Gilden looks thru the view finder and Cohen doesnt...

 

[Nh3]

Gilden looks through the viewfinder. Watch the video again.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I'm pretty sure that I posted something here in the last week or two about how to make an external battery pack for the Vivitar 283 and 285 flashes. It uses 4 D cells, which have about 4 times the capacity of AA cells. Also the AA cells heat up when you shoot fast and the heat kills them. D cells only cost about twice as much as AA cells.