gear

THE DIGITAL SOAPBOX OF ANDY CLEAVENGER

QUANTUM QFLASH T5D-R

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Email:  graycard18@gmail.com

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I recently bought two of these at work. The much cheaper Sunpak 120J was my first choice, however it was discontinued shortly before I was given the budget money to buy new gear. The Qflash was the closest equivalent. It has become my main flash of choice for shooting portraits on location. Before buying these I was lugging my Speedotron studio lights around with me. Not only was that a much more cumbersome trip to make, it was frequently too much power for the task at hand. The lowest power setting would still blow out people in the cramped quarters of an office. The Qflash, with it’s lower power range and battery operation means I can much more easily make my flash compliment the ambient light in most office building settings and I don’t have to worry about where the nearest power outlet is.

The menu system is awkward, but it does provide a full range of power settings between 1/1 and 1/64 in 1/3 stop increments. In the end, that’s really all I care about. I like the fact that it comes with a removable reflector and that it uses the same Turbo Battery that I use with my SB-800.

Eventually, I want to start incorporating the Qflash into my event coverage. I’ve seen some promising results from other photographers using flashes like this with just the bare bulb hoisted up into the corners of the room. The results looked like they were shot with available light in a room with plenty of sunlight. Not perfect in all cases (what is?) but certainly more attractive than a dark hotel ballroom.