Saturday 23 June, 2012   David A. Selby   Analysis   13 Comments

Send us your feedback

As always, we are keen to hear your suggestions on what can be done to help improve the Lighting Rumours experience. Pick from the poll the things you want most, or share your ideas in the comments below. You can also contact us directly.

What 2 things does Lighting Rumours need more of?

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  • http://ranger9.net Ranger 9

    I’d also like to see more technology analysis, if you can find qualified people to write it. Lighting has quickly become the most high-tech area of photography, what with TTL radio triggering, remote power control systems, spectrum-adjustable LEDs etc. At this point there’s no good source on the Internet for learning and discussing how such systems work, how the different implementations differ, and how the technology can be applied to picture-making.

  • chris

    I’d like to see a buyers guide of sorts. So many radio triggers now, would be helpful if there was a site section where you can compare product features and also see your editors rank/choice. Same for monoblocks. Also, more shootouts, ie. articles where 4-5 triggers for Nikon go head to head.

    • CotswoldPhoto

      Chris. I did once think this was a good idea. BUT… feature lists become distorted by the makers (such as GNs and recycle times, range, etc) with no real checks. Also, the one REAL factor is missed off the tick list. How well-made/designed/easy to use are they?

    • David A. Selby

      We do have a flash triggering guide where you can compare features here:
      http://www.lightingrumours.com/flash-triggering-guide

      • chris

        Oh wow, thanks – that’s great! I looked around for it again yesterday before asking, but couldn’t find any menus items which pointed to anything like it.. I see it at the top now, not sure if I didnt find it because
        1. it says “guide”, I was looking for “chart” or “comparison”. I think of a guide more as a textual article where you tell people which to get).
        or 2. because I didn’t immediately realize this site has 2 menus, above and below logo. I expect to find “about”, “contact” etc in top menu, but not actual content like the guides.

        As for the actual comparison: I’d like to request a new column for high speed sync, which has values: No, Flash Guns only, FG+Studio Strobes.

        Cotswald: Yes, maintaining the editorial touch of Lighting Rumours would be key for keeping sneaky manufacturers at bay. Furthermore I wouldn’t at all mind such a list becoming subjective rather than strictly factual. I actually both appreciate and value the tester voicing his subjective views on each product and manufacturer/distributor. I think someone who has tested a lot of equipment from different manufacturers has a good basis for ranking products against each other. If two products are identical in a comparison chart but the tester can verify one manufacturer to be a lot easier to deal with, I am no longer in doubt which one to get. This is what I had in mind in my initial post when I mentioned an editors ranking.

        Let me also include that I agree with both Mark and Distanted, +1 for articles on new gear and +1 for not spamming all non-photo interested FB friends. If the site is good I will recommend it to interested friends myself :)

        • David A. Selby

          The guide used to have a big section explaining all the different ways of syncing flash (other than radio triggers). It may come back in the future – I took it out temporarily to make the article easier to navigate. As for the menu confusion, I just changed the menus recently so that’s why you might not have seen it before.

          • David A. Selby

            The high speed sync column has now been added.

  • Mark

    What makes me want to visit this site (or any other) is something new each day.

    As this is a gear column I would always focus on the gear.

    I think LR does a great job of reporting on new products given the amount of time it takes to track down some of this info.
    I like the real world reviews when they are done. I like the inclusion of all lighting both strobe and continuous.

    Overall just more stuff. Lately I have noticed more stuff so I am visiting more frequently.

    I like the new design. Very easy and attractive.

  • Mark

    BTW I found this site on 1001 Noisy Cameras.

  • Distanted

    Overall, just as others have said, more of what you’re doing would be great. There is, however, one thing I’d like to see less of: Facebook contests. This subject came up with a similar website that reported computer rumours, and resulted in an immediate backlash among the readers. The idea that we should turn our Facebook accounts into a free spamming service directed at our friends for the chance to win a bit of gear is repugnant to myself and many others, at least on that site. I’m not a big fan of Facebook, but when it becomes filled with company product ads being spewed by my ‘friends’, it’ll be time to turn it off altogether.

    • David A. Selby

      Noted!

  • http://www.andrewspratley.com Andy

    I’d like to see a few more reviews of higher end equipment. I think it’d balance out the reviews section. It’d also be good to know more about the person doing the reviews, portfolio etc. Reviews are always going to have a personal aspect and I find it useful to know what style of photography the reviewer has and what equipment they are used to.

    It’d be good if you could devise some standardised tests for strobe reviews (as well as the in the field/real life angle you cover as well). Obviously each has it’s different strengths and uses. But a question that often comes up with new strobes is what WS or GN it is and then these figures are dismissed because they can be manipulated. If you could select a couple of modifiers and use the same conditions to give a useful visual representation of what the flash is putting out that would be handy.

    I’d be interested to see some well thought out interviews with manufacturers. Especially people like Jinbei etc who seem to be the more reputable Chinese companies. What are their plans, what do they think is important, what do they think of the industry?

    A who makes what section. Perhaps this is part of your guides but it’d be useful to see who’s the OEM who rebadges stuff what modifications they have made and who’s distributing in which country.

  • Lawliet

    You could give the more high end gear some coverage – LEPs are quite nice, Arris L7 or the Seladors have their charms, for example.
    Also some content regarding the application of all the gadgets could have its merits, perhaps help some people to tear down the barrier between photo and video lighting..

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