The Lens For All Things & New Light In The Field: Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD & Neewer Q4.
Warning: There will also be mention of emotions and coping in this post.
My appreciation of this lens…
…is well documented in this space. For my “real” work, this is the only need, with few exceptions. I have yet to need a longer lens. Use APS-C crop mode for a bit more reach or crop later. This is a luxury of modern sensors since the images hold up very well. Only rarely have I needed a wider lens when I could not step back further.
The light…
…is a relatively new acquisition. But after purchasing one and testing it I liked it enough to pivot from my entire Godox kit to Neewer. Above the features and performance I also pointed to the excellent value proposition in my review linked above. Two 400W strobes and on camera flashes on sale meant a massive consolidation and improvement in strobe output from my mixed bag of two 200W and one 300W lights. Both easily fit in one bag, ready to go.
This day would be my first use in the wild.
Before I get to talking about gear I must address the emotional side of things. As stated in a social media post later that day:
I was asked and did a gender reveal photo session today. Went well. No questionable over the top reveal techniques were employed. Done safely. A beautiful family…
So much is going on right now. So much of it seems so dark and filled with despair. I am not attempting to discount these realities and tragedies at all. However, it was a prescient reminder that there is also light, wonder, beauty, cause for celebration, and hope for the future to be seen and experienced though it may seem otherwise.
Alright, enough of that. On to the geeky bits.
The lens.
Perfection. From motion pics…
…to candid moments…
…to portraits…
…to detail pics…
…it just got it done.
The light.
Mostly perfect but I learned one important user error lesson.
Once the reveal went down outside I was presented with a portrait backdrop set up inside. A relatively small space with one aisle available between two dinner tables. Time was pretty tight as well. As a result, even though I brought two Neewer Q4s, I made do with one at my side on a stand. The thinking was that I would front light everyone instead of my usual two light set up. The tables were where I would usually set my lights. Then something odd happened. Something I had not experienced at all during much testing. Intermittently the Q4 would not fire. Odd. Fortunately a great lens and forgiving RAW files from a recent Sony saved the day in post. So much so that after editing I have a hard time telling the ones where the Q4 fired from the ones where it did not. Despite my many ramblings about making do with older gear I must admit this is a definite perk of newer gear. Without light the RAW files from most older sensors would have fallen apart irretrievably. So while curious why it occurred it did not prove problematic in the end.
But I still wanted to know why. So when I got home I did some testing. What I learned:
Sat right next to the strobe, less than a foot at about the same level, the trigger signal does not reach the strobe consistently.
That is it.
Unexpected? Yes.
Problematic? No.
I have never used a strobe like this before, as a massive on camera flash on a stick, and I do not expect I will ever do so again. It was a last minute decision to address a constraint. The solution would have been simple even this day. A simple move one more foot away would see the return of consistent success.
The lesson? Once again, I was reminded not to panic.
Of course the subjects were aware that the light did not go off every time. But I assured them that all was well, trusting I could sort it out later, and they followed suit. Fortunately, I was able to sort it out and the customer was very happy with the results.
Welp.
Lens maginificense confirmed once again.
Strobe competence confirmed with a lesson learned.
Was reminded again that there are glimpses of light here and there no matter how dark things may seem at times.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
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