Strobe/flash unit...what

[wmchauncey]

Canon 1Ds3...never used a flash.  Now I shoot almost exclusively indoors...flowers/water droplets/smoke/or anything that strikes my fancy.
Will always be near an electrical outlet, must be able to freeze a hummingbird's wing.
Have been looking at something like this...http://www.amazon.com/StudioPRO-Monolight-Photography-Translucent-Umbrella/dp/B00FSCY9M0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1424207078&sr=1-1&keywords=strobe%2Fflash+kits
I don't understand the write-up at all.

[Michael N. Meyer]

Your primary consideration sounds like flash duration. You'll want the shortest flash duration that you can get. Keep an eye on whether a strobe's given flash duration is at its maximum power or minimum power as well as whether it is the t.5 or t.1 measurement so you're comparing like to like between brands.

The Paul C. Buff Einstein units are supposed to be very good in this regard and would likely be a good solution for you at a reasonable cost. I'm sure Ellis Vener will chime in here as he's quite a fan of these monolights. There are other strobe options with quick flash durations, but they are generally pricier than the Einsteins.

The strobes you link to would likely not be ideal.

[Ken Bennett]

The flash units you linked to are about the same power output as a Canon speedlight, and I'm thinking even at 1/32 power it may still be a fairly long flash duration. I think the primary feature of that kit is the extremely low price (I've paid more for a single light stand, and didn't think it was too expensive.)

The Einstein units get good reviews for short flash duration, but don't discount the Canon speedlights like the 600RT or the smaller 430 EX II. They are expensive, yes, but can provide very short durations and if you're close to the subject may provide enough power. The Einsteins will be MUCH more powerful.

You might check the Lighting 101 page on David Hobby's Strobist site. It's a comprehensive flash lighting tutorial starting from scratch and should answer a lot of your questions.

[wmchauncey]

Ken...that Strobist link info would suggest that, right now in my tabletop stuff, lighting like I suggested is likely overkill.  Thanks guys.

[spidermike]

I have not tried anything as adventurous as shooting hummingbird's wings but waterdrop photography also requires fast speeds so I hope some of my experience rubs off here.

A quick search threw up this site
http://www.digitalbirdphotography.com/7.7.html
Note that the shutter speed is only 1/250sec - this is not because 1/250 sec is fast enough to freeze the motion but that while it is open for the (relatively long) 1/250 there is very little light illumination on the bird except for the very brief duration that the flash fires (think strobe in a disco). My guess is that even if the units yo ulined to can get flash speeds in that range you may have so much light swilling around that it may be hard to limit the duration to the fast speeds required.

As the website I linked explains, freezing fast moving subjects like a hummingbird's wing is not only about flash duration but also the balance between flash burst and ambient light - even if you can get decent illumination at 1/32 power (flash in the region of 1/19,000  http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/flashdurations.html  ) the ambient light may give enough illumination to provide 'wing blur'.
And if you go down the multiple flash route I was surprised when I identified the source of the blur with my waterdrops was one flash that was so very sligtly out of sync by the merest smidgeon of time.