What about the light kit shown here?

dragon300zx

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3352&item=3811080999&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

wxwax

gecko

those are all pretty weak strobes

even if it is three

wxwax

Ah. Thanks. The language of the copy does seem to be aimed at amateurs. And it makes sense that the costliest items are where they cut corners.

patch29

It does not look as though they are very controllable either, power or accessories.

A lot of today's DSLR's (probably some P&S too) have very sophisticated TTL systems that work very well if you know how to set them up. My Canon's can operate several 550EX flash units wirelessly, vary the power ratios and you can use an umbrella/reflector/small softbox to soften the light very easily. They are a very good solution for a simple portable lighting kit.

wxwax

Cool. But them 550EX's be expensive.

patch29

wxwax wrote:

Cool. But them 550EX's be expensive.

but portable, controllable and lightweight. If you already have one all you need is a second one. Not super expensive when you compare it to professional strobe equipment, not as versatile either, but usually a lot less expensive.

lynnma

patch29 wrote:

but portable, controllable and lightweight. If you already have one all you need is a second one. Not super expensive when you compare it to professional strobe equipment, not as versatile either, but usually a lot less expensive.

I'm going to attempt to figure out how to correctly use my built in flash and think about purchasing another flash unit.. I'm feeling like I'm never going to learn all I need to learn without a class of some kind....I'm floundering around like a fish out of water.. (no pun intended Fish if you read this)
Lynnyma

gecko

one word for you calamet

finest strobes for the portrait photographer

patch29

lynnma wrote:

I'm going to attempt to figure out how to correctly use my built in flash and think about purchasing another flash unit.. I'm feeling like I'm never going to learn all I need to learn without a class of some kind....I'm floundering around like a fish out of water.. (no pun intended Fish if you read this)
Lynnyma

A separate flash unit will be a lot better than just the on camera flash (Even a simple Canon Speedlite). Even if you just bounce with a Sto-fen or Lumiquest or put it on a bracket the light will start to get much better.

patch29

gecko wrote:

one word for you calamet

finest strobes for the portrait photographer

Calumet makes some very nice lights for the price. They also offer a wide selection of other brands. I have used most of them and they all have their pros and cons. When I finally bought a set I went with Pro-foto. They are awesome. Now I find I can usually get by with 3 Canon 550EX speedlites and get what I need. Not the easiest to use or as nice as the Pro-foto's but they get the job done. I only feel guilty that the Pro-foto's are sitting around collecting dust. :cry


http://www.profoto.com/

lynnma

patch29 wrote:

A separate flash unit will be a lot better than just the on camera flash (Even a simple Canon Speedlite). Even if you just bounce with a Sto-fen or Lumiquest or put it on a bracket the light will start to get much better.

Yes.. thanks Patch, I think thats the way to go for now...seeing as I'm not opening my own studio any time soon .. now I have to go on line and find out what a Sto-fen or Lumiquest is.....
Thanks
Lynn
found 'em... now gotta figure out how to use 'em BUT where there's a will there's a way.

tmlphoto

lynnma wrote:

Yes.. thanks Patch, I think thats the way to go for now...seeing as I'm not opening my own studio any time soon .. now I have to go on line and find out what a Sto-fen or Lumiquest is.....
Thanks
Lynn
found 'em... now gotta figure out how to use 'em BUT where there's a will there's a way.

I'm certainly no expert, but I have been reading about studio lighting lately. Several sources have suggested a single mono-light and a reflector as a simple, relatively inexpensive way to get into studio type lighting. These lights are not too heavy and are very versatile. I suppose an umbrella or soft box would be helpful as well. The book, "Basic Studio Lighting" by Tony L. Corbell is a really basic, well written text about the subject. I picked it up at amazon.com.
I hope this helps.

lynnma

tmlphoto wrote:

I'm certainly no expert, but I have been reading about studio lighting lately. Several sources have suggested a single mono-light and a reflector as a simple, relatively inexpensive way to get into studio type lighting. These lights are not too heavy and are very versatile. I suppose an umbrella or soft box would be helpful as well. The book, "Basic Studio Lighting" by Tony L. Corbell is a really basic, well written text about the subject. I picked it up at amazon.com.
I hope this helps.

Yes it does help a lot, thanks Thomas I'll go to amazon right now...
Lynn

gecko

actually thats perfectly true, thats really all you need is an umbrella and a good monolight

tmlphoto

gecko wrote:

actually thats perfectly true, thats really all you need is an umbrella and a good monolight

Here is a web site for one brand of monolights. They start at about $400. I don't know about any particular brand. I have read somewhere that you don't need a really strong flash for most digital work. I'm sure someone out there know a whole lot more about this.

www.white-lightning.com

gecko

the way i see it, if you are psending 400 for a light you might as well go the extra 200 and get a calumet monolight 750

my old professor works for maxin and a coupla other fashion magazines, and he swears by them