Lighting set on sale - opinions?

Ann McRae

My local camera store is advertising this set up:
Opus M-1002 Light kit
2 - 100 w/s monolight heads
2 - 7 ft. light stands
1 - 46 " convertible umbrella
1 - 15" x 15" soft box
1 - 4 leaf barndoor (???)
1 - snoot(???)
1 - honeycomb grid and color filters
1 - heavy duty carry case

for $499.95 cdn

What do you think - is this a good place for me to start?

ann

Shay Stephens

I am not one to usually poopoo inexpensive equipment just because the price is low. When I looked at the info on the kit, it does look like you get a lot of accessories which can be good for learning.

Here are the weak points I see.

• The lights are low power. In a small studio space this may not be much of a problem.
• The light stands are short. But this depends on the ceiling height you have to work with. I really prefer 10 foot stands.
• I don't know anything about the build quality of the kit, but I would assume that you would need to be gentle with it all.
• My guess here is that you would be buying replacement equipment within a year to get better, more power, and or more robust equipment as you advance.

A barn door is a four pane light blocker that goes around the opening of a light. You can move the panes around to prevent light spill from hitting the background, subject, or camera. Very handy.

A snoot is a light modifier that makes a small spotlight effect. Also very handy

Grids also make a spot of light, but the spot gently fades away for a more subtle and broader effect than a snoot.

A 15x15 softbox will be good for headshots, product shots, or a mix of hard and soft light when doing larger full length portraits.

So your question, is this a good place to start, I would say yes and no. If this money is critical to you, I would rather see you get better equipment. Otherwise be prepared to possibly be looking for better equipment down the road.

What do you plan on doing or shooting with your light kit? That might help determine what kind of equipment is best for you.

Ann McRae

Shay Stephens wrote:

Here are the weak points I see.

• The lights are low power. In a small studio space this may not be much of a problem.
• The light stands are short. But this depends on the ceiling height you have to work with. I really prefer 10 foot stands.
• I don't know anything about the build quality of the kit, but I would assume that you would need to be gentle with it all.
• My guess here is that you would be buying replacement equipment within a year to get better, more power, and or more robust equipment as you advance.

A barn door is a four pane light blocker that goes around the opening of a light. You can move the panes around to prevent light spill from hitting the background, subject, or camera. Very handy.

A snoot is a light modifier that makes a small spotlight effect. Also very handy

Grids also make a spot of light, but the spot gently fades away for a more subtle and broader effect than a snoot.

A 15x15 softbox will be good for headshots, product shots, or a mix of hard and soft light when doing larger full length portraits.

So your question, is this a good place to start, I would say yes and no. If this money is critical to you, I would rather see you get better equipment. Otherwise be prepared to possibly be looking for better equipment down the road.

What do you plan on doing or shooting with your light kit? That might help determine what kind of equipment is best for you.

Thank you Shay. This is very helpful. I really do not like buying equipment that will need replacing. I am thinking that I am going to need lighting equipment for team and individual sports photos. I have been 'getting by' without, but would like to step it up a notch. I am in contention for a 1400 kid league this spring, and cannot rely on the weather for outdoors photos for them all. And of course, once I learn how to use lighting, who knows what will come next.

I priced out the set up that Andy has posted, and it runs about $1100 usd - do you think there is a happy medium price wise? I am truely broke!!! and really want to get a long lens before the outdoor season starts. Not sure when I will get the answer on this soccer league, but do hope it will be early enough to get the lighting equipment and learn how to use it.

Thanks

ann

Shay Stephens

I am thinking that I am going to need lighting equipment for team and individual sports photos. I am in contention for a 1400 kid league this spring, and cannot rely on the weather for outdoors photos for them all.
The kit you posted would do individual portraits, but it would fall short for team photos no doubt. Not enough power in the lights and the lightstands would be too short. With big groups, flat lighting is usually the only practical solution. And you can achieve that with a single flash unit. So to keep within budget, I would focus on a single light setup and a reflector for fill. You can expand to more lights as funds become available.

$40 - 10' light stand
$280 - Alienbees B800
$30 - 48" translucent umbrella

$40 - 10' light stand
$50 - Photoflex litedisc holder
$50 - Photoflex litedisc 32" soft gold/white reflector

With a single light setup, you can get by without needing a light/flash meter. Once you delve into multiple flash lighting, I would recommend a meter. I like the Sekonic L-358.

In the individual portraits, you would use the light and reflector to light the player as needed. In some situations, you won't need to use fill. In other situations you will need to use fill to make the shadows not quite so dark. This is where the reflector comes in. Use it like you would a second light.

For the groups, placing the light high above your camera (or just to either side of the camera) will provide nice even lighting on everyone. Place the light high enough to prevent shadows from players in front from falling on players in back. You won't need to use the reflector for this kind of shot.

Another thing that comes to mind, how big are the group shots you need to shoot?

pathfinder

Ann McRae wrote:

My local camera store is advertising this set up:
Opus M-1002 Light kit
2 - 100 w/s monolight heads
2 - 7 ft. light stands
1 - 46 " convertible umbrella
1 - 15" x 15" soft box
1 - 4 leaf barndoor (???)
1 - snoot(???)
1 - honeycomb grid and color filters
1 - heavy duty carry case

for $499.95 cdn

What do you think - is this a good place for me to start?

ann

Anne, I recently purchased two studio strobes with modelling lights and umbrellas from Adorama - what they call their Wedding Kit for use in a home studio. The strobes are called Flashpoint 620s and are rated at 300 w/s. They are made in China of course. Adorama also sells the 1100 and 1220 which are more powerfull. http://www.adorama.com/FP620PWK.html?searchinfo=Flashpoint%20620&item_no=1
TheFlashpoint 620s have a modeleling light that can be adjusted for brightness and they are capable of being triggered by a PC cord or an on-camera flash unit. The stands are 10 feet tall and seem fairly sturdy. The umbrellas are 42 inchers I think and double layered white inside and black outside. I also purchased a 2x3 foot softbox that fits right onto the nose ring of the strobes.
I used them for the first time this evening and found they worked very nicely. I have no exerience with Alien Bees or other brands so I can't compare really, but being able to know that the lighting was consistent frame to frame and the same color temperature was a great time saver.
The ony problem with using a strobe to trrigger them is that other shooters strobes can also triger them if you are shooting in a public venue, and then they are not recharged when you shoot. I need to look into some Pocket Wizards. The recycle time was about 2-3 seconds for shooting full-power and much shorted for lower power shots. I was shooting a group sing and the strobes were about 25 feet from the choir and my settings were ISO 100, 1/100th/ f11. So there was plenty of light shooting after dark, indoors in a large building,

Shay - which Pocket Wizards should I consider if I want to use two different bodies and two strobes - so that I can trigger both strobes with either body and not have to be concerned with other photographers tripping my strobes?