your thoughts on this setup?

Jaraviss · September 7, 2007

as mentioned before, i want to do portrait photography for my friends/children
(hobby..not money making).

i know i have *TONS* to learn about my camera adn photography in general...but for some reason i really want to buy a light set up *NOW*
LOL sorry.

anyway..
your thoughts on this?
a local camera store is having a lighting class and if you go to the class you get 10% off a purchase of the photoflex products.

http://www.photoflex.com/Hidden/Special/Fall_Promo_1/index.html

let me know what you think, please.

Thanks!
-G

Jaraviss · September 7, 2007

...or even this guy to get me started?
http://www.photoflex.com/First_Studio_Products/First_Studio_Portrait_Kit/index.html

thanks for any input you can provide.

-G

rpcrowe · September 12, 2007

My input...
The first setup seems over priced. You are getting two strobes with two stands and a soft box for one and a umbrella for the other.

I have not itemized the difference in prices between the first setup and other strobe setups.

You might want to look at the Alienbee strobes:

http://www.alienbees.com/flash.html

It seems to me that two Alienbee strobes compatible to the strokbes in kit #1 would cost:

B1600 $360
B800 $279
Total: $640

You could certainly get a pair of stands and a soft box and umbrella for a lot less than the Stroboflach outfit.

Another type strobe you may want to look at is the Sunpak Platinum Series Monolights:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=sunpak+platinum&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=product.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

Sunpak has a series of Platinum and Platinum Plus monolights and all accessories at reasonable prices.

I have an older 400WS Sunpak monolight that works just fine. I also have the Sunpkk 120J small strobe unit which is just dandy.

I would expect that you could get a four light setup:

Key: 800WS $350
Fill: 500WS $302
Background: 300WS $188
Hair: 150WS $143
Total: $983

I would get two softboxes: Ideal would be one 24X47" $149 and one 24x24 $99. However a 24x48" softbox is a large piece of equipment an you would need a high ceiling to make use of this size soft box.

I would get at least one boom stand, two regular stands and a short background light stand. There are some very sturdy units available from Amvona on eBay. If you want an umbrella or two, they are also dirt cheap on eBay.

I would get either a radio or IR trigger for the setup so you don't have wires trailing from camera to lights. I use an IR trigger that runs less than $25 on eBay. It has worked perfectly for years and I am only on my second set of AA batteries.

I would stay away from the second setup because it is a hotlight (IE tungsten) setup and can be very hot for your subjects.

Jaraviss · September 12, 2007

thank you!

rpcrowe wrote:

The first setup seems over priced. You are getting two strobes with two stands and a soft box for one and a umbrella for the other.

I have not itemized the difference in prices between the first setup and other strobe setups.

You might want to look at the Alienbee strobes:

http://www.alienbees.com/flash.html

It seems to me that two Alienbee strobes compatible to the strokbes in kit #1 would cost:

B1600 $360
B800 $279
Total: $640

You could certainly get a pair of stands and a soft box and umbrella for a lot less than the Stroboflach outfit.

Another type strobe you may want to look at is the Sunpak Platinum Series Monolights:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=sunpak+platinum&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=product.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

Sunpak has a series of Platinum and Platinum Plus monolights and all accessories at reasonable prices.

I have an older 400WS Sunpak monolight that works just fine. I also have the Sunpkk 120J small strobe unit which is just dandy.

I would expect that you could get a four light setup:

Key: 800WS $350
Fill: 500WS $302
Background: 300WS $188
Hair: 150WS $143
Total: $983

I would get two softboxes: Ideal would be one 24X47" $149 and one 24x24 $99. However a 24x48" softbox is a large piece of equipment an you would need a high ceiling to make use of this size soft box.

I would get at least one boom stand, two regular stands and a short background light stand. There are some very sturdy units available from Amvona on eBay. If you want an umbrella or two, they are also dirt cheap on eBay.

I would get either a radio or IR trigger for the setup so you don't have wires trailing from camera to lights. I use an IR trigger that runs less than $25 on eBay. It has worked perfectly for years and I am only on my second set of AA batteries.

I would stay away from the second setup because it is a hotlight (IE tungsten) setup and can be very hot for your subjects.

we settled on some "beginner home studio" kit by Interfit.
i'm not at home..but i think it's the InterFit EX150.

so far so good

2 stands, 2 lights (low wattage tho)
an umbrella and a softbox.

we purchased an IR trigger to fire them.

they're good enough for us to learn on and we'll upgrade later when we're "ready"
at that time we'll use these as fill lights or background lights,etc.

tahnks!

if you have time, go check the technique thread for pics taken with this setup.

thansk again!
-G

rpcrowe · September 13, 2007

You should be very happy...
Most photographers in "home studios" do not need high power strobe setups because, in the average home (even using a garage) you do not have a lot of room to shoot. Not having a lot of room means that you don't have to light large areas.

You can do very well with a couple of 150 Watt units. Especially for head and shoulders or children/pet photos. You will want the lights fairly close to your subject in order to get the softest lighting. So lighting relatively small areas with lights that are positioned close to the subject doesn't take large amounts of power.

One thing which I would consider for the future is a boom stand. Perhaps when you add your next light to your set, you might combine it with a boom stand. You can get your lights fairly close to yoiur subject without worrying about the stands getting in the way or knocking over the stands.

I have also found that using a softbox (or umbrella for that matter) from directly overhead and another softbox or umbrella from near the camera position can give you very pleasing light.

your thoughts on this setup?

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