need a quick advice plz

[mosman12]

I am a total newbie with lights and strobes. I decided to try doing some portraits and outdoor shots with strobes (sunset on beach with a friend in bikini those type of shots,etc)

I have an old nikon sb-22 ( can be used as hair light i guess )

so now I have round 550 $ to spend and 2 options

option 1
580ex II + 2 lightstand + 1 softbox + 1 umbrella + radio transmitters.

options 2
2X 300watt china made (no brand) strobes + 2 softboxes + 2 light stands + 2 umbrellas.
I can choose between wether to get umbrellas or soft boxes.

so my question is wether the 580exII + nikon sb22 will give me the same light output of those 2 300watt strobes? I know they may not last a life time but they are for 400$(the whole kit) cheaper than the 580exII alone!!

[bobbyz]

Are you planning to shoot on the beach? How are you going to power your strobes with out AC?

[mosman12]

Are you planning to shoot on the beach? How are you going to power your strobes with out AC?


I wouldn't worry about power as the beach is very close to the house, I can manage a wired connection. ( I am also sure that if i called the store again the should have some kind of cheap china made power supply that goes with the kit)

[jeromego]

I am a total newbie with lights and strobes. I decided to try doing some portraits and outdoor shots with strobes (sunset on beach with a friend in bikini those type of shots,etc)

I have an old nikon sb-22 ( can be used as hair light i guess )

so now I have round 550 $ to spend and 2 options

option 1
580ex II + 2 lightstand + 1 softbox + 1 umbrella + radio transmitters.

options 2
2X 300watt china made (no brand) strobes + 2 softboxes + 2 light stands + 2 umbrellas.
I can choose between wether to get umbrellas or soft boxes.

so my question is wether the 580exII + nikon sb22 will give me the same light output of those 2 300watt strobes? I know they may not last a life time but they are for 400$(the whole kit) cheaper than the 580exII alone!!
i dont think it will give you the same output plus recycle time is a lot slower.

[bobbyz]

If AC power is availble then I would look at one the cheap strobes, mentioned here at POTN. There are bunch of them, you will have to do search as I don't have the link handy. There are from adorama, calumet and some other companies. Better than chinese made eBay stuff, (not that made in china is bad as most if not all the electronics now-a-days is made there).

[mosman12]

If AC power is availble then I would look at one the cheap strobes, mentioned here at POTN. There are bunch of them, you will have to do search as I don't have the link handy. There are from adorama, calumet and some other companies. Better than chinese made eBay stuff, (not that made in china is bad as most if not all the electronics now-a-days is made there).

so I am better off with 2 strobes rather than a 580exII

[bobbyz]

so I am better off with 2 strobes rather than a 580exII

I would say so.

[jeromego]

so I am better off with 2 strobes rather than a 580exII
way better off unless you want portability

[Brett]

Do the strobes have modeling lights? If so, definitely the strobes.

[jeromego]

Do the strobes have modeling lights? If so, definitely the strobes.

most strobes that ive seen (alienbees, genesis, etc...) has a modeling light

[mosman12]

thx, i will go with the strobes

[Brett]

most strobes that ive seen (alienbees, genesis, etc...) has a modeling light

Yeah, but there are cheap eBay strobes that don't.

[mosman12]

those are the ones am about to buy
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Visico-Excel-VC300-Plus-10750

[Moose408]

Almost all of these beach photos were done with a single Nikon SB-24 speedlight and a small softbox (an umbrella would have worked too, it just more likely to catch the wind). You don't need high power strobes if you are shooting in the afternoon/evening. Your SB-22 will probably work fine.

http://www.craigcolvinphotography.com/gallery/7994221_hM3B8#519705166_4SKec

[gooble]

It's not like you can't get enough light with hot-shoe flashes. Look at what Joe McNally, David Hobby and the other strobist types do.

Personally I'd want to go as light weight as possible unless more light is absolutely essential and/or I had assistants to help transport and setup equipment.

The small strobes are an awful lot more handy than big studio types and as the saying goes, the best equipment is stuff you have with you, and with hot-shoe flashes you can carry enough equipment for a three light setup in a small backpack or shoulder bag. I'm not sure you can say that about three studio strobes and battery packs to power them.

[Lightworks Imaging]

Buy cheap, buy twice. That's what my Pop's says. I'm a proponent of the "Strobist" style of lighting. Especially for location shooting. Portability and the fact that a good flash unit, serves more purposes. Just my $0.02.

[mosman12]

Almost all of these beach photos were done with a single Nikon SB-24 speedlight and a small softbox (an umbrella would have worked too, it just more likely to catch the wind). You don't need high power strobes if you are shooting in the afternoon/evening. Your SB-22 will probably work fine.

http://www.craigcolvinphotography.com/gallery/7994221_hM3B8#519705166_4SKec

those are outstanding, the type of lighting i was looking for

looks like the 580ex II along the sb-22 will do the job pretty well and yes portability is another thing i didn't really think about.

what was the size of the soft box you used?

[Moose408]

those are outstanding, the type of lighting i was looking for

looks like the 580ex II along the sb-22 will do the job pretty well and yes portability is another thing i didn't really think about.

what was the size of the soft box you used?

16"x12"

This (http://www.photoflex.com/Photoflex_Products/LiteDome_xs_Kit_1/index.html)is the product I used. I purchased it the day before this shoot and wasn't sure while shooting that it was working, but was very happy with the results when I got back home.

[mosman12]

Just bought the 580ex ii