help buying studio lights

[mike774u]

Could someone please help educate me? I am new to photography and would like to buy some studio lights. I have been looking at the Allein Bees (Busy Bee Package) and the White-lightning (The Remote Studio Setup Package) as well as the JTL’s and Bowens. I am at a loss of which type of lights I would need. I see the Strobe, Mono, constant, modeling and not to mention the different power levels. I will be shooting all digital and in small spaces (garage, bedroom, living room). I do not want to go pro but would like to achieve pro results. I sure would appreciate any help you could give me in making a dession of what I need and don’t need.



Tomorrow my Sekonic L-588R light meter will be here and would like to get the lights soon. I have been buying the good lenses and would like to see what I can get out of them now.



Thanks for your help,

Mike

[chtgrubbs]

Strobe and flash are the same thing. Constant lights are very bright tungsten lights, which generate alot of heat and are less pleasant to work with, although they are less expensive. The modelling light is the bulb in a flash head which allow you to see the direction and effect of the strobe light before makeing the photo. If you are shooting digital in small spaces you won't need gobs of power, maybe two strobes at 200-400 Watt/second power, and a smaller unit of 100-200 WS. I wouldn't get too hung up on brands. Bowens, White lightning ( and Alien Bees, made by the same company) have been around for quite a while and offer service for the future. I have seen the JTL lights at Showcase Photo in Atlanta and they look like very good units, but they are new on lthe market and don't have a track record yet. But do get strobes with continuously variable power output. It is much easier to adjust to get just the right lighting ratio between lights. When you are working in small spaces sometimes you can't move the fill light back two more feet, but you can dial the power down. I prefer light boxes to umbrellas, but umbrellas are much cheaper and quicker to use. Don't scrimp on stands; get sturdy ones which won't tip over.

[mike774u]

If you are shooting digital in small spaces you won't need gobs of power, maybe two strobes at 200-400 Watt/second power, and a smaller unit of 100-200 WS.
So , I do not need to order the 2-1800 and 2 800w units? I am planning on buying one of the kits that has everything in it. I am going to try and get one with the 2 soft boxes and barn doors and gel filters.
I wouldn't get too hung up on brands. Bowens, White lightning (and Alien Bees, made by the same company) have been around for quite a while and offer service for the future.
So I take it that they are sort of like Banana Republic, GAP and Old Navy. With that being said, would one brand be better built than the others? I would hate to spend over a thousand dollars and end up with cheap plastic that would only last say 5 years. Where if I spent two thousand at first, then it would last 15 years. With me knowing very little about what I am buying I just don't want to take a wrong turn at the beginning of my hobby then have to back track.
Don't scrimp on stands; get sturdy ones which won't tip over
Would the stands in say the Busy Bee package fall into that category? Should I buy separate?


Thanks for your input.

Mike

[mjordan]

If you need the complete package, look at the SP line of Excalibur monolights. You can find them on B&H as well as other places. You can get the lights, stands and umbrella as a kit (they have one with a bag as well) cheaper than just about anyone else that sells good quality monolights. I bought my 3 Excalibur lights back in 2000 (SP 6400, SP3200 and SP 1600) and they are still going strong and do everything I need to do in my living room turned studio.

Since you are new at this and it's only going to be a hobby, why pay more than you have to right now? If you decide to get serious in a few years, you will know a lot more about using lights and what works for you and if you have to upgrade then you will have a better idea of what you need. If you never go beyound using them occassionaly, then why spend more money than you need to?

The Alien Bees are smaller, but they have a fan. The SP's are designed to not need a fan, so run quieter. The Alien Bees have a little brighter modeling light, but in a small space, the extra heat might not be desired. I believe the Alien Bees do allow you to reduce power a bit more than the SP's. This might be desireable for you in a small space. The SP 6400 (640 watt seconds) and SP 3200 (320 watt seconds) have slider bars to adjust both flash power and modeling light power. The SP 1600 (160 watt second) uses a toggle switch for full, half, quarter pwer. I like the continuous slider much better. The Alien Bees are continuous for both as well I believe.

Another consideration, rather than monolights, is the continuous lights that use floresent or other cool light output rather than hot incadesent or Halogen lights. For a small area, they are plenty bright but don't put off the heat of the Halogen modeling lights that monolights use. I don't use my modeling lights all that much for light placements, I use them to make focusing easier.

Another consideration, the cost of softboxes, snoots, barndoors, large reflectors, umbrellas, light stands, etc. SP sells name brand add on equipment under their name but cheaper than others.

Mike

[mike774u]

Thanks Mike for the detailed response. I will take a look at the SP line of Excalibur. I don't mind paying the extra money as long as I am getting something that does not put limits to my learning. Nothing would aggervate me more than to start figuring something out...then going damn, I could do this if I had at first bought that. I am a true believer in you get what you pay for. I am also a single engineer that has room mates ;) so it doesn't hurt me too bad to buy that quality that may cost a little more. Right now I am torn between The Busy Bee package and the white-lightning The remote studio package. I know they are both made by the same company but I do not know what the quality difference is from one to the other. But, I am off now to read up on these Excalibur's. Thanks for your help.
Mike