Need advice on a budget lighting

[hb96tuner]

So I started off with photography almost two years ago, and recently I have been asked to do maternity, and baby shots. But I currently do not own any lighting other than the 580EX flash. I am insterested in getting some backdrops and also some studio lighting but I don't want to spend a small fortune as I am currently saving for a 70-200IS and also upgrading my second body to the 7D.
A friend of mine has some softboxes that he is going to let me play around with to get the feel for it which is great. I am looking through a few ads in a magazines and places on the internet and seeing prices that range from $109.99 -$299.99 for a two light soft box kit.
I would feel comfortable in this price range but are the lighting set ups at this price worth buying?

[dmward]

If you are mostly going to be doing maternity and baby shoots, your 24-105 is the lens you want. The 70-200 is a great lens but not for those subjects.

Regarding lights; big soft box with appropriate moonlight. One is probably enough with a good reflector.
I would want to be able to get to F11 at ISO 200 or less so that probably means 400Ws per light if you get two. $300 will not go very far toward getting the right gear. Two light kits for $300 are probably a waste of money.

Elinchrom has a nice selection of kits built around its D-Lite monos. They are available as 200, 200/400 or 400 kits. Single or double lights. For your intended subjects I'd buy the 200/400 or 400/400 kit.

Another alternative is Alien Bees from Paul C Buff. The best lights they have available are the Einsteins. More pricy but probably the most versatile light available in the market today.

Oh, and for what you want to do, get another 5DII, rather than a 7D.

[hb96tuner]

Originally Posted by dmward

If you are mostly going to be doing maternity and baby shoots, your 24-105 is the lens you want. The 70-200 is a great lens but not for those subjects.

Regarding lights; big soft box with appropriate moonlight. One is probably enough with a good reflector.
I would want to be able to get to F11 at ISO 200 or less so that probably means 400Ws per light if you get two. $300 will not go very far toward getting the right gear. Two light kits for $300 are probably a waste of money.

Elinchrom has a nice selection of kits built around its D-Lite monos. They are available as 200, 200/400 or 400 kits. Single or double lights. For your intended subjects I'd buy the 200/400 or 400/400 kit.

Another alternative is Alien Bees from Paul C Buff. The best lights they have available are the Einsteins. More pricy but probably the most versatile light available in the market today.

Oh, and for what you want to do, get another 5DII, rather than a 7D.

Thank you for the reply! I will google your suggestions when I get some time tomorrow. As for the 70-200, I don't want this lens for maternity or baby shots, its been on my wishlist for quite a while now. I don't know anything about lights what soever, so I I will have to do quite a bit of reading before I spend the money. As for the 7D, I am guessing that by the time I am ready to pull the trigger, the new 5D-III will be out...maybe I will go for that when it's released.

[ceegee]

Originally Posted by hb96tuner

I am looking through a few ads in a magazines and places on the internet and seeing prices that range from $109.99 -$299.99 for a two light soft box kit.
I would feel comfortable in this price range but are the lighting set ups at this price worth buying?

I was in the same boat as you, wanting to try studio lighting, and contrary to all the advice I received, I bought a cheap two-strobe umbrella/softbox kit, used, off my local Craiglist, for $125. While it obviously doesn't provide the quality, power or versatility of the more expensive options, it has been fine for my small home studio, and I've had a lot of fun with it, learning different lighting techniques. If I were making a lot of money from my photography, I would have gone with something of higher quality, but for what I wanted, the setup has been perfectly acceptable. I don't expect it to last forever, and it's not the kind of thing I would transport frequently to clients' locations; it doesn't seem robust enough to set up/tear down on a regular basis. But I've had it for about a year now, and it's still going strong.

As long as you're aware of the limitations of what you're buying, these kits can be ok as startup systems. As for me, I've since bought an Alien Bee 800 and will probably buy another when finances permit, but I haven't been disappointed with my cheap starter kit.

[kfreels]

I bought a set of Flashpoint 320M lights (160 ws) from Adorama and have nothing but positive remarks about them. I've used them at least 30 times and had no trouble whatsoever. I even have a battery pack for one of them which is very convenient. The lights themselves with a stand and a softbox were $124.95 each. Both stands and the softbox are still working fine although you need to be careful not to bang around the stands as they have a plastic collar on them that always worries me. The softbox has an inner baffle which helps provide more even illumination that you usually don't get in a "cheap" lightbox.
The lights have an optical slave or you can sync with a cord or radio slave. The modeling lamps can be turned on and off independently and can be set to adjust along with the flash output adjustment. Altogether I am very pleased and although I itch for some Elinchroms, or Alien Bees, I can't really cost-justify it until these give me problems.

[gonzogolf]

Beware of most of the cheap lighting kits you see advertised. Most of them are continuous lights which are not well suited for your task, and even some that offer flash are junk. Do as kfreels says, and look for a good starter monolight like the flashpoint, or calumet genesis. Get one light to start, you can add more, and a convertible umbrella, and or a softbox. The costs of these lights may be a bit more, but worth it in even the short term.

[HelenOster]

Originally Posted by kfreels

I bought a set of Flashpoint 320M lights (160 ws) from Adorama and have nothing but positive remarks about them.......

Thanks so much for the feedback!

[Buylongterm]

This helps me out as well. Thank you guys!!!

[kfreels]

Originally Posted by HelenOster

Thanks so much for the feedback!

Heck. It's not like positive feedback for Adorama is hard. Adorama just drips with awesomeness! I order something, select free shipping (5-7 days) and it shows up in two. That's my kind of service. The return/exchange policies are awesome as well. I contacted Adorama once regarding a flashpoint light stand that I bought 33 days before and only used for the first time on day 32 when it broke. My bad for not testing it before the first use, but despite being outside the 30 day window you guys replaced it. You even shipped a replacement that same day instead of making me wait for the broken one to return. That was a most excellent experience and I knew then I was dealing with people who cared and understood. Since then, the only time I shop elsewhere is when I need something specific you don't carry.

So do I get a discount for the referral? lol I need a new camera bag for my new Sigma lens I just bought from you!

[HelenOster]

Originally Posted by kfreels

.....Adorama just drips with awesomeness! I order something, select free shipping (5-7 days) and it shows up in two. ...The return/exchange policies are awesome as well. ....the only time I shop elsewhere is when I need something specific you don't carry.

[img]http://***************net/not-tagged-smiley-11368.gif[/img]

[birderman]

Originally Posted by gonzogolf

.... and even some that offer flash are junk. ...

What actually makes them Junk ? Okay they may be cheap and cheerful but as long as they provide sufficient light output and have facility to be triggered when required why wouldn't they suffice to help beginners gain experience and grasp the basics of lighting.

I agree that generally like most tools expensive quality well known brands can make life easier and shorten the learning curve to produce good results, but at same time an amateur using the equipment occasionally, say once or twice a month may have difficulty justifying the expense of professional equipment.

So rather than stating something as being Junk wouldn't be better and more informative to advise on the actual shortcomings of such cheap equipment.

Regards
Birderman

[Buchinger]

Another vote for the Flashpoint 320M's from Adorama. They were actually suggested to me by one of the frequent G&N posters and I was certainly taken aback when he recommended a light kit that I could get under $150 WITH the softbox, monolight, and stand. The lights have tons of options and I've had zero problems so far. They offer affordable modifiers that work great. I just do casual shooting of babies, maternity, portraits etc. I plan on buying another in the near future with the battery pack. Suprisingly, the build quality is good. I expected a loose, plastic / tinfoil unit for the price I was paying - however they are solid with no rattles etc. For the use you are describing, I wouldn't hesitate to get them...

[gonzogolf]

Originally Posted by birderman

What actually makes them Junk ? Okay they may be cheap and cheerful but as long as they provide sufficient light output and have facility to be triggered when required why wouldn't they suffice to help beginners gain experience and grasp the basics of lighting.

I agree that generally like most tools expensive quality well known brands can make life easier and shorten the learning curve to produce good results, but at same time an amateur using the equipment occasionally, say once or twice a month may have difficulty justifying the expense of professional equipment.

So rather than stating something as being Junk wouldn't be better and more informative to advise on the actual shortcomings of such cheap equipment.

Regards
Birderman

What makes them junk? Well I was speaking in general terms about a class of products so I will have to advise generally. Most are underpowered, inconsistent output from pop to pop, build quality is an issue, the components are often proprietary so its impossible to replace bulbs, accessories from them wont work with other brands should you decide to upgrade. The reason I called them junk is that they fail to meet the minimum standards for even casual use. Those packages have a lot of appeal, but if you cant afford the brands mentioned in the posts above (and they are quite reasonably priced) stick with hotshoe flashes which can do an excellent job, and dont buy the junk.

[kfreels]

Originally Posted by birderman

What actually makes them Junk ? Okay they may be cheap and cheerful but as long as they provide sufficient light output and have facility to be triggered when required why wouldn't they suffice to help beginners gain experience and grasp the basics of lighting.

I agree that generally like most tools expensive quality well known brands can make life easier and shorten the learning curve to produce good results, but at same time an amateur using the equipment occasionally, say once or twice a month may have difficulty justifying the expense of professional equipment.

So rather than stating something as being Junk wouldn't be better and more informative to advise on the actual shortcomings of such cheap equipment.

Regards
Birderman

There are inexpensive budget lights of decent quality out there like the Flashpoints, then there are some out on the market that are just junk. I think they were referring to the latter.

[cdifoto]

Originally Posted by hb96tuner

So I started off with photography almost two years ago, and recently I have been asked to do maternity, and baby shots. But I currently do not own any lighting other than the 580EX flash. I am insterested in getting some backdrops and also some studio lighting but I don't want to spend a small fortune as I am currently saving for a 70-200IS and also upgrading my second body to the 7D.
A friend of mine has some softboxes that he is going to let me play around with to get the feel for it which is great. I am looking through a few ads in a magazines and places on the internet and seeing prices that range from $109.99 -$299.99 for a two light soft box kit.
I would feel comfortable in this price range but are the lighting set ups at this price worth buying?

I do everything with Vivitar 283s. No real complaints so far other than the whole no-modeling light issue and the slowish recycle times. I love that one can fall over and snap in two and I can shrug it off while grabbing another one from the bag...they're that inexpensive. Plus, it's usually just the foot that breaks and they're replaced with just two screws and some solder.