Looking for a starter lighting set up

OK... i'm looking to dip my toe in the water of flash photography, i've been shooting for several years and have never really had much to do with strobes of any kind, i mainly shoot animal portraits and would like to maybe do some human portraits , and just have a decent arsenal of to have on hand should the need call for it, i've budgeted about $500 to start, would i be better with Speedlights with softboxes or something like Alienbees with BD's or umbrellas ? My main body is a 7D which has a wireless trigger incorperated i believe?, so do i need triggers?
any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

$500 is a great budget to start actually.

I started playing with off camera flash photography about a year ago and have built up a nice little setup that I think would match your budget.

First off, you want some speedlites. I also have a 7D and yes, you can use Canon brand speedlites to trigger wirelessly. The problem is, if you are outside in bright sunlight or there is not a direct line of sight between the camera's flash and the speedlite, it wont trigger. A solution to this is to get wireless triggers. Pocket wizards are the best, but they are very expensive and will probably take up all of your budget. I would suggest to get something cheap to start like some Cactus triggers (I have cactus V2s that I picked up from ebay for 35 shipped. Came with 1 transmitter and 2 receivers).

The canon brand speedlites are also a bit expensive (250+ to start for a 430EX II for example). I have one 430EX II but recently picked up two Vivitar DF383 flashes. They work amazing and have had no problems and cost me about $125 each on amazon shipped.

You'll need some light stands now. You can get light stands for about $20 or $30+. I personally picked up two manfrotto nano light stands at about $50 a piece. They are great because they fold up quite nicely and are great for traveling but unfold to a very nice size lightstand which you can use for all of your work with no problem.

Next you'll want 1 or 2 shoot through umbrellas. You can get these for about $20-$30 each as well. Brand doesn't really matter here.

Lastly, you need an adapter for your lightstand to hold both the flashes as well as the umbrellas. You can get these for about $30 each.

If you add all that up (assuming you get two of each):

(2) Vivitar DF383 @ $125 each
(1) set of Cactus V2s recievers/transmitter @ ~$35
(2) manfrotto light stands @ $50 each
(2) shoot through umbrellas @ 25 each
(2) umbrella/flash adapters @ $30 each
---------------
Grand total of approximately: $495.

I think that's a great start and pretty much resembles exactly what I have currently.

Please note though that I do not use ETTL. I'm all manual when it comes to the flash power/zoom as well as manual mode on my camera so I use the aperture/shutter speed to control the type of shots I produce. If you want to shoot ETTL with a wireless system, I think pocketwizard just came out w/ something that allows you to shoot wirelessly with their system without losing ETTL functionality. It's a bit pricey though (but worth it if you want to still use ETTL). Personally, now that I learned how to control the light manually, I have not used ETTL.

Check out this blog post I did a few days ago with a picture of the gear if you want a better look. Hope this helped!

http://www.jasonsanche​zphotography.com …r-portable-lighting-setup

gratuitous plug for my Elinchrom lights for sale. Nice setup that you won't regret buying

SanchezPhotography wrote in post #12471276
$500 is a great budget to start actually.

I started playing with off camera flash photography about a year ago and have built up a nice little setup that I think would match your budget.

First off, you want some speedlites. I also have a 7D and yes, you can use Canon brand speedlites to trigger wirelessly. The problem is, if you are outside in bright sunlight or there is not a direct line of sight between the camera's flash and the speedlite, it wont trigger. A solution to this is to get wireless triggers. Pocket wizards are the best, but they are very expensive and will probably take up all of your budget. I would suggest to get something cheap to start like some Cactus triggers (I have cactus V2s that I picked up from ebay for 35 shipped. Came with 1 transmitter and 2 receivers).

The canon brand speedlites are also a bit expensive (250+ to start for a 430EX II for example). I have one 430EX II but recently picked up two Vivitar DF383 flashes. They work amazing and have had no problems and cost me about $125 each on amazon shipped.

You'll need some light stands now. You can get light stands for about $20 or $30+. I personally picked up two manfrotto nano light stands at about $50 a piece. They are great because they fold up quite nicely and are great for traveling but unfold to a very nice size lightstand which you can use for all of your work with no problem.

Next you'll want 1 or 2 shoot through umbrellas. You can get these for about $20-$30 each as well. Brand doesn't really matter here.

Lastly, you need an adapter for your lightstand to hold both the flashes as well as the umbrellas. You can get these for about $30 each.

If you add all that up (assuming you get two of each):

(2) Vivitar DF383 @ $125 each
(1) set of Cactus V2s recievers/transmitter @ ~$35
(2) manfrotto light stands @ $50 each
(2) shoot through umbrellas @ 25 each
(2) umbrella/flash adapters @ $30 each
---------------
Grand total of approximately: $495.

I think that's a great start and pretty much resembles exactly what I have currently.

Please note though that I do not use ETTL. I'm all manual when it comes to the flash power/zoom as well as manual mode on my camera so I use the aperture/shutter speed to control the type of shots I produce. If you want to shoot ETTL with a wireless system, I think pocketwizard just came out w/ something that allows you to shoot wirelessly with their system without losing ETTL functionality. It's a bit pricey though (but worth it if you want to still use ETTL). Personally, now that I learned how to control the light manually, I have not used ETTL.

Check out this blog post I did a few days ago with a picture of the gear if you want a better look. Hope this helped!

http://www.jasonsanche​zphotography.com …r-portable-lighting-setup

Thanks for taking the time to reply i appreciate it

Been at least three threads like this in the last day or so.
I think we need a "I Need A Starter Kit" forum...or a sticky with basic information on various indoor/outdoor starter kits!

hawk911 wrote in post #12471378
gratuitous plug for my Elinchrom lights for sale. Nice setup that you won't regret buying

Are they a good starter set up ? and what kinda money would you want for them

Kechar wrote in post #12475865
Been at least three threads like this in the last day or so.
I think we need a "I Need A Starter Kit" forum...or a sticky with basic information on various indoor/outdoor starter kits!

Certainly sounds like A good idea, there are so many variables and brand names to know whats good and whats not, it would be great if someone had the time to write up a little something on, inside vs outside lighting and the differing brands out there

Is this a good starter set up
http://london.kijiji.c​a …be-Kit-W0QQAdIdZ264818116
and could this be made portable by adding a power unit to it ?

Don't get caught up in the brand name thing. get one light one, light modifier one stand and one reflector....learn how to use it, master it and prolly you will need just one more light....Again whatever your wallet allows...

I use the older canon 430ez and 540ez flashes with yongnuo 602 triggers.

Wonderful...

You have to set the power manually though, but that soon becomes instinctive...

When I started out, I pieced together an inexpensive portable lighting kit. I wanted something portable and easy to manage.

I came up with this...

Shopping List:

Yongnuo-560 III Manual Flash (built-in wireless triggers)@ $85 each x2 = $170

RF-603 tranceivers - $23

TWO 42" umbrella softboxesor ONE 60" reversible umbrella- $30

TWO light stands $40

Umbrella mount $30 X 2 = $60

Hot-shoe mount $8.99 x 2 = $18

total of around $350....less than the cost of one 580 EX II flash.

add a 42" 5-in-1 reflectorfor another $22, and you are still coming out cheaper than a single 580 EX II flash.

with the many brands of all of the equipment I've listed, you may prefer something else, but this "kit" is more of a starting point and you can add/subtract/replace as necessary.

you don't have to go all crazy when starting out with off-camera flash

UPDATE: I just wanted to comment that prices can and will fluxuate, and the prices listed here may not reflect current market pricing. However, I still believe this to be a great general list for those interested in off-camera flash, and is still a better bargain than a single 580 EX II speedlite.

Your 7D wireless will work perfectly using Canon Speedlites and ETTL. I've been using a 430EX wirelessly with my 60D since last October, and it works very well both indoors and out. I just got a 430EX II as a second flash, so now I have the capability of setting A:B ratios from the camera. Also, this gives me 4 light sources: 2 wireless flashes, the camera's pop-up as fill, and ambient if desired. If you go with the 7D wireless and Canon flashes, you don't need any triggers at all.
I've got light boxes to attach to the flashes (see equipment list below).

Problem with using the IR on the 7d is that:

A) Will only work with line of sight.
B) Bright sunlight can mess it up.
C) Flashes are very expensive.

Just want to throw out the Calumet Genesis option, there cheap and you can get 1 or 2 light kits. there also on sale once or twice a year. With that you can add on some cactus or yongnuo triggers and your good to go.

http://www.calumetphot​o.com …_200_2_light_ki​t/cf0502k1

mtimber wrote in post #12477390
Problem with using the IR on the 7d is that:

A) Will only work with line of sight.
B) Bright sunlight can mess it up.
C) Flashes are very expensive.

A. Outdoors line of sight is indeed necessary. Indoors, reflections mean that you can shoot around corners in modest sized rooms without line of sight.
B. I have shot at 25 feet in sun on new snow, and it worked perfectly last February. Therefore, I don't think B is much of a problem within the range Canon specifies.
C. The decision on flash expense is up to the buyer. DSLRs are arguably very expensive as well.