Looking for a starter lighting set up

ETTL is fine, but controlling ratios is not for the faint at heart.

an upside to a strobe such as alien bees is, in addition to more power, you also get a modeling lamp so you can see how your light is going to hit your subject.

downside is, in addition to cost, if you want portability, you'll have to get a power pack such as their vagabond II or vagabond mini = $$$

speedlites, such as the manual yongnuo ones I suggested above, are inexpensive, and portable.

in both cases, you'll need light stands and wireless triggers, as the 7D wouldn't be able to trigger the alien bees or yongnuo speedlites.

all depends on what you want to dive into, and at what cost.

You can get modifiers for speedlights, and there are manufacturers making mounts now for the speedlights. That didn't used to be the case.

yes, I didn't even talk about costs of modifiers for strobes in the last post. the "shopping list" i posted included two 40" umbrella softboxes, which can actually be used with speedlites or strobes.

you can get a calumet genesis 300b strobe that comes with the battery pack already so you can use it away from plug ins. its comparable to a alien bees b800 output wise... $399 so it would leave you $100 to get a cheap stand and modifier to get started.

If anyone wanted to make a sizeable amount of money - all they would need to do is manufacture a 'speedlight starter kit" - in a 1, 2 or 3 light kit.

YN Speedlights
RF-602 / RF-603
Manfrotto light stands
Choice between softbox / umbrella
+ accessories (shoe mount etc)

for around $300-350..

Cue millions.

PWard wrote in post #12476194
I had a different setup when I started, and it's cheaper than the setup mentioned above ergarding off-camera speedlites.

Shopping List:

http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1300936​992&sr=1-1 Yongnuo-560 Manual Flash @ $70 each x2 = $140

http://cgi.ebay.com …ts_JN&hash=item​35ad027edd Yonguo RF-602 wireless trigger set $60

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​847&sr=8-1 TWO 40" umbrella softboxes $30

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​878&sr=8-5 TWO light stands $40

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​890&sr=8-1 umbrella mount $30 X 2 = $60

total of around $330....less than the cost of a 580 EX II flash.

$500 - $330 = 170...and go buy yourself Zack Arias' OneLight DVD used

is that umbrella mount a hot shoe mount also? or just mounts the umbrella? if a hot shoe mount, does the rf602 receiver get in the way at all?

the rf-602s have a tripod mount underneath the unit. it would attach to the brass connector, so no, it wouldn't get in the way.

the cold shoe mount isn't listed, but these are the ones I use --> http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1306641​761&sr=8-4

costs $13 each


I don't have them anymore to take a second look. I switched over to Cactus V5 units.