Decided on 2x Einstein 640 now need help on modifiers

Sometimes I love these forums, and sometimes I loathe these forums (usually when I look at my credit card bills!). My wife and I are having our first child and are due in January. I convinced my wife that a small in-home studio for the baby would be a great idea, and she agreed to let me pick up some new equipment.

I was initially looking at a really basic setup... 2x Alien bee B800, a couple light stands, and a couple PLMs, with a PC Cord to trigger...

A few people here suggested looking at a single Einstein 640 instead of the two B800s, for better color consistency, more power and control I did a bit of research, and read through reviews, and convinced myself that that was the way to go. I'm a gadget geek, and the Einstein paired with the Cyber Commander and I was instantly in geeky gadget heaven. I have now convinced myself that I might as well get 2 Einsteins while I'm at it... Now I'm second guessing my modifiers...

I will probably have my stuff setup in the babies room which is about 10x10, but can move into our master bedroom or living room (both about ~12x20) if I need more space...

Given that, I wasn't sure if the 64" PLMs I'm looking at make sense. Not the biggest spaces to be working in... I was planning to get the front diffuser, and back blackouts for the PLMs but wasn't sure how much control I'd get with it. I was planning on getting the white PLM so I had the option of shooting through, or bouncing back and using the optional diffuser & blackouts for better control and softer light...

Would I be better off getting a soft box instead? the PCB softboxes seem a bit expensive... are they worth it or should I get a different brand... if i get a different brand, do I need a special speedring/adapter to fit it on the einstein? Any suggestions would be helpful.

I showed my wife my initial budget which totaled ~ $1700 (which includes ~$200 in shipping from PCB!) This includes:

2 Einsteins
2 13' Lightstands
2 7" reflectors
1 Cyber Commander
1 Cyber Sync Trigger Transmitter
2 Cyber Sync Tranceivers
2 64" PLM w/ Diffusers & Blackouts

I'm looking into getting lightstands from BH instead, as shipping for the 2 lightstands was ~$60! BH's shipping was ~$30...

Also, one more thing, we don't have high ceilings ~8'-9'... The 13' light stand is a bit too tall, but I wanted some flexibility, and also read that the stands are bit more sturdy if not extended to full height (though 13' light stands only extended to about 6-7' is a bit of overkill, but if I ever do move outside, I have the ability to extend up higher if I want to... Would getting just a 10' stand make more sense?

any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated... thanks!

Wow, no responses. Hehe, this is the first time I've posted here and got zero responses or comments. Would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

I can't offer any help myself since I just bought my PCB stuff as well, so wondering about the same things.

Which light stands from B&H were you looking at? I think the 13' stands are indeed sturdier and if you do any work outdoors, that might be a factor. (?) I have some cheap medium duty Calumet branded stands but I am looking to upgrade to better ones.

As for modifiers, I decided to get a beauty dish and am currently deciding whether to get a PCB 47" Octabox or not...

Be interested in seeing what you decide to do!

I would also get the mini lithiums batteries I would buy two one for each they are light and do a great job I use them with elinchrom 600 rx . Turned down a bit they recycle fine, I would also rething the einstiens as they do not do well with heavy modifiers.

are you talking about the speedring clips bending/breaking on the einsteins? thought that was addressed, and redesigned?

BHPhoto had some 13' impact air dampend stands for ~$50 and some 9.5' manfrotto ones for about $80 each... either way it ends up being a little cheaper due to shipping...

I may get the batteries in the future, but for now, it's not necessary, as I will be shooting primarily indoors. Photography is just a hobby for me, and I do not forsee any need at this time to shoot outdoors or unplugged. If anything, I may shoot some of my friends kids at their place, so I will just break down, and set everything back up at their place. LoL, if i did buy the vagabond mini, I'd probably use it more to charge my tablet, cellphone, whatever else while I'm on the go :P

The 13' PCB lightstands are actually really nice. A bit pricey for what they are but beat my impact lightstands by miles. It's study enough to hold the strobe and modifier without any issues but also light enough to pick up and move around. I don't trust anything more than my speedlights on the impact stands and also got a Cheetah combi boom stand a few weeks ago which is incredibly built but also beyond heavy for outdoor or on the go shooting. I can easily handle and pickup my PCB 13' stand with my Einstein and large octa and VB mini hanging from it with ease.

Shipping to hawaii really sucks from PCB. Taking the light stands off my order dropped shipping by $60! BHPhotos shipping for two stands was half that! If I don't get the PCB stands, I won't need any special adapters to get the lights to fit on the stands right?

Lol any suggestions on light stand brands? I just looked at manfrotto cause I have a manfrotto tripod and like the build quality of it. Looking for something that is sturdy and will last...

Cheetah.. Either the light stands or the booms

http://www.cheetahstan​d.com …-Cheetah-Stand/Categories

http://www.cheetahstan​d.com …Century-Stands/Categories

Lol, crap shipping on two 12ft cheetah stands is $90! Guess I'm back to square one. Found some manfrotto stands on amazon with free shipping...

Get Calumet stands.
They work great and are reasonable.
Also, get one silver and one white PLM. Diffusion panel for front of Silver and use the white as shoot through for fill. A second white diffusion panel and the black backing for the white gives you a third option.

When the new soft silver becomes available you may want one of those as well.

Here is one of my gallery sites. All these were shot with PLMs (except Rachel) Char and Yelana where shot in the living room of a house and apartment. All these used 86" Silver PLM for main and 64" white PLM for fill.

Personally I don't know what the fascination with PLM is. Maybe it is big and cheap. I would get a medium or large softbox and grid and start from there. I know it is lot more money but if you want to learn that is good way to start. Just my 2 cents.

That whole design on the einstien and alien bee white lighting balcar for holding modifiers sucks period.

bobbyz wrote in post #12874140
Personally I don't know what the fascination with PLM is. Maybe it is big and cheap. I would get a medium or large softbox and grid and start from there. I know it is lot more money but if you want to learn that is good way to start. Just my 2 cents.

I imagine the PLM would provide a different type of lighting from what a softbox would provide. Something brighter and more specular yet, at the same time, soft, assuming the light is not focused as a spot light. Just guessing, though, since I don't have a PLM myself, but I have seen some really nice pictures taken with them that I can't emulate with any of my softboxes short of taking all the diffusion panels off (on the biggest Octa I have).

dseelig wrote in post #12874165
That whole design on the einstien and alien bee white lighting balcar for holding modifiers sucks period.

How does it suck? Are they weak, do they break, are they hard to use,do they not hold the modifiers?

Regarding the interest n the PLMs I was initially looking at umbrellas and stumbled across them. Saw some nice examples and figured it would be a decently flexible starting point. Shoot through bounce back with diffuser and blackouts to control spill.

I was also looking at softboxes, but wasn't sure what size to get... only advice I was seeing repeated was get the bigest one you can... sample pics I've seen with softboxes were also very nice...buthey are a bit more expensive.

The einstein mount is fine imho. I haven't used a B800/1600 so I couldn't say the same but here's a video I made for someone who wanted to know if there was any movement when the BD is mounted on it...

http://vimeo.com/26041​464

Haven't had any issues yet aside from when I first got it in and mounted my large otca without double checking to make sure the springs were locked in place.