Portable Studio Kit - Need Some Help!

I have done some research, searched this board, and looked up reviews and my brain is fried so I figured I would ask for some help from POTN!

I am looking for a studio kit that I can throw in and out of a bag (hence the portable part), and take it with me to shoots. I have looked at those cheap ones on Ebay/Amazon and also searched my local Craigslist.

I am assuming that since I will be shooting people for the most part, that I will need a strobe kit as opposed to a continuous lighting kit. With that being said, I would like to find something that I would be able to use with my Canon T2i. I don't know how many stands/strobes I need, if I need a wireless transmitter to activate the flashes of the strobes, any applicable wires, wattage, accessories, batteries/plug ins, etc.

I would like to purchase one of those "all in one kits" of Amazon/Ebay. The cheaper the better. The reason being is because I want to make sure that this is something I will enjoy. I dont know about hauling around a large bag to shoots or just simply using my flash for the things I do.

Any suggestions on where to start would be appreciated.

I was looking at the same thing and came across this:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Flash_Umbrella_​Mount.html

The lightstands are a tad short, and the umbrellas are small enough for portability but only good for a single upper body & headshot or probably 2 person headshot. Two lights is a good start, but I would definitely add a reflector to this kit.

As for the lights, well it depends on your budget. If you're going as cheap as possible then full manual flashes (no ETTL) and simple radio triggers will work. Get a pair of YN-560 manual flashes ($70 each on Amazon) and a set of Yongnuo RF-603 transceivers for around $30ish a pair (also on Amazon). Might also want to get a couple of sandbags (or friends!), umbrellas can get blown over easily. Another option for the radio triggers is Cactus v5, these have better build quality and better mounting feet to keep your gear nice and snug.

Edit: I personally chose to get taller stands and bigger umbrellas so I didn't go for the kit. Also since I had an ETTL flash already, I decided to buy a second 430EX ii and got Pixel Kings ETTL triggers instead.

Capeachy wrote in post #13819180
I was looking at the same thing and came across this:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Flash_Umbrella_​Mount.html

The lightstands are a tad short, and the umbrellas are small enough for portability but only good for a single upper body & headshot or probably 2 person headshot. Two lights is a good start, but I would definitely add a reflector to this kit.

As for the lights, well it depends on your budget. If you're going as cheap as possible then full manual flashes (no ETTL) and simple radio triggers will work. Get a pair of YN-560 manual flashes ($70 each on Amazon) and a set of Yongnuo RF-603 transceivers for around $30ish a pair (also on Amazon). Might also want to get a couple of sandbags (or friends!), umbrellas can get blown over easily. Another option for the radio triggers is Cactus v5, these have better build quality and better mounting feet to keep your gear nice and snug.

Edit: I personally chose to get taller stands and bigger umbrellas so I didn't go for the kit. Also since I had an ETTL flash already, I decided to buy a second 430EX ii and got Pixel Kings ETTL triggers instead.

Thank you for that response! I didnt even think about using flashes! I was so focused on this strobe thing. I can use flashes and dont have to plug anything in that way. Thank you very much. I am going to look some of the items you suggested up.

Oh and without HSS on the flashes, you may need to consider some quality ND filters to keep the shutter speed below the 1/200 and avoid having to really stop down on the aperture. B+W makes some nice ones, just stay away from the 10 stop one. A 2 or 3 stop ND filter should be sufficient.

I am pricing some things out right now. Do you think the YN-565 would be a better option? Also if I am going to do a 2 flash setup, do you use a flash on your camera as well?

With the radio triggers, you don't need a flash on your own camera. A transmitter sits in the hot shoe of your camera and one receiver is needed for each flash.

The YN-565EX is nicer because it has ETTL, but now you need a radio trigger (such as Pixel Kings, Phottix Odin or Pocket Wizards Flex) that also supports ETTL to make use of it. If you bought RF-603 or Cactus V5, then no matter what flash you have, they can only work in manual mode. With ETTL triggers, the possibility increases but you'll have to do a lot more research to see if you can work with the restrictions. For example, Pixel Kings cannot do group A:B ratios in ETTL mode but Odin and Pocketwizard can.

At the end of the day, ETTL is for convenience and assuming that the flash does it right. Sometimes it just gets it wrong and you might find yourself in manual mode anyways.

Note: The YN-565EX cannot do HSS either. Only 430EX and 580EX can do that.

Edit: Canon flashes does have the IR system built into all their flashes which does support full ETTL implementation but only works in line of sight and may be unreliable in bright outdoors. What you need is either a T3i/60D/7D or a ST-E2/580EX on your camera as a master. And then the rest of the Canon flash slaves have to be able to see the camera and respond. If you have a couple of hours to blow, here's what Syl Arena does (he uses a long cable instead of a radio transmitter but does talk about them.) http://www.youtube.com …1&list=PL593BA9​92F2D03938

Capeachy wrote in post #13819393
With the radio triggers, you don't need a flash on your own camera. A transmitter sits in the hot shoe of your camera and one receiver is needed for each flash.

The YN-565EX is nicer because it has ETTL, but now you need a radio trigger (such as Pixel Kings, Phottix Odin or Pocket Wizards Flex) that also supports ETTL to make use of it. If you bought RF-603 or Cactus V5, then no matter what flash you have, they can only work in manual mode. With ETTL triggers, the possibility increases but you'll have to do a lot more research to see if you can work with the restrictions. For example, Pixel Kings cannot do group A:B ratios in ETTL mode but Odin and Pocketwizard can.

At the end of the day, ETTL is for convenience and assuming that the flash does it right. Sometimes it just gets it wrong and you might find yourself in manual mode anyways.

Note: The YN-565EX cannot do HSS either. Only 430EX and 580EX can do that.

Edit: Canon flashes does have the IR system built into all their flashes which does support full ETTL implementation but only works in line of sight and may be unreliable in bright outdoors. What you need is either a T3i/60D/7D or a ST-E2/580EX on your camera as a master. And then the rest of the Canon flash slaves have to be able to see the camera and respond. If you have a couple of hours to blow, here's what Syl Arena does (he uses a long cable instead of a radio transmitter but does talk about them.) http://www.youtube.com …1&list=PL593BA9​92F2D03938

Thanks again for all of the great info, I am going to watch that video tonight!

BuckyN8 wrote in post #13820095
Thanks again for all of the great info, I am going to watch that video tonight!

No problem. The video is a good demo of what you could do with flashes in ETTL. You can then decide whether or not it's worth it for you to go down that path.

For right under $300, $280.97 to be on exact market prices, I think I have put together a cheap (even in quality) but effective starting flash portable studio kit.

2 YN 650 flashes @ $71.63 each
2 YN 603 wireless triggers @ $31.75 each
1 Stand/Umbrella Kit @ $72.99

Just starting out would that be a decent way to go? I know that the stand kit is cheaply made, but for just trying to figure out if this is something I want to get into would you go this route?

Here is an Amazon wish list of the items I think I need. Anything else I would need?

http://amzn.com/w/WIWH​0ECD2BG3

You'll need another Rf-603, one for each flash and one on the camera

check out my sig for a kit I put together and recommend to others. add or remove as you see fit

Fangita wrote in post #13847811
You'll need another Rf-603, one for each flash and one on the camera

Each one of those kits come with 2, so buying 2 of them I would have 4 total which leaves one extra as a backup

PWard wrote in post #13847875
check out my sig for a kit I put together and recommend to others. add or remove as you see fit

I actually meant to shoot you a PM and tell you thank you! I found one of your postings three weeks ago and that is what enticed me to build my own kit with guidance from yours! I am going to go a slightly cheaper route though because if this is something that I want to buy quality items for later on, I have a buyer that will take all of this off my hands with no financial loss to myself.

Ha!, that's funny

good luck with your kit. I still have 90% of mine, and still going strong. The only things I replaced were the wireless triggers (found some PW Plus IIs for a price I couldn't refuse), and I added a Cheetah QBox24. Other than that, I still have the rest of the kit.

BuckyN8 wrote in post #13848168
Each one of those kits come with 2, so buying 2 of them I would have 4 total which leaves one extra as a backup

Ahhh right ok . I got an extra as well to be able to fire the camera remotely, the boxed pairs come with a shutter realease cable