4k Set up

Hey all, question for everyone.

If someone gave you $4,000 create a general lighting set up (not alien bees) what would you choose to be in your kit? Assuming you already have PW's and a camera?

pakololo wrote in post #17585804
Hey all, question for everyone.

If someone gave you $4,000 create a general lighting set up (not alien bees) what would you choose to be in your kit? Assuming you already have PW's and a camera?

Heya,

I guess it matters if the goal is to be portable and used outdoors, or in a studio setting where portability isn't as important and one could focus on modifiers and better lights in general. Could be pretty different setups. You could have a fleet of tons of portable lights, or you could have 2 really good strobes and the whole budget be saturated.

Why "not alien bees" ?

I would prefer a portable setup almost every time, even inside, because I like less wires (no wires if possible) and because I mostly shoot outside.

I've danced around with a bit of gear and I think overall, if someone gave me $4k, for what I do at least, here's what I'd get (being reasonable based on experience so far as this is the stuff I have or have experience with so far). To give it context, I shoot mostly outside for portrait, and when inside, I like to use speedlites due to size, and I like powerful lights for overpowering the sun. I'm still learning though. I know there are "better" lights, but I'm happy with a few that I've used so far, and wouldn't mind having a few more. So here's what I'd get for $4k (and it's mostly just doubling up on what I already have):

Yongnuo 568EXII x 1 (for TTL/HSS on the go, for non-planned moments, the "general" light I'd take when I go places and travel, etc)
Yongnuo 560TX x 1 controller (remotely control power levels of 560 III's)
Yongnuo 560 III x 3 (pile of portable wireless receiving lights that fit in a little bag no problem)
Yongnuo 622TX x 1 controller (to talk to the 622c's and control settings remotely)
Yongnuo 622c x 2 with sync cables (for remote HSS)
Godox S-Brackets for Speedlites x 3 (I like these just to hold speedlites, modifiers, etc, universally great)
Cheetahstand x 2 (I recently got one and I love it's portability, durability and stability with the boom, for the cost)
Generic light duty portable light stands x 2 (just some cheap stands that are small and super portable, they hold speedlites fine)
Flashpoint RoveLight 600B x 2 (portable 600ws strobes, recently got one after reading a lot and seeing it's results here, great portable strobe)
Fotodiox 48" Ez-Pro Octa x 2 (portable 48" softbox, collapses, very neat and has good light output)
Westscott 43" Umbrella x 3 (portable, cheap, super effective, fits in your bag so you always have a modifier on the go if needed)
Rogue FlashBender II x 1 (portable bounce diffuser for on the go, non-planned stuff, goes with the 568EXII often)
Rosco/Rogue gels for speedlites (couple packs of CTO's mostly)

Overall, about $2.2k for everything new.

I'd save the other $1.8k for more modifiers and some extra batteries for everything and some fancy travel pelican boxes and "in case money" for when something inevitably breaks and needs to be replaced quickly. I shoot near water often. It's just going to happen, the question is... when.

Again, I know there's better equipment, but I'm basing it on what I've used or experienced in some way, so that I'm not just going after the best based on reviews or something, since I'm not a professional anyways. I mostly try to do it on a budget that is realistic to my skill level, which is amateur/hobbyist at this point.

I have about half of this currently, so I'm working towards it slow as I learn lighting on the go.

Very best,

Thats a very large budget. I don't even think I'm near 2300 for all I own.

People take pictures of different things, in different places, with different degrees of ambient light that they might, or might not want to have contributing to the shot.

And they do it with different skill levels.

What I'm saying is that your use of the word "general" makes it difficult to answer your question. But that is working under the assumption that since you included using PWs, you are really asking what we think you should buy.

Inside
4x Bowens Gm500 pros plus Ix Pulsar Radio Trigger
1x Bowens Beauty Dish 500 mm
1x Snoot
Outside :
4x canon 600 ex rt plus STE3 Radio trigger

Both
2 x Bowens Reflective 1.4 meter diam umbrellas
2x Stands
2x Bowens backlight stands ( low level and cheap)