Setting up basic studio lighting (again)

Hi all, long time no post here!

I am looking at maybe setting up a basic studio lighting rig, in the past I had a set of four Electra 300i strobes with stands and brollies, plus a analogue flash meter, unfortunately these went "missing" at some point during my marriage breakup.

Currently the only flash I have is a Yongnuo Macro Ring flash, my primary body a 6D has no internal flash.

I have noticed quite a few options available as kits that include stands, strobes and cabling, these usually lack remote triggers (I'm not doing hard wired off body again, and anyway I don't think the 6D has a sync port).

Also I see that Yongnuo and several other chinese manufacturers have Speedlite clones available, I have had a good run with my macro ring flash and generally read good things about these clones.

So my thinking is either a pair of Yongnuo's, stands etc plus remote trigger or one of those kits (usually based on Godox in these parts). Major downside from the Yongnuo's would be powering them for extended sessions, but they will be more flexible than the studio strobes. I really don't know how standard flashes compare with studio strobes powerwise, I assume the studio strobes are quite a bit more powerful. The other plus I assume with the Yongnuo's is metering, a flash meter adds a significant cost to the whole setup (when I got started with these studio strobes I metered manually so the meter is not essential).

I did find my old Electra strobes gave me more than enough light and they were only 300w/s. The only sting missing from them was cycling time which wasn't a huge issue for the kinds of work I was doing.

Thoughts?

I think it all comes down to if you will always be mains powering or not as in when and where you will be using and what for. For me so much has changed in lighting in the last 5 years and in real money terms it has all gotten cheaper

Mike

Hi Pete, good to hear!

Do you have a budget in mind?
And what sort of space will you be using, a garage, or a room in your house?

Plenty of options here now, most will come with a trigger and plenty work with E-TTL as well.

Moppie wrote in post #19088329
Hi Pete, good to hear!

Do you have a budget in mind?
And what sort of space will you be using, a garage, or a room in your house?

Plenty of options here now, most will come with a trigger and plenty work with E-TTL as well.

Portability is key to the setup, so anywhere, first real run will be at school hall for my step daughters 21st for small group photos.

Fortunately I still have my old backdrop roll and stands, so not quite a full reset.

Have been looking at the Godox E-TTL stuff, easily adapted to stands etc, no meter required just downside of being battery operated.

FlyingPete wrote in post #19088332
Portability is key to the setup, so anywhere, first real run will be at school hall for my step daughters 21st for small group photos.

Fortunately I still have my old backdrop roll and stands, so not quite a full reset.

Have been looking at the Godox E-TTL stuff, easily adapted to stands etc, no meter required just downside of being battery operated.

Battery operated is no downside and most of the larger units have an optional mains adapter - being able to go cable free is without doubt one of the most beneficial changes, need more that 500 full power shots? buy a second battery

Mike

It's been a while since I bought any lights, so I had a look around the local stores.
Given the current global climate I would buy local, lots of issues getting things out of China and Hong Kong at the moment with limited flights and different places operating at different levels.


For simple photos against a fixed background then you only need manual lights. E-TTL is only useful for using flash as fill or when working in a changing scene, or mixing with variable light.
Don't worry about a meter, that's what the screen and histogram on the camera is for

There is no real way to compare the power output of a speedlite with a studio strobe, as the strobes actual light output is determined by the modifier fitted to it, while a speedlite has the modifier built in.
But even a 250w/s strobe is a LOT more powerful than a speedlite.

For the set up your describing a pair of speed lites in umbrellas would work well. It would be light and portable and work fine in a darkened room in the evening. You would have to wait 5-10sec between each photo depending on the speedlite and of course the batteries will go flat, but are easily changed.
Lots of options here, Yongnuo and Godox are both very good, then Phottix and Canon are more expensive but better. All have different levels of unit, and all offer some kind of off camera control using a remote giving you E-TTL or Manual control off camera.
A pair of these: https://photogear.co.n​z …t-ii-speedlite-for-canon/
And one of these: https://photogear.co.n​z …te-transmitter-for-canon/
And some stands, umbrellas and mounts would get you working, along with 4 sets of these: https://photogear.co.n​z …batteries-2550mah-4-pack/

With out light stands that's about $850
The speedlites over course will also work on the camera.


But if you want something a little more reliable then there are some still quite affordable options for strobe kits, many that come with a bag, stands, modifiers and a wireless trigger.
Many of the Godox units have a wireless receiver built in, and can work with a number of different triggers to provide different levels of control.

There are 2 and 3 light versions of this kit: https://photogear.co.n​z …s300ii-d-qsii-studio-kit/

Or a 2 head Jenbei kit: https://photogear.co.n​z …-5-studio-flash-twin-kit/

Or these Visico are also very good https://www.phototools​.co.nz …/value-studio-lights-203/

Or several low cost options from Jenbei and Mettle that will require a transmitter https://www.photoshack​.co.nz …io-Flash-Sets-Entry-Level

Even the cheapest of the strobe sets will provide better light and be more consistent than a pair of speedlites, but all of them will need power and are of course a more bulky package to move around and need more space to set up.


It really comes down to how much you want to spend and where you want to compromise.
There are also lots of studio strobes now that can run off the mains or a battery, but the prices go up considerably.

'Affordable' needs to keep in mind the kind of shooting that YOU WISH to do. Most affordable studio lights use modelling light sources which are relatively low in light output (equivl to 100W incandescent) and this will be overpowered by sunlight coming in thru windows in a room that you might need to shoot in (if you planned to eventually offer to do in-home family portraiture, for example).
A low output modelling light might be fine if you plan to always shoot in a somewhat controllable ambient brightness setting.

The other thing to consider is the availability of aftermarket light modifiers (like snoots, speedrings fitting many brands of softboxes, Certain mounts have wider breadth of accessories, and are not limited to what the lighting unit manufacturer offers...greater quality in accessories.

Consider your future needs...selling your stuff used in order to rebuy what you really needed is more expensive...you lose in the depreciated value that you sell the first set at.

Thanks all for comments, one issue I have which my force my hand is stock levels, no one seems to have local stock of strobes, only Speedlite clones, I need everything up and tested by second week of August, given current shipping issues down this part of the world, I am not prepared to take that risk.

Just so happens I was talking to a guy this morning using Speedlite clones and Godox light modifiers, and he is more than happy with them.

Yeah, there are some big issues get a lot of product out of asia, especially if they rely on air freight.

If you get stuck I have some speedlites, stands and umbrellas etc you could borrow, along with a set of phottix odin triggers.

500ex & 550ex + ST-E2 here if you need to borrow kit... (zero use for many months) Mark might have some strobes?

Did they Photogear run, Got a full twin light Godox strobe setup with stands, brollies and trigger for a good price, there have been some advancements in this tech since I last bought some 15 years ago, basically the inclusion of wireless to get rid of those pesky PC leads and optical triggers

FlyingPete wrote in post #19091272
there have been some advancements in this tech since I last bought some 15 years ago, basically the inclusion of wireless to get rid of those pesky PC leads and optical triggers

I got my set of Elinchrom about 15 years ago, and they were the only ones I know in the market doing an integrated radio system.
Godox and other chinese brands followed not long after and it was a long time, only in the last 5-6 years that Broncolor and Profoto caught up.

Moppie wrote in post #19091823
I got my set of Elinchrom about 15 years ago, and they were the only ones I know in the market doing an integrated radio system.
Godox and other chinese brands followed not long after and it was a long time, only in the last 5-6 years that Broncolor and Profoto caught up.

Paul C. Buff had integrated radio over 20 years ago. Prior to the current Cyber Commander system, Buff had the White Lightning Radio Remote One system. I liked it quite well, except that the receivers were battery only (no AC pass-through model), and if you left them on all night, they drained their batteries. But the controller was large enough to manipulate while wearing gloves.

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