studio lighting for portraits

complete new user here. Thank you for helping me in advance.

I want to take family/children portraits using my digital camera. My current camera is 3.1 megapix, but I will be going up to 8 soon.

Question is, are the inexpensive studio lighting kits offered on ebay appropriate?
example of one.

This auction includes a Studio Lighting Combination Set with the following items:

A Master/Slave Flash with 10' PC Sync Cord1

A Slave Flash

Two A/C Swivel Umbrella Adapters

Two 7 ft Light Stands

Two 32" umbrellas (Silver/White)2

A Carry Case with Side Pocket

Everything you need to set up a home studio is here.

The Master strobe has a guide number of 55 (Main light) and the slave strobe 42 (Fill light). You may fire this set with the 10' PC Sync cord connected to your camera3. Or you may fire it with an infrared device.

The umbrellas soften the light to give you a very pleasing wrapping effect. This practically eliminates all ugly shadow.

The A/C swivel adapters provide power to the strobe right from your wall outlet. It connects the lights to the versatile 7 ft. light stands and the umbrellas. You may adjust the swivel for the shooting angle and the height you desire.

The Master strobe can be used as a slave unit also. It has an PC sync adapter for connecting to the camera. It has a test button.

Both have a power on/off light and ready light. They recycle time is less than one second (fast). They both have a removable diffuser. You may mount color gels (optional) to give the picture a different mood.

The entire set up fits nicely in the durable carry case. There is a large side pocket in the carry case to put away your other accessories. Heavily padded carry strap.

1. Standard sync cord is 10'. Optional 30' sync cord is available.

2. This set comes with two umbrellas your choice. If not specific, a silver and a white is the default combination.

3. If your camera doesn't have a PC Sync outlet but just a hot-shoe, the hot shoe/sync outlet adapter is available.


These sell for under 300 dollars on the ebay.

These cheap kits are woefully underpowered. In some cases they may be less powerful than a shoe-mount flash. Avoid at all costs.

If you can, go into a reputable Photography store and discuss your budget and needs with the lighting specialist. I did that at B&H for my first set of monolights. I was new to studio lighting and I don't do this for a living. I wound up buying three SP Excalibur 3200's. They came with good light stands and Photflex umbrellas. I added a Sekonic L358 Meter,a Pocket Wizard Plus set up, a Photek background set up (2 stands and crossbar in 4 sections), and two Photoflex collapsible reflectors. I have been very happy with my results. I added an SP Softbox a few months later. There are more expensive and durable brands like Novatron, Ellinchrome and Dynalite for professionals.
Good Luck,
Scott

visited Ritz Camera and they suggested

A kit by JTL which has two lights, umbrellas, stand and a case. Lights are rated 200w/s.

This kit sells for 499 at Ritz.

On ebay, I see a similar jtl kit with 160w/s and no carry case for about 260. Am I going to lose that much by going cheap?

I have no direct experience with JTL. You might try a Google search like : "JTL problems". Search the Web and Groups.
Scott

Am I going to lose that much by buying 160w/w vs 200w/s?

I save 200 dollars at least, will the power be noticed? Home studio use primarily.