I have what I think is a simple question. What type of shooting will you be doing with your strobe investment? I bought a pair of AB800's on FM back in the Spring, then bought my light stands, umbrellas, and a vagabond direct from The Buff Store in Nashville. However, my shooting style dictates what I purchase, and since I do a majority of my shooting on Location/ Outdoors, I purchased the 800's over the 400's. If you do not need the WS of the 800's, then buy a pair of 400's. I have a 30x60 Softbox, and it does do well, however, I have used someone else's octabox, and they do a better job of spreading/ diffusing the light. I also bought a white on black shoot thru umbrella & a gold/ silver reversible umbrella, however, I am getting ready to purchase another white/ black shoot thru. If you are shooting outdoors with strobes, then your background will my pretty well diffused anyways, however, for indoors stuff, when not at the studio I work for, I use King Sized Black & Tan Sheets for a backdrop. Improvising can save a few $$$ here and there, plus you can build your own reflectors & scrims also. I bought the LS1300 I believe, they were $40 each I think. They are the 13 Ft heavy duty stands. Stands will vary upon who you talk to, but I wanted something that would hold weight, and have a pretty good footprint to distribute that weight, without worry of tip over. Just some input for you.
