Speedlites vs. Dedicated Strobes

I want to set up a studio to shoot child and family portraits and am considering two options:

1) Use Canon Speedlites - Buy an additional 580EXII plus ST-E2 and stands / umbrellas.
2) Buy a Elinchrom D-Lite 4 2 go kit. (i.e. dedicated strobes)

I am curious to hear everyone's thoughts on the pros and cons of these two setups. Clearly I think that the Elinchrom solution will give better results in a studio setting however I will also do some portrait work on location and also the odd wedding. The speedlight setup will give some more flexibility in this regard and will also be a bit cheaper....

The portrait work that I want to do will require the flash setup to cover full length shots as well as groups of upto 4 people (i.e. Mum, Dad + 2kids). Will the 580EX give enough power for this? Also could I get away with 2x200Wsec heads rather than 2x400Wsec?

Thanks,
Jason.

One of the drawbacks of having an ST-E2 transmitter is that they work best indoors, and with a clean line of sight to the flash. Having ETTL for your metering would be nice, but it's nothing you can't get around if you set the flash manually.

IMO, I'd go through a Cactus Flash transmitters/receiver combo, and try it that way - and maybe even some elinchrom skyports or pocketwizards to fire off your speedlights or whatever flashgun you're using.

As for on location lighting, why not see if you can get a pair of Norman flashes or Quantum Flash heads? Both put out great lighting, are decently portable (even more so than lugging around a huge lighting set) and can put out pretty good studio quality light - the Normans can go up to 400WS and can be had on KEH.com or Ebay for a decent price. I've used them quite often, and I love them.

Just let me say, and I use multi-flash (Speedlights), especially if shooting into umbrellas, they don't come close to the light output of a strobe.

studio lights recycle faster.

jr_senator wrote in post #5468613
Just let me say, and I use multi-flash (Speedlights), especially if shooting into umbrellas, they don't come close to the light output of a strobe.

Thanks for that. What kind of coverage would they give? I am planning on getting a backdrop that is about 2m wide so I would like to be able to shot full height over about this width. Would 2x580EX and umbrellas work?

JasonW wrote in post #5469905
What kind of coverage would they give?...Would 2x580EX and umbrellas work?

The coverage would depend on a lot of different variables. Just for starters, flash strengh, distance from the subject, umbrella size and reflectance. Part of my setup usually involves bouncing so again distance from the flash to subject becomes an issue and would vary. You would really benifit from using a flash meter. I feel a serious photographer should have a hand held light meter anyway, so get one that that does both available light and flash. I set my lens aperture manually based on meter readings and I can tell you that when using flashes a f/2.8 or faster lens should be used because you may well find yourself at that aperture a good bit. I use my 24-70 f/2.8 as my portrait lens. Sometimes I will use my 100mm f/2.8 but not very often. I use a Gossen Luna Pro F meter which can only be had now on the used market. There are certainly many nice digital meters to be had new or used. I couldn't imagen working out lighting ratios using multi-flash without a meter.

I was given a Metz 60 with the Mecamat attachment. I like it so much I found another 60 on ebay and a Mecamat at KEH. The combo (lnib) set me back $160 with the battery pack . This combination is a fast recycling power house that is light weight, flexible and CHEAP. For the life of me I don't know why more folks aren't using these widely available vintage work horses.

cameraman51 wrote in post #5471002
I was given a Metz 60 with the Mecamat attachment. I like it so much I found another 60 on ebay and a Mecamat at KEH. The combo (lnib) set me back $160 with the battery pack . This combination is a fast recycling power house that is light weight, flexible and CHEAP. For the life of me I don't know why more folks aren't using these widely available vintage work horses.

I'd be interested in this.
Do you have some links with more info?

I did a search on the web but did not find a concise post on how to get the whole system setup.

Strobes - the best by far. D-Lites are fine. Nice and portable too. Good controls and constant light quality.

With strobes you have a vast array of light modifiers available and they also have modeling lights.

strobes any day... of course i'm biased to the Dlite 4's but there is so much more... and if you want to have even a semi commercial studio, people want to see strobes..

plus the d4's are pretty portable.. i had to take my kit to a church to do a portrait session this past sunday and all and all it was very easy considering the kit itself.

You see a Skyport trigger connected to the Mecamat which is connected to the strobe. The Mecamat gives you the ability to reduce strobe power. As you can see I've g0t the Metz connected to a tilt a ma jig that will take an umbrella. I've also fabricated a snoot using cardboard, cinefoil, glossy white printing paper and velcro that works well (obviusly not pictured). The Metz 60 has a guide number of 197.

I struggled with the same question before eventually deciding on the Elinchrom D-4's. What attracted me to the Speedlite option was portability, but after seriously thinking about it didn't think I would use them away from an electrical outlet often if at all. The expense was a wash after you factor in $400 for the extra Speedlight, $200 plus for the St-2, light stands, modifiers, etc. The elinchroms are just simple to use---f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 100 and your good 90% of the time with great light!

I use speedlights mainly. My main light is always at at least half power and can get very hot, I run my fill light only slightly less power and further back. Yes they're good at being portable but they can never kick out the same light as studio lights.

martinsmith wrote in post #5476143
I use speedlights mainly....but they can never kick out the same light as studio lights.

Not even be close.

cameraman51 wrote in post #5472019
You see a Skyport trigger connected to the Mecamat which is connected to the strobe.

Any particular reason you have the flash head turned backward?