Care to help my employer spend some money?

I've been asked to research some options for buying studio lighting equipment for work. The majority of what we'll be shooting will be product shots. I'm told my budget is between $1,000 & $1,500. (Of course they would like me to stay closer to $1,000. I'd like to stay closer to $2,000 ) My background is mostly sports photography, possibly with on camera flash, not studio photography.

Here's what we have already:
A fairly large room permanently designated as a studio
At least 5 or 6 Impact light stands
A backdrop stand with a roll of seamless paper
A couple of small white umbrellas
Some misc. light stand hardware
Stacks of gels

Here's what I think we need:
Lights - Strobes maybe, but I really like the idea of Spiderlites. I'm just concerned the cost might be a little high.
Softboxes
Reflectors

What I'm not sure about are things like:
How many lights? Is a 3-light setup the best way to go?
How strong (ws) should each of the lights be?
It's not out of the question that we might need to take them to a location shoot outdoors. Does this open up a whole new can of worms (i.e., $$$) regarding AC vs. battery operated lights?
What do I need that I haven't taken into consideration?

I kind of feel like I need to make sure I have everything covered in one purchase. I think they'll take one hit for this expense, but if I were to come back later and tell them I need more stuff... well, I really hope to not have to do that. And more importantly than that, I need to make sure that what I get will be at the very minimum, adequate for what we need.

I know that I could sit down and spend weeks educating myself, reading posts, books, etc. but unfortunately I don't have that much time. They would like some options within the next week or so.

Here's a shot of what we're doing now.

Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?... Anyone?... Anyone?...

Phil Light wrote in post #6032016
Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?... Anyone?... Anyone?...

What type of products will you be shooting, Phil? Small, tabletop items? Bigger than a bread box? Highly reflective?

Dave F.

Man, I subscribed to this to see the opinions since I am looking to purchase about the same in the coming months. Figured there would be 50 posts by now, not crickets.........

i would say a some alienbees or some speed lights. All things being equal you could get really nice setups for a 1000-1500 with either.

Unfortunately Jeff, you'll eat through your budget very quickly if you go with Spiderlites. If you haven't noticed already, the prices do not include bulbs and those bulbs are not cheap, even if you went with the TD3's.

I would go with strobes. If you're interested, right now you can get individual Elinchtom D-Lite 2's from B&H for $239. If it were me this would be a no brainer. I don't think you can get a better value or better performance for the price and at that price (even buying non-kit) you can have 2, 3 or even 4 strobes at a killer price and you'll be able to shoot anything you want.

Don't forget about reflectors and modifiers. Elinchrom's are shipped without a reflector. Unlike other manufacturers they've chosen to not presume what you'll do and what you need, and of course, it's a ploy to make money, but with the strobes being priced so low it more than makes up for what you'll spend for quality reflectors and modifiers.

The most important tools for product photography (but also applicable to portraiture) will be:-

*A solid tripod with a precise head - ideally a geared head but a 3-way head will be workable if the former are all too pricey.

*The right modifiers to control light properly and create pleasing catchlights - namely stripboxes, and reflectors that take grids and barndoors. White foamcore will make a cheap and very effective reflector to fill shadows.

You'll need a reasonable amount of power as you'll be shooting at narrow apertures so strobes are the obvious choice (and will be far more practical if you need to use them on location). Around 200ws should be fine for your purposes - If you can afford three lights then buy three, if not then two strobes and reflectors will be able to do most jobs with a little more setup time. The new fan-cooled D-lite 2s are a great choice but also take things like the proximity of dealers, repairers, e.t.c. into account.

Jeff,

Videos 4, 6, 17, 18, and 21 on the prophotolife.com site might help direct your thinking as to what you'll need for your product photography. All of the videos (a new one comes out every Monday) are interesting in one way or another but the 5 cited above deal specifically with photographing products.

I'm still curious: What are the products you'll be expected to photograph?

Dave F.

TMR Design wrote in post #6032653
...
If you're interested, right now you can get individual Elinchtom D-Lite 2's from B&H for $239. If it were me this would be a no brainer. I don't think you can get a better value or better performance for the price

I certainly wouldn't want to come off as a Genesis fanboy, but let us not forget the equally capable and powerful Calumet Genesis 200, Robert, which weighs in at a mere $170 for the one light kit (which includes stand and umbrella; oddly enough, price is the same for the light alone). So, 4 Genesis 200 lights would cost $37 less than 3 D-lite2's. On a tight budget the $70 difference per light could go a long way toward buying reflectors, softboxes, grids, etc. ...

Dave F.

Absolutely Dave. Wasn't trying to hedge out the Genesis lights. You know I find them to perform as good as the D-Lite's. I didn't do the math..lol and just made a quick recommendation knowing they were on sale.

Robert, I'll check into all the options you mentioned. I appreciate the specifics.

tetrode wrote in post #6032881
Jeff,

Videos 4, 6, 17, 18, and 21 on the prophotolife.com site might help direct your thinking as to what you'll need for your product photography. All of the videos (a new one comes out every Monday) are interesting in one way or another but the 5 cited above deal specifically with photographing products...

I'll get to that site and start studying. I've never heard of it before. Thanks for the tip.

Hermes wrote in post #6032815
The most important tools for product photography (but also applicable to portraiture) will be:-

*A solid tripod with a precise head - ideally a geared head but a 3-way head will be workable if the former are all too pricey.

*The right modifiers to control light properly and create pleasing catchlights - namely stripboxes, and reflectors that take grids and barndoors. White foamcore will make a cheap and very effective reflector to fill shadows.

You'll need a reasonable amount of power as you'll be shooting at narrow apertures so strobes are the obvious choice (and will be far more practical if you need to use them on location). Around 200ws should be fine for your purposes - If you can afford three lights then buy three, if not then two strobes and reflectors will be able to do most jobs with a little more setup time. The new fan-cooled D-lite 2s are a great choice but also take things like the proximity of dealers, repairers, e.t.c. into account.

Maybe dumb question, but if I'm using strobes and a fast enough shutter speed, is a tripod really necessary? I can shoot much faster in situations like this without a tripod. And sometimes time and quantity of shots is important.

You said 200ws should be fine, (again another dumb question) what kind of range in power is average in studios? If I go with 200ws, will I ever kick myself for not holding out for more power? I definitely don't want to short myself.

tetrode wrote in post #6032143
What type of products will you be shooting, Phil? Small, tabletop items? Bigger than a bread box? Highly reflective?

Dave F.

It will be seats - truck, bus, etc., seatbelts, airbag units tie-down straps and everything these things might mount to. And frequently actual humans and human parts (like hands - still living and attached) will be used also. Some things dull, and some things mirror-like shiny.

DDCSD wrote in post #6032449
Man, I subscribed to this to see the opinions since I am looking to purchase about the same in the coming months. Figured there would be 50 posts by now, not crickets.........

I was very surprised it took that long too. I thought I might stir up lots of opinions.

Phil Light wrote in post #6033347
Maybe dumb question, but if I'm using strobes and a fast enough shutter speed, is a tripod really necessary? I can shoot much faster in situations like this without a tripod. And sometimes time and quantity of shots is important.

You said 200ws should be fine, (again another dumb question) what kind of range in power is average in studios? If I go with 200ws, will I ever kick myself for not holding out for more power? I definitely don't want to short myself.

If you try to shoot products handheld, you'll end up shooting everything at slightly different angles and focal lengths with different framing and perspectives - consistency is the key to good product shots and to making a brand/company look professional. All you should have to do is set up the tripod once to get the framing perfect (like I said a geared head is ideal for this) and get the shutter release out, and then you can swap the products over and blaze through an entire shoot without having to touch the camera (except maybe to zoom in/out if there is a dramatic change in product size) and more importantly you won't have to waste huge amounts of time post-processing to rotate, crop, centre, fix distortion, e.t.c.

Personally I would opt for 200ws lights in your position as I am confident that they'd have more than enough power for my shooting style. If you're worried and can afford it then by all means buy 400ws strobes.

What if I went with something like this:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …003_1000_W_S_Pr​o_Kit.html

It says they are 1000ws. Is there such a think as too much power? Can they be dialed down enough to use in a small studio? Will I be able to fit a soft box on them later if I need to? If these are not concerns, It would be nice to have something with the flexibility to use in other, larger situations if the need arises.

I have no clue on the lights, but as far as power goes, you can always use some ND gels on the lights to bring the power down a bit.

Phil Light wrote in post #6052007
What if I went with something like this:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …003_1000_W_S_Pr​o_Kit.html

It says they are 1000ws. Is there such a think as too much power? Can they be dialed down enough to use in a small studio? Will I be able to fit a soft box on them later if I need to? If these are not concerns, It would be nice to have something with the flexibility to use in other, larger situations if the need arises.

I'm no pack and head maven but I think I'd avoid Novatron. They make reliable but pretty rudimentary and feature-challenged packs. Recycling is fairly slow, power distribution is symmetrical only and the assets of the company were acquired by Omegasatter in June. The whole operation is being moved from Dallas to Maryland.

I'd prefer to spend my employer's money on this:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ails&Q=&sku=569​194&is=REG

Dyna-lite is *very* highly regarded by folks who are pack and head mavens. The M1000ER pack can accept up to four heads, offers symmetrical AND asymmetrical power distribution, and recycles in 1.5 seconds. Accessories are readily available. An additional head (to make it a three-head system) runs about $240. Seems like an exceptionally good deal.

Dave F.