Care to help my employer spend some money?

Ok, I appreciate all the help so far. Now I've been looking at this kit:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …tudioMax_III_Pr​o_960.html
I haven't settled on this by any means but it does appear to be a good setup for what I need.

It seems like a pretty good value but I've got more questions (of course). About triggering... I assume the cheapest way is to be tethered to one of the lights with some kind of cord. I'd like to go the pocket wizard route, and I understand that having a receiver on each light is the best way to go, but is there a way one receiver can be configured to fire all three lights?

Phil Light wrote in post #6063094
Ok, I appreciate all the help so far. Now I've been looking at this kit:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …tudioMax_III_Pr​o_960.html
I haven't settled on this by any means but it does appear to be a good setup for what I need.

It seems like a pretty good value but I've got more questions (of course). About triggering... I assume the cheapest way is to be tethered to one of the lights with some kind of cord. I'd like to go the pocket wizard route, and I understand that having a receiver on each light is the best way to go, but is there a way one receiver can be configured to fire all three lights?

Hi Jeff,

I have some first hand experience with the Photogenic StudioMax III. They are very consistent and stable in terms of power and color. The drawback is that the modeling light can only be turned on or off but there is no proportional tracking. If you're doing product work that could be a problem unless you always work at full power on all strobes. The build is cheap. The switch for the modeling light is a slide switch with a lousy feel and the analog power control is a knob which works well but the markings around the knob have little to nothing to do with the power or the level of adjustment. There is no accuracy.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's actually an outstanding strobe for what it does and if you're not expecting more then it's great. As I said, consistency is amazing for a strobe in this price class.

Good to know Robert. BTW - I did check into the Einchrom D-lite 2s but apparently the price has gone up. They are about $300 now. http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_Lite2_Monoligh​t_200.html. I'm just afraid the lights alone are eating up so much of my budget there won't be room left for some of the other things I'd really like to have (i.e., Pocket Wizards). Which reminds me, I'm still unclear on what options there are regarding using 1 PW receiver to power more than one strobe - or if there are options at all. I did do a forum search but I couldn't really weed out the exact information I was looking for.

Jeff,

Have you looked at the Calumet Genesis strobes? There are many people that own and use them and they are quite nice and very affordable. There are some threads in the forum that discuss the strobes, performance and available accessories in depth.

You may want to check them out. I forget the price on the kits but they have a 200ws and 400ws kit. Go to the Calumet site and take a look.

If used strobes are an option, I'd take a look at some Speedotron Black or Brown line strobes. Generally, a pack, 2-3 heads, and a couple of modifiers can be had for around 500.00. I bought mine used, and I love the things to death, very consistent and easy to use, and they're built like tanks.

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...

Forgot to mention, this was a very informative link, thanks!

Ok, I hate to continue to ask questions like this, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around some of this info. Example, quantifying the light output, i.e., watt seconds. It seems like having more light available would always be better, but what is enough? What is not enough? In a small studio I would imagine that I could get away with 160was and probably be fine. What if I wanted to take strobes outside, or to something like a gym and shoot a basketball game... 1000ws minimum? Or would 320ws serve the purpose? Is there a site that lists what amount of power is recommended for different situations?

Without being able to play with different power outputs, I have absolutely no idea how much I really need.

FWIW I've got dual incentives here. I'm also trying to figure out what I might like to have for my own, not just my employer.

Hey Jeff,

I just checked B&H and the D-Lite 2's are still on sale for $239.95.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ails&Q=&sku=478​437&is=REG

TMR Design wrote in post #6064877
Hey Jeff,

I just checked B&H and the D-Lite 2's are still on sale for $239.95.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ails&Q=&sku=478​437&is=REG

Ahhh, so you have to add it to your cart to see what the actual price is. That seems like an odd way (i.e., ineffective) to try to promote something. Or... (thinking out loud) maybe they don't want web bots finding it for some reason. Who knows?

Phil Light wrote in post #6065124
Ahhh, so you have to add it to your cart to see what the actual price is. That seems like an odd way (i.e., ineffective) to try to promote something. Or... (thinking out loud) maybe they don't want web bots finding it for some reason. Who knows?

Very normal for B&H and other retailers Jeff. It's all about marketing. Adding it to your cart puts you well on your way to making a purchase and I'm sure they (whoever they are) know that.

Phil Light wrote in post #6063886
Ok, I hate to continue to ask questions like this, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around some of this info. Example, quantifying the light output, i.e., watt seconds. It seems like having more light available would always be better, but what is enough? What is not enough? In a small studio I would imagine that I could get away with 160was and probably be fine. What if I wanted to take strobes outside, or to something like a gym and shoot a basketball game... 1000ws minimum? Or would 320ws serve the purpose? Is there a site that lists what amount of power is recommended for different situations?

Without being able to play with different power outputs, I have absolutely no idea how much I really need...

Seems odd to quote myself, and hopefully no one will mind but I think I'm going to start a new thread with this topic instead of sidetracking this one.

All very subjective questions with answers that would depend on subject matter, location, ambient to flash ratio, static or moving objects, etc.

TMR Design wrote in post #6065381
All very subjective questions with answers that would depend on subject matter, location, ambient to flash ratio, static or moving objects, etc.

No doubt, but surely someone has some good general advice. I'm not looking for test results as much as a good seat of the pants observation based on experience.

Hard to give general advice about lighting gear Jeff. I'm not trying to be difficult but it would be best to know more about the intended use to make a recommendation. Everyone's needs are different so generic advice form one person could be 1000ws and a 7 foot octabox while another persons generic advice might be 320ws and an umbrella.

TMR Design wrote in post #6065582
Hard to give general advice about lighting gear Jeff. I'm not trying to be difficult but it would be best to know more about the intended use to make a recommendation. Everyone's needs are different so generic advice form one person could be 1000ws and a 7 foot octabox while another persons generic advice might be 320ws and an umbrella.

I realize I'm asking a question that is difficult, if not impossible to answer definitively, but surely someone has tried to use a 160ws strobe to light a gym for a basketball game only to find out there's no way it will work. There is going to be a point where someone has determined that it takes a minimum of 500ws, or 1000ws or a .5 kiloton blast or something like that. Obviously all gyms and layouts are different and some have dirty gray ceilings and some have white ceilings (the strobe would have to be bounced, you can't shoot it directly at the players).

My point is, having absolutely no reference of how much light 100ws is compared to 1000ws, I can read specs until the cows come home and it won't mean diddly to me if I have no reference of how much light that actually is.