Recommend Studio lighting kit, semi-cheap?

Lambo77 · Mar 6, 2011

Ok, I've looked at a bunch of different lighting kits, and i'm totally confused. I'm pretty sure I want a lightbox set-up, prefer to find a kit that comes with backdrop poles, the whole nine, and something fairly portable, since it will only be used "on location" I've found kits for as low as $100 and some in the thousands. I'm looking for something in between 400-500 hundred. I'll be shooting mostly couples/families, etc. Any suggestions? Web-sites? Thanx

tirediron · Mar 6, 2011

The Flash-point series from Adorama are well reviewed and very reasonably priced. If by 'portable' you mean including a battery pack, you may need to revise that figure somewhat.

Derrel · Mar 6, 2011

Adorama's 320-M is a battery-powered 150 watt-second monolight you can get for $199 WITH the 15 ounce DC battery pack. Hard to find anything even remotely close at that price point.

HelenOster · Mar 8, 2011

Derrel said:
Adorama's 320-M is a battery-powered 150 watt-second monolight you can get for $199 WITH the 15 ounce DC battery pack. Hard to find anything even remotely close at that price point.

tirediron said:
The Flash-point series from Adorama are well reviewed and very reasonably priced. .....

Thanks so much for the Flashpoint / Adorama recommendation - very much appreciated.

BTW, in case you don't already know, I'm always only an email away for advice or after-sales support with any order from Adorama!

benhasajeep · Mar 8, 2011

Derrel said:
Adorama's 320-M is a battery-powered 150 watt-second monolight you can get for $199 WITH the 15 ounce DC battery pack. Hard to find anything even remotely close at that price point.

Even when compared to "Branded" camera flashes! Very reasonable price for what you get!

Not to take a sale away from Helen's company. Might want to take a look at Strobist.com. Lots of information for budget minded lighting systems. Will give you a better idea of what you can do and get for your lighting needs.

HelenOster · Mar 8, 2011

benhasajeep said:
Even when compared to "Branded" camera flashes! Very reasonable price for what you get!

Not to take a sale away from Helen's company. Might want to take a look at Strobist.com. Lots of information for budget minded lighting systems.

Hey!! I'm an Independent Consultant for Adorama - so for me photographers getting the gear that meets their needs is the most important thing to me.....

PhotoWrangler · Mar 8, 2011

I recommend a couple of Alien Bee B400 units. They are 160ws units, but more importantly, they will keep their resale value much longer than any other unit on the market. B400 units commonly sell for $175 used, and they are only about $225 new.

Village Idiot · Mar 8, 2011

ChristopherCoy said:
I recommend a couple of Alien Bee B400 units. They are 160ws units, but more importantly, they will keep their resale value much longer than any other unit on the market. B400 units commonly sell for $175 used, and they are only about $225 new.

Better than Profoto? Well, maybe, because they're so cheap you can't sell them for much less. I prefer a lot of other brands to Bees, but cost becomes and issue there.

PhotoWrangler · Mar 8, 2011

Village Idiot said:
Better than Profoto? Well, maybe, because they're so cheap you can't sell them for much less. I prefer a lot of other brands to Bees, but cost becomes and issue there.

I've love to have more expensive lights, but this is the way that I look at it. I move my lights around, and I have a small studio - so they are at a higher risk of being bumped and knocked over. If one of them does get broken, I can afford to replace it fairly fast without being out a large sum of money. They are built strong enough to withstand the pressure of my VERY LARGE Larson 4x6 softbox, and fill it quite nicely. They are decent lights with relatively dependable and consistent output, and if I ever need to sell one I can nearly recoup all of my investment since their resale is so high. I'd prefer to have a Photogenic Powerlight 1250DR, but I can't justify that kind of money along with the risk involved, especially when I can accomplish the same product with the AB lights.

kundalini · Mar 8, 2011

I'm pretty sure I want a lightbox set-up, prefer to find a kit that comes with backdrop poles, the whole nine, and something fairly portable, since it will only be used "on location"

Look at the Lastolite Hilite range. The HiLite range « Lastolite School of Photography

I chose the PCB White Lightning's over the Alien Bee's. A bit sturdier, more consistency in color and a 5 year warranty. There were more pluses than minuses for me.

Derrel · Mar 8, 2011

Alien Bees do maintain pretty good resale value on the used market; probably about as much as Profoto gear does actually, in terms of percentage of original retail price. Profoto is very popular among younger shooters who seem to love the name "pro" in their gear, and who are anxious to impress others with the brand of gear they light with. For the person who is just beginning, the biggest problem is acquiring ALL of the needed studio equipment. To me, that means at LEAST five light heads...not one, not two, not three, but FIVE separate lights. Plus reflectors, flags, diffusers, various reflectors, a boom stand or two, stands, clamps,backgrounds, and multiple light modifiers like softboxes, umbrellas, a beauty dish perhaps, and so on.

The problem with Alien Bees and White Lightning for the budget shooter is that--they cost TOO MUCH MONEY PER LIGHT. The Adorama Flashpoint II series light I suggest so often is a 150 watt-second light that retails for $99 solo, or $199 with the DC battery pack,and with FREE SHIPPING!. That low $99 monolight-only price point allows the beginner to acquire four lights, at roughly the price of two Alien Bee monolights. Alien Bees are priced perfectly for the Paul C. Buff company to make a tidy profit for the Paul C. Buff company when a beginner shoots his wad to buy two lights, and still doesn't have enough equipment to take on most lighting setups...

It's simple...TWO lights is not enough light heads.

Lambo77 · Mar 9, 2011

Thanx guys. I feel like I can make a better decision now!

PhotoWrangler · Mar 9, 2011

Derrel said:
It's simple...TWO lights is not enough light heads.

You "old pros" are senile... I tell ya!

First you tell us that we need to learn how to use a single light and reflector, and now you say we need FIVE to start with?

kundalini · Mar 9, 2011

ChristopherCoy said:
You "old pros" are senile... I tell ya!

First you tell us that we need to learn how to use a single light and reflector, and now you say we need FIVE to start with?

It should be easy to see
The crux if the biscuit
Is the apostrophe

Thanks Frank

Derrel · Mar 9, 2011

I have never been one of those "single light and a reflector" advocates, and now that we are in the digital age, and there is a HUGE amount of instruction available, plus free "developing" with digital capture, and now that there are affordable monolights and speedlights galore, lighting has never been more accessible. it makes very little sense any more to begin the old-fashioned way, with a cube and a cylinder and a ball made of wood, and one light...and to shoot, then take the film in to have it processed, for review four hours later (E-6 slide in a ig city or large town) to 10 days later (Kodachrome sent out for processing). It's now possible to use the camera and four lights to "walk your way into" a very good four-light setup. Progress today can be made very rapidly, and so to me, it makes sense to work on being able to light and shoot using classic three-, four, and five-light setups. So...yeah...I have heard of the one light + reflector method. I started with three lights and a 1600 watt-second power pack, plus reflector panels. Before long, I had a six-light setup...it's really not all "that" uncommon to want to use six light heads on a simple family group shot.