2 Strobe Kits for Beginner

[kirbym2]

Hi Everyone,

Trying to take my photography to the next level. I've been humming along promoting myself as a "natural light" photographer for a long time. Indoor work scares the heck out of me. I have an SB600, and I've borrowed additional speedlites to help. In the coming year, it looks like I'm going to have access to a space suitable for studio work.

I'd like to be able to introduce and learn about strobes. I have zero experience in that department, and I'm the type of person who likes a quick rundown of the basics, and then likes to practice practice practice on my own.

Does anyone have any tips on a 2 light kit that's budget friendly? I'm thinking I'd need the strobes, stands, and perhaps umbrellas to go with. Was really hoping to stay under $700

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Derrel]

Easy. Buy three Adorama Flashpoint 320M monolights, three light stands, and a pair of umbrellas in the 40 to 45-inch zone, size-wise. Also, buy the accessory barn doors and grid set for the Flashpoints. Then, pick up a fourth light and stand for like $129. You'll STILL have plenty of cash left over. Why? Because the 320M's are priced fairly, for what they are, and for what you get.

 

[hopdaddy]

Easy. Buy three Adorama Flashpoint 320M monolights, three light stands, and a pair of umbrellas in the 40 to 45-inch zone, size-wise. Also, buy the accessory barn doors and grid set for the Flashpoints. Then, pick up a fourth light and stand for like $129. You'll STILL have plenty of cash left over. Why? Because the 320M's are priced fairly, for what they are, and for what you get.

Optical triggers ? or buy some Radios ??

 

[kirbym2]

Monolights vs Strobe? Believe me, I'm not an expert, and don't pretend to be. I was just under the impression that strobes may be the better option for portrait work, monolights for still life, etc.?

 

[KmH]

The 320M has a optical slave trigger built-in.

Monolights are strobes. The power controls and flash unit are all in one unit. Head and pack strobe systems have them separated.

Constant lights provide ambient light, and at their power rating take a full second to deliver that power rating.
Inothre words, constant lights cannot stop motion, whereas strobe light (flash) can.

The flash from monolights., pack and head systems, and hot shoe flash units is way shorter, like between 1/500 and 1/80,000 depending on the unit and power level setting.

Using flash also allows controlling the ambient light exposure separately from the strobe light exposure with a single shutter release.
Shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure, whole lens aperture controls the strobe light exposure.

 

[Derrel]

Optical triggers ? or buy some Radios ??

Naw...just use the PC sync cord that comes with each flash, and hook ONE monolight up to the camera, and then flip the photo-sensitive "slave tripper" to the ON position on each of the other lights. I shot studio flash stuff for around 20 years using a synch cord, and it's such a simple system...no monkeying around with batteries, channels, or cheap offshore-made triggers that sometimes work, sometimes do not fire, or even worse, fire intermittently.

The beauty of a synch cord is that is is either plugged in and it WORKS, or it is NOT plugged in. It's very,very low-tech and very reliable.

 

[Derrel]

Monolights vs Strobe? Believe me, I'm not an expert, and don't pretend to be. I was just under the impression that strobes may be the better option for portrait work, monolights for still life, etc.?

We might be operating under a misunderstanding kirby. When you said "strobes", I thought you meant "studio strobes", and monolight flash units are a type of studio "strobe". But perhaps you meant on-camera or shoe-mount type speedlights, like the Nikon SB-700 or Yongnuo 5xx or something like that? Perhaps you can clarify what you want to buy?

As far as portraiture in a studio setting, I think the BEST tool, period, is a studio-style flash unit with a moderately low-powered modeling lamp, fitted with some type of light modifier; umbrella, soft box, honeycomb grid, etc..

 

[hopdaddy]

Monolights vs Strobe? Believe me, I'm not an expert, and don't pretend to be. I was just under the impression that strobes may be the better option for portrait work, monolights for still life, etc.?

I'm sure Derrel will come back and answer your questions far better than I can ,BUT, I have one ,Flashpoint mono ,and three strobes . The strobes will over heat and fail to flash ,not to mention depending on the strobe ,will not have as much power as the mono . If in a studio I would go with the flashpoints ,Heck ,on some outdoor shoots I will take a generator and use the mono .(I didn't buy a battery ) If the wind is not blowing (I'm also on a second umbrella and broke a modeling light ) which brings up a second thing the mono's have over the strobes .

 

[kirbym2]

Lol, see, this is how daft I am. I'm confusing monolight with continuous light. Arrgghhh. See this is why I'm a "natural light" photographer. (Insert embarrassed emoticon here). Okay, going back to re-read your original suggestions. How are the monolights triggered?

 

[Derrel]

Monolights are triggered by a synch cord that goes from the camera's PC synchronization port to the monolight's PC synch outlet...the cord plug-in on the monolight is the same,exact size plug-in as full-sized audio headphones. The plug-in on the camera uses a smaller port, called PC, allegedly named after an old, early flash-synch capable shutter made back in I guess the 1940's, called Prontor-Compur.

See this Wiki Flash synchronization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Optical triggers are also called slaves; slave triggers; slave trippers; sensors; optical sensors; and optical triggers. All mean the same thing. Set to "ON", a slave trigger fires its monolight or flash unit as soon as it senses a bright, intense flash of light.

ONE, single monolight can be connected to the camera's PC socket using a synchronization cord; then, when other NON-connected monolights with their slave triggers are set to ON, sense the flash of the first light firing, they fire, in sycnhronization. This all happens at basically light-speed time intervals. Hard to believe, but it actually works, and has worked for literally, decades.

 

[kirbym2]

Great information all around. Thanks so much. I've checked out the Adorama site, and appears they're out of the single 320M Monolight. They do however, have some packages. These only seem to include a 33 inch umbrella, so was thinking to get a couple of the packages @$149.95 each, and purchase larger umbrellas separately. Thoughts? Any other starter modifiers that I should be looking at?

 

[robbins.photo]

Indoor work scares the heck out of me.

As well it should. I mean haunted houses are a dime a dozen. When's the last time you heard of a haunted public park?

As for lighting advice, Derrel is pretty much the man. If he says buy this, buy that.

 

[Derrel]

Great information all around. Thanks so much. I've checked out the Adorama site, and appears they're out of the single 320M Monolight. They do however, have some packages. These only seem to include a 33 inch umbrella, so was thinking to get a couple of the packages @$149.95 each, and purchase larger umbrellas separately. Thoughts? Any other starter modifiers that I should be looking at?

Well, I really think a barn doors set and a grid and gel-holder device, the one shown in the video, is a VERY useful device. In fact, I consider barn doors + a honeycomb grid + a slide-in mylar diffuser to be an absolute go-to accessory.

The grid cuts down the light output, and keeps the light moving in a straight-ahead direction and prevents excessive spreading of the beam. This allows you to place a standard reflector on the light, and aim it at a person, or a background, and it creates a fairly small "pool" of light. It keeps the light from spreading out as much as it would with just the reflector. The barn doors allow you to block light, and constrict it down a bit, which is super-helpful. Adding the mylar diffuser further softens the light, and it makes the light less "hot", and less "raw".

The supply of Flashpoint 320M's seems cyclical; at times they have them light-only in stock, for $99 each, at other times there's a light stand and umbrella for another 39 or 49 dollars. Umbrellas in the smaller sizes are inexpensive; light stands vary in price with height, and brand, and quality. A nine-foot stand costs more than a 6.5 foot or 7.5 footer does; a 13-foot stand is very tall, and only needed for situations when you need a light up pretty high. If you are going to be shooting in say, an apartment with 8-foot ceilings, taller stands offer you zero advantage--in that situation. Adorama's LIGHT + umbrella + stand at $149 each seems like a decent value to me, and see, as I mentioned in post #2, you can buy the two lights AND have money left over for a third light + the barndoors and grid set. Heck, you could even add a fourth light if you want to.