Anyone Try This Lighting Kit?

bumpylemon

TPF Noob!
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Messages
278
Reaction score
9
Location
Massachusetts
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
alright. final answer is in. wife is giving my 500 bucks. I want to get a lighting situation going. i currently only have a sb600 and wireless trigger. i also wanna get a backround support. so if someone could throw me out ideas that would be super. i prefer amazon only because i have prime and get free 2day shipping. also hunts camera is local. thanks!

Amazon.com: CowboyStudio Photography Photo Studio Monolight Flash Lighting Light Kit - 2 Studio Flash/Strobe, 2 Softboxes, 1 Background Support System, Black & White Muslin Backdrops and Carry Case: Electronics


after more research looks as thought these wattages are not enough. someone please spend my money for me!!!! please if you can supply your photos with your equipment as a reference! i appreciate it
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
I think it's a good price for the kit but one thing I don't like about it is the length of the background. If you plan on doing any pics where your subject is on the ground, your gonna need it a lot longer. So what are you going to spend the other half on?
 
well i keep reading about the wattage not being enough. i have no idea what i'd spend the other half on. i literally know NOTHING about lighting. i did notice the backdrop not long enough. off to search some more i guess. like i said i literally need someone to shop for me hahah. i keep reading things but there is just so much.
 
The strobes in that kit are only 110 wattseconds... This is pretty low I think... (I am not a pro).

I suggest looking at the Adorama Flashpoint offering. Granted it doesn't come with a background stand... But you should be able to pick one up for $100-$150.

Just my two cents...
 
I have 2 Flashpoint 320m monolights. I think they are amazing. They're not real high w/s (I think 160) but they have lit everything I've needed including an entire church (wall and ceiling bounced) when my hotshoe flash crapped out for a wedding. You can also get them in a kit with the portable battery. You can switch them from ac (wall) to dc (portable batt.)
flashpoint 320m - Adorama.com
 
id love it all in one package. so what about softboxes and reflectors? most things ill be doing are like portraits and models
 
Search around adorama for flashpoint accessories. They make all kinds of softboxes for all their flash series. There's even a couple in that link with softboxes. That's one of the things I love about those flashes. They have so many accessories available for good prices from flashpoint, and other brands. Another thing that surprised me was how good the optical slave was. Before my triggers came in I would just set my on camera flash to 1/16 power and they would fire from that.

Edit. The two I have are the two without the batteries that come with the umbrellas in the first link. I think they're like $130 a piece. You get a couple of those and a couple softboxes, triggers and whatever else you need for your budget.
 
I have 2 Flashpoint 320m monolights. I think they are amazing. They're not real high w/s (I think 160) but they have lit everything I've needed including an entire church (wall and ceiling bounced) when my hotshoe flash crapped out for a wedding. You can also get them in a kit with the portable battery. You can switch them from ac (wall) to dc (portable batt.)
flashpoint 320m - Adorama.com


:thumbup: I agree. I also have the Flashpoint 320M from Adorama.

I then picked up this backdrop:
Amazon.com: DMKFoto Photographic Studio Muslin Background / Backdrop 10x19 ft W103: Camera & Photo

And this stand for the backdrop:
Amazon.com: Ravelli ABSL Photo Video Backdrop Stand Kit with Dual Air Cushion Stands and Bag: Camera & Photo
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
i guess i meant like what do softboxes do compared to just the flashpoints listed here. i honestly know nothing lol will i need something else to fire off the flashes? you mentioned slaves...anyone have example pics with the 320m kit? thanks guys
 
Softboxes and umbrella's are very similar. Umbrellas throw more widespread light, while soft boxes throw a more direct light. The slaves on the 320m's are optical slaves. It's a little sensor on top of the flash that will fire the flash when your on camera flash fires. They actually work really good. You can get wireless triggers here Amazon.com: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Hot Shoe Flash Trigger Receiver for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus & Pentax Flashes Other products by cowboystudio: Camera & Photo

The flashes come with the cable that hooks up to those triggers.

I don't know much about the impact ones, but I know that I'm sticking with flashpoint for a while. The light is consistent and so far they have been very reliable.

Here is a shot I took with them using the optical slave. I had my on camera flash set to 1/16 power and it triggered the two flashpoints.
f4lfeu.jpg


I don't know why it looks so cool on here. I've printed it, and seen on different computers and it's never looked like that. That isn't because of the flashes, though. I guess something in the uploading changed it, dunno. But the original is more warm and saturated.

I took that in my living room with no backdrops or anything. Just camera settings and lower flash power.
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
i literally know NOTHING about lighting. i did notice the backdrop not long enough. off to search some more i guess. like i said i literally need someone to shop for me hahah. i keep reading things but there is just so much.

I was going to ramble on about how you should figure what each lighting modifier will do before getting a kit and then i thought mer its a cheap kit. So my advice is... Start with something small. honestly if you are just doing 1-2 person portraits then the Ws of those lights should be good. If you are doing larger groups then maybe you want to go a little more. but you should start small and figure out how to use them and go from there. 200Ws or 500Ws or even 1000Ws will all be useless if you dont know how to use them.

i guess i meant like what do softboxes do compared to just the flashpoints listed here. i honestly know nothing lol will i need something else to fire off the flashes? you mentioned slaves...anyone have example pics with the 320m kit? thanks guys

The cowboy set you linked too has a photo slave built in by the looks of it so there are a few ways you could set it off. The first you can set both off with an on camera flash(not the best choice but can work), two have a wire trigger the first flash(you will need a pc port or adapter) and the firing of the first will set off the second.

Hope that was helpful. Im off to bed. I will check back in the morning(or one of our other fine members can help ya)
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Wow! Maybe take a deep breath first and find all the info you can on lighting. Scott Kelby lighting books or many others! Learn what you need before buying. Why spend money that you dont know what you are spending it on!

You have 1 SB so that is a start. One more SB like a 900 or 700 or used 800 or 600 and then 2 stands to hold them and then buy modifiers and start practicing! There is a book all about just shooting with SPEEDLIGHTS it is call Lights Camera, Capture. He does most of his work with just speedlights and modifiers!

You will then need radio poppers if you dont want to have line of site issues!
 

Most reactions

Back
Top