Buying my first external light kit.

[jdsfighter]

I'm currently struggling with the epic debate of what to spend my money on. I've been researching several different kits, individual products, etc. In the past I've had very limited experience in working with strobes, I played with a few 800w alienbees for a bit, but other needs got in the way. I'm currently at the point where I can start reinvesting in my photography equipment. First and foremost, my lenses are somewhat limited, so in the next several months I'm looking at the sigma 28-70mm and the 70-200mm, but those will come after getting my lights.


I'm thinking currently I want to purchase a small speedlite setup with appropriate gear, then after I purchase the lenses, splurge on a full strobe set. For my needs, I feel I'll need between 3-4 external flashes, so the more economically sound method would probably be the speedlites. My current budget is $1,000 or under, and as such I haven't found a decent strobe set.

I stumbled across: Recommended Flash Photography Kits
And they've detailed a kt: [h=2]Portable Home Studio Flash Photography Kit – $788[/h]$144 – Three Impact Light Stands - These stands are much more stable than the ones in the beginner kit. I use these with some HUGE 5 foot tall (1.5 meter) lighting modifiers and they hold up very well with a little sand bag. Buy this from Amazon or Buy this from B&H Photo.
$270 – Three YN-560 II Speedlight Flashes - This is the upgraded version of the YN-560 from the beginner kit. I have owned MANY of these and they have been durable and provide excellent quality for 1/4th the price of similar Canon and Nikon brand flashes. This flash works with both Canon and Nikon brand cameras. I prefer to work with manual flash, but the same company also produces eTTL/iTTL flashes as well. Buy this from Amazon or from B&H Photo
$60 – Two Sets of Flash Trigger/Receivers - You have a big decision to make here. The flash trigger goes on top of your camera and the receiver attaches underneath your flash. This one is super simple to use. There aren’t even any buttons (except a test button) on the trigger/receiver. You just put this baby on and the flash will fire remotely every time you press the shutter button. Buy this infrared trigger on Amazon or Buy from B&H Photo. This trigger works on ALL Canon and Nikon cameras, but Sony photographers need this one.
Note: The only negative to this trigger/receiver is that it is infrared. That will work fine for many indoor and low-light uses, but you’ll probably want to buy a radio trigger/receiver like this one for ANY Canon (it works on all canons even though not all are listed in the description on amazon) or this one for Nikon if you need to fire a flash from far distances or in bright sunlight.
$84 – Two 24″ Softboxes – I LOVE this softbox! works very well and it is a good manageable size. Buy this from Amazon
$19 – One 5-in-1 Reflector - Buy this from Amazon or from B&H Photo
$22 – Two Shoot-Through Umbrellas with black sleeve - Buy this from Amazon or from B&H Photo
$24 – Three Flash Brackets - Buy from Amazon or from B&H Photo
$153 – Large background stand and black and white muslin backdrops – Very nice to have a sturdy backdrop stand and some backgrounds that you can use to set up a studio anywhere. This one is rock solid and cheap (well, it’s cheap in comparison to the next kit down on this list). Buy this from Amazon or from B&H Photo
$12 – 55 Flash gels – Slip these little gels on the head of your flash and you can change the color of the light. Very handy for creative lighting. I use them all the time. Buy this from Amazon or from B&H Photo
$24 – Three Sandbags[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] - Sandbags weigh down your tripod so the stand doesn’t blow over in the wind and break your gear. Skip this step at your own risk. [/FONT]Buy this from Amazon[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] or [/FONT]from B&H Photo[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif].[/FONT]




[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My main question is whether this will be adequate or should I continue saving for a few more months and just buy strobes.[/FONT]

 

[IgsEMT]

Adequate for what?
A fellow photog uses 3 speedlites and a AB to light up a large room + on camera flash. I use vivitar (Armitars) 283 and 285 and/or Nikon speedlites to light up a small room + on camera flash; also have ABs for larger rooms/halls.
Depends on the venue.

For portraits, in studio I use my AB 400, when outdoors, back to speedlites and vivitars.

Light is light. If you have weaker lights and gear with higher is capabilities, it'll work out.

 

[jdsfighter]

I basically want to have enough equipment to meet all the possible scenarios for my shoots. In 2 months, I have 2 weddings, several engagement photo shoots, and a lot of random portraits. I do pretty much everything with natural light, but indoors with my current camera and lenses, I have to use too high of an iso, and am often left with a fair amount of grain. In the next year, should everything take off, I'll be looking at investing in a full studio (already have a location, but parents simply use it for storage), and more equipment.

So I'm just attempting to ensure that the kit I posted will handle all the different types of shoots that I get. I still prefer natural light as much as possible, but I just hate missing a good shot due to inadequate lighting.

 

[Patrice]

I basically want to have enough equipment to meet all the possible scenarios for my shoots. In 2 months, I have 2 weddings, several engagement photo shoots, and a lot of random portraits. I do pretty much everything with natural light, but indoors with my current camera and lenses, I have to use too high of an iso, and am often left with a fair amount of grain. In the next year, should everything take off, I'll be looking at investing in a full studio (already have a location, but parents simply use it for storage), and more equipment.

So I'm just attempting to ensure that the kit I posted will handle all the different types of shoots that I get. I still prefer natural light as much as possible, but I just hate missing a good shot due to inadequate lighting.

Good quality 'strobist' setup

 

[Derrel]

The thing with the kit that Patrice has for sale above is that the flashes are all tough, durable, top-quality flash units, not cheezy Chinese-made flashes...so, who is gonna help funnel more money to Chinese companies cranking out low-priced stuff???

Until you've held, used, and seen the sheer power and the results from a Metz 45-series flash, you probably have no idea of what utter rubbish a $60 Yongy is...the author above describing the Yongys as , "durable and provide excellent quality" made me think of my young 8 year-old son asking me if the movie Tooth Fairy was indeed, "the best movie ever made?"...

Just sayin...

 

[Buckster]

I love my rubbish! It works great, especially for the price, and seems to be holding up just fine! :mrgreen:

And you know what's really hard to figure out, OP? From one photo to the next, nobody seems to know if I used the rubbish or the expensive gear. I can't figure out why that is, when we're told that it's so obvious that one of them is so much better... Oh well...

 

[nickzou]

I thought people's opinion of the YN-560 were generally positive around here.

 

[Buckster]

I thought people's opinion of the YN-560 were generally positive around here.

It is, but not everyone's on board.

 

[Derrel]

I thought people's opinion of the YN-560 were generally positive around here.

Yes...most people are willing to buy cheap stuff from China because it is "good enough". And when it works, it works,and all is well. Of course, "most people's opinions" show us the following truths: McDonald's in the most-popular restaurant in the USA. WalMart is the USA's Number One Retailer. Kraft macaroni and cheese is a fine dinner for children and teens. Soda pop is a healthy kids' drink--ask any schoolboard that has a soda vendor contract!

Hyundai is a better car than BMW or Mercedes Benz--ask any Hyundai owner....they will tell you.

The Toyota Camry is the most-awesome car in the entire USA.

FOX NEWS is awesome! Somewhere north of 60% of Americans believe in angels.

Ernest & Julio Gallo jug wine is the biggest-selling wine out of all brands in the USA, and therefore is the best wine in all of America.

The Shakespeare Ugly Stick fishing rod ($69 at most locations) is the best fishing rod in the world...and $400-$500 Sage and G. Loomis rods are "the same thing".

Yongy flashes are the equal to Metz 45-series handle-mount flashes... yes they are!!! ..and Lindsay Lohan is as good an actress as any working today! lol

 

[Derrel]

2X180WSTROBE-2X803-1SB-1UMB

Speedotron Force 5 1000 watt second Two Monolight Flash System with Case.

Identical. Same thing, basically. One's JUST as good as the other.

I mean, right????

 

[Buckster]

I thought people's opinion of the YN-560 were generally positive around here.

Yes...most people are willing to buy cheap stuff from China because it is "good enough". And when it works, it works,and all is well. Of course, "most people's opinions" show us the following truths: McDonald;s in the most-popular restaurant in the USA. WalMart is the USA's Number One Retailer. Kraft macaronic and cheese is a fine dinner. Soda pop is a healthy kids' drink--ask any schoolboard that has a soda vendor contract! Hyundai is a better car than BMW or Mervcedez Benz--ask any Hyundai owner....they will tell you. The Toyota Camry is the most-awesome car in the entire USA. FOX NEWS is awesome! Somewhere north of 60% of Americans believe in angels. Ernest & Julio Gallow jug wine is the biggest selling, and therefore the best wine in all of America. The SHakespeare Ugly Stick fishing rod ($69 at most locations) is the best fishing rod in the world...and $400-$500 Sage and G. Loomis rods are "the same thing".

Here's what they all have in common: They all get the job at hand done, just like their more expensive counterparts. They fill your belly, quench your thirst, get you where you want to go, give folks who seem to need it their daily dose of propaganda, make some folks feel safer, get those who drink drunk, and catch fish.

When you can identify what brand and model of speedlight was used just by looking at images, and can teach the rest of us how to see that difference, I'll convert. :thumbup:

 

[Buckster]

2X180WSTROBE-2X803-1SB-1UMB

Speedotron Force 5 1000 watt second Two Monolight Flash System with Case.

Identical. Same thing, basically. One's JUST as good as the other.

I mean, right????

Compare apples to apples on power in w/s and modifier size, and we can talk about setting them up side by side to test what the resulting photos look like.

 

[Ballistics]

YN560 is a high quality option. Those who say otherwise, are either biased, or have never seen one in person.
I own a nikon sb-700, YN560, and YN465. The YN560 is more robust, and has a higher quality feel than the sb700.

I paid $45 for the YN560, and I paid 300 for the SB700.

I'll never buy another Nikon flash again.

 

[Derrel]

Let's all see what David Hobby says about the rubbish that are Chinese flash units and triggers, shall we, then reconvene here later, and talk about how fantastic Chinese crap is!!

Strobist: What China Doesn't Understand

Those who say ANY Yongyflash or Yongy product is a "high-quality" flash have never, ever, not even ONCE, held or used a Metz 45-series flash...it's like toy crap versus solid, almost hand-made luxury...

Seriously...laughing at the young man who calls Yongy a "high-quality" flash. Seriously....laughing!

 

[Ballistics]

Let's all see what David Hobby says about the rubbish that are Chinese flash units and triggers, shall we, then reconvene here later, and talk about how fantastic Chinese crap is!!

Strobist: What China Doesn't Understand

Those who say ANY Yongyflash or Yongy product is a "high-quality" flash have never, ever, not even ONCE, held or used a Metz 45-series flash...it's like toy crap versus solid, almost hand-made luxury...

Seriously...laughing at the young man who calls Yongy a "high-quality" flash. Seriously....laughing!

Well, there goes your assumptions about me...again. I've shot with a Metz 45, Vivitar 85, All of the SBxxx series flashes, Speedotrons etc. I could really go on.

You're trying to compare apples to oranges and it's flat out retarded. Lets compare stadium lighting to the YN560 next. Seems like it's the same ballpark.

Or... we could stick to comparing things that are in the same category. Like the Nikon speedlights. I know, it's a crazy concept.