Do you have a cheap studio strobe recommendation?

[ulrichsd]

Hi everyone,

Do you have an inexpensive studio strobe setup that you like? <$300

Or at least something that I could slowly assemble? Buy one now for $100-200 and add another one or two later?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[tirediron]

The Flashpoint series from Adorama are well reviewed. You can also try Craig's list - I see reasonably priced units come up fairly often.

 

[Bram]

Yeah craigslist usually is a good place to start, if not try amazon as well. Both have cheap strobes seeing as you're a Nikon guy. I have seen the sb600 go for around $150.00 which is a great price.

 

[Big Mike]

AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment

 

[RockstarPhotography]

^^^^^^^
second for alien bee

 

[ulrichsd]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Bram, I'm looking more for a studio strobe than a speedlight I think.

Tirediron, are you suggesting something like this? $99 seems like a good price! FP320220 Flashpoint Model II 320A Monolight, 150 Watt Second Strobe for 220 Volt Countries or http://www.adorama.com/FP320M.html

Mike and Rockstar, I always hear great things about Alienbees so I'm sure they are great, but what do you get for the extra price? AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment

By comparison the Alienbee B400 is $240 w/ 160 w/s compared with the Flashpoint 320A which is $99 w/ 150 w/s.

Is watts per second the best way to compare light output? Is the biggest difference between these two build quality? I know the recycle time is longer as well (0.5sec vs 1.2 sec). Since I'm an amateur, not a big deal though on these two points.

Thanks again for the feedback!
Scott

 

[Derrel]

You'd probably want the 320M for 110-120 Volt AC countries, shown here. FP320M Flashpoint II 320M, 150 Watt Second AC / DC Monolight Strobe.

The new M-series Flashpoints have AC/DC capability, and can be powered with a lightweight, 15-ounce DC battery pack. The best way to compare flashes is by Guide Number with their standard reflector, and the knowledge of how many degrees that reflector disperses the light over. I recommend the Flashpoint 320-M model to beginners here, mainly because of the results I have seen from them, as well as the low price, who the vendor/importer is (Adorama), and how long the product has been on the market, and the price/power ratio. I think the price/power/feature ratio is much better with the Flashpoint 320 models than it is with the low-powered Alien Bees, which are smaller and more compact.

 

[Turbo]

I have the Flashpoint 320M. I'd recommend it. $140 for the light, a stand, and umbrella. Info on them isn't exactly consistent, so here's my poorly written review on another forum.

Flashpoint II 320M review

 

[ulrichsd]

Thanks Derrel and Turbo, I think the 320M looks like it would be what I'm looking for.

From Adorama's website: "Can be Fired with the Sync Cord Attached to the Camera PC Terminal, with a PC Adapter on the Hot Shoe (FAHSPCA) or with the Built in Slave Unit."

Since it has a built-in slave, does this mean that it can trigger wirelessly with my D90? Or will I need pc cords?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Big Mike]

The 'built-in slave' on most studio strobes, is an optical trigger. It means that the light will fire when it detects another flash. So if you have a group of them, you only need to directly trigger one of them, the rest will fire when the 'see' the first one flash.

Technically yes, you could use the built-in flash on your D90 to trigger the strobe(s)...but keep in mind you must have the ability to set the built-in flash to manual mode. If you don't, the built-in flash will use a pre-flash for it's TTL metering and the pre-flash will trigger the strobes and they won't be able to fire again when the actual flash fires when the shutter is open. And of course, this also adds a light to your scene, which you may or may not want.

If you're getting a strobe, I'd suggest getting a wireless radio trigger. They can be had for as little as $40. Gadget Infinity :: Digital Camera :: Flash Trigger :: Wireless Trigger :: Cactus Wireless Flash Trigger Set V4

 

[ulrichsd]

Mike, thanks for the info, very helpful!

 

[Derrel]

You can set the Nikon D-SLR cameras, all of them, to Manual flash, and select a low power setting to use the pop-up flash to trigger the slaved flash units. One mistake a lot of people make is to try and use an Automatic flash metering mode, like some type of TTL or i-TTL or redeye reduction TTL flash; what happens then is that the camera fires a very brief pre-flash, meters that flash, and immediately calculates the needed flash exposure, and then outputs the needed flash exposure. Unfortunately, in these types of Automatic flash metering modes, that doggone pre-flash trips the slaved units!!!! Sooooooo.....when using a camera flash, either built-in or hotshoe, it's essential that said flash pop be of the old-fashioned ONE-POP variety!!!! The problem with pre-flashes comes up about weekly it seems.