Dpreview: 10 Home Studio Kits

[Tee]

Since there's a fairly good amount of "I wanna start a home studio" threads, I thought this may help. The article covers various budget ranges from cheap to pricey. Interestingly, a fan favorite of intro DSLR photographers, Paul C. Buff (Alien Bees) was not listed. Also of note is one can invest into the Elinchrom system (D-Lite 4 IT) for cheaper than what a similar Alien Bees set up would be (not by much). Or one could throw 3 more bills down and upgrade to the Elinchrom BXRI kit. On the back end, a new buyer should factor in replacement bulbs and parts and in the Elinchrom/Profoto tier, they get pricey. I admit I'm becoming an Elinchrom fanboy after shooting with them over the winter at a studio I rented. I do like that the wireless trigger system is included in their kits. Enjoy.

Buyer's Guide: 10 Home Studio Lighting Kits: Digital Photography Review

 

[KmH]

.......however we couldn't look at studio lighting without mentioning the superbly-named manufacturer, Alien Bees. They produce quirky self-contained flash heads in five bold colors, starting at $224.95 (via Paul C. Buff Inc.) offering excellent value-for-money. They may look like fun on the outside, but each Alien Bees product incorporates some serious specs, making them worthy of consideration whatever your level of skill or budget. The company does offer pre-packaged kits on its US site, but not via its international distributors.

The Alien Bees did get a big page 1 mention though.

 

[Tee]

That's true. The only 2 light kit package PCB offers is the Einstein. Still, I'm surprised there was no detailed review for such a popular company.