If you had $10,000 to spend on essential items for a start up project...

[dearlybeloved]

Seems like you have all the gear camera and lens you need. id make sure to add a couple fast prime for portraits. 50 and 85 1.8 G works flawlesly on you d800e.

i would blow the rest on a 5 light setup.

2 X 800ws flash heads
2 X 500/600 ws
1 X 1200ws head.
these usally can be found in kits that comes with bags, standard reflectors, umbrelllas and stands


2 strip box
1 large softbox
1 beauty dish
2 barndoors set.
oversized reflectors with grids
1 nice boom
1 background stand and some rolls.
fog machine


minimum 3 vagabon mini

a good set of tranceivers/transmitters
pelican cases

some weigths, upgraded stands.

you should be able to do all that with 10k and with plenty of money left for strippers and models to build youself a porfolio that stands out.

before you spend any money on models, make sure you learn out to shoot them properly because you will waste your money.


Look at bowens lights.

for anything business related, contracts, insurance, taxes and all the other crap some people on here is winning about, you seems ready to figure that out.

since yoju asked for advices on tools. thats what you need

Thats awesome! thank you for that shopping list. I guess the hardest part now is finding whats going to be compatible with what so i dont get a bunch of the wrong stuff. Im still learning about studio lighting and have none to work with so its hard for me to know what im supposed to buy and whats going to be quality and not something Im going to need to replace in the near future.

 

[Derrel]

What are some of the important things you would need?

I have $10,000 to start my own business//landscape and portraits //just starting out so an//already own a Nikon D800e, Nikon sb700, a quality tripod a few budget lenses and will be receiving a Nikon 16-35mm f/4, a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 and a Nikon 85mm f1.4 shortly.

So other than the camera and those lenses, what are some things I should look into? trigger, studio lights (portable lights?), filters, other lenses, etc.

The business and marketing side of things is what determines if you will fail or succeed. I have not read any of the other posts in this thread, just responding to your PM.

I would not waste money on an 85/1.4. Just get the new 85/1.8 AF-S G. GREAT lens, good to own for its critical sharpness and light weight and HUGE price/performance. One of the finest 85's on the market; I have no idea why Nikon's 1.4 model even exists. SAVE the MONEY the 1.4 costs--do NOT spend the money on an 85mm 1.4!!!!!

Landscapes: primes are sharper than zooms. Significantly so on the D800e. Go to DxOMark.com and read their D800 lens suitability report. The 16-35 VR is very sharp for a zoom. The 24-70 and 70-200 are good zooms, and will be fine for a lot of uses. You have a good lens kit with those three top-class zooms and an 85/1.8 G.

Computer capability is a necessity. Lightroom 4 for sure, and some good actions for portraiture and wedding workflow. Remote release for shooting without your hand on the shutter button.

Lighting:The following is my opinion after 27 years of Speedotron ownership. I looked at the Paul C. Buff kit. Wow...a great kit for Paul C. Buff's bottom line. Almost $3,000 and not much that's very sophisticated for CONTROL of the light. Needs more light SHAPING TOOLS. I would not spend money on Einsteins--they are wayyyover-priced and over-engineered for portraiture. Lots of high-tech specifications and uselessly technical bullspit specs that look good on paper and mean literally chit in-studio for portraiture. Over-priced, and not what a portrait or landscape shooter who is starting out,and is on a budget,really needs. 1/10th f/stop repeatability, ultra-short durations? Yadda-yadda.

4 monolights x 640 Watt-secons...just... wow, what a bad,bad allocation of power. Buy a pack-and head system with one big pack, and one small pack, and at LEAST five decent flash heads to start. Buy it used. Buy Speedotron for value and dependability and modifiers that WORK, and heads that will not break when they get dinged, banged, dropped, or worked hard. Speedotron's mylar snap-on diffusers for their 7 inch and 11.5 inch and 16-inch reflectors are a lighting necessity. One, or two diffusers per reflector can make a world of difference. You will sooner rather than later need at LEAST five flash heads. You need two 11.5 inch reflectors, and four mylar diffusers,and a 20 and a 35 degree honeycomb for the 11.5 set. You need three 7-inch reflectors, with a full honeycomb grid set, and six mylar diffusers. You need four sets of barn doors, two for 11.5 in ch, two for 7 inch, and one set for a 16- or 20-inch parabolic reflector or beauty dish.

Two, 46-inch Photek Softlighter II umbrella boxes. Or three of them. A Photoflex 36x48 softbox. A long strip-box with grid, from e-Bay. Two of them, ideally. A pair of Photoflex convertible umbrellas. A Manfrotto or other heavy-duty boom stand with 15 lb counterweight. Seamless paper rolls, white, gray, black.Crossbar and stand set-up, preferrably Bogen Autopoles and crossbars with Expan Chain Drive system. Gaffer's tape, plenty of it. Some Bogen creative gels for the lights. Bunch of reflectors, at least one or better yet FOUR, the size of doors, and some way to join them (clips, wire, cordage) to make V-flats. ONE SIDE WHITE, ONE SIDE BLACK. Fabric is handiest, but foam-board will work for non-location non-transportable ones.

You will seldom need more than 200 Watt-seconds from a Speedotron flash head whenh its part of a 4- or 5- light setup; their power is not doubly-inflated in the Buff-style...400 W-s from a Speedo 11.5 inch reflector will overpower August sunlight from 13 feet away at a very small f/stop (f/13) at 1/250 at base ISO...so in Buff-speak that'd probably be called a "1000"...lol...and not in a funny lol way,either...

Don't spend a lot of money on expensive PER HEAD flash monolights like Einsteins when starting out....spend it on light shapers and reflectors and diffusers and modifiers! I would rather have EIGHT crappy old Speedotron Brown Line heads and two, 400 Watt-second, 4-outlet Brownline D402 packs than four "640" Eisteins...I would have twice as many light heads, and many more options for modifiers and speed rings AND I would never worry it'd break if it dropped 3 feet onto carpet or just crap out in-transit. AND, I would save a ton of money too. Spend money on usefulness and real-word, old-school light modifying and shaping and not on sexy high-tech specs and minute, incremental 'control'; that is the B.S. that Buff's marketing lures newbies and geeks in with...spec-talk...tech-talk, the idea of incremental "control". You want 1/10th f/stop control over output??? Move the light stand 1 or 2 inches. And no, I am NOT kidding you.

 

[dearlybeloved]

Awesome! im going to start breaking down everything youve said and research it all. should i be looking into more constant light or strobes?combination?


EDIT: As I start to look at some of the comparisons on the DxOMark.com site, I feel like I could be better off with different lenses and save money by not buying all Nikon lenses. For example, the Nikon 16-35 f/4 vs the Tokina 17-28 f/2.8. The Nikon scores one point lower (by DxOMark.com's standards) than the Tokina which sits at almost half the cost at $749.00 compared to the latter which is $1256.95. I'm also looking for a good comparison of the nikon 70-200 f/4 vs the 70-200 f/2.8 vr2. If i can save some money in that area then I would be more than willing unless there is a huge difference.

Edit: Just realized it wont take filters... thats a huge no for me.

 

[gsgary]

50mmF0.95 Noctilux

 

[Derrel]

Speedotron Products Accessories


Speedotron Products Accessories


Speedotron Products Accessories


Speedotron Product Details


Speedotron Product Details


Speedotron Product Details

Here you go Dave.

 

[dearlybeloved]

Speedotron Products Accessories


Speedotron Products Accessories


Speedotron Products Accessories


Speedotron Product Details


Speedotron Product Details


Speedotron Product Details

Here you go Dave.

wow, thanks! dont have to go too far now.

 

[dearlybeloved]

after looking and seeing whats in my range and what i feel i may like I think im going to go with the paul c buff busy bee package and add 2 extra lights to make it a 5 light set up. Im looking to see if ill need anything else to make those 2 extra lights work with the rest of the package and what wattage of lights.

Also, since im a student ill get 10% off which is another really nice thing.

Paul C. Buff - The Busy Bee Package

 

[Derrel]

Yes, stepping away from the high-tech Einstein lights saves you a TON of money. On the case of the 16-35mm f/4 VR-NIKKOR...the NEW 18-35mm model released last month is almost as sharp, and is also in the price range of the Tamron, but, since it is a NIKKOR, it will hold its value much better. It is so newly-released that it has not been reviewed by DxO Mark that I am aware of. Ken Rockwell has a brief article on the new 18-35 zoom. The 70-200 f/4 versus the 70-200/2.8 VR-II...tough call...smaller,lighter, MUCH less-expensive versus...the best Nikon makes.

 

[dearlybeloved]

Yea, I was looking at them a little closer and felt i could come out better with 5 lights, and extras for a better price. I also think im going to stick with the 16-35 for optical and build quality. Id rather just spend it while I can instead of wishing i got it to begin with. I checked out the kenrockwell review and even though I dont really feel I want the 14-24 as its obviously superior, but it doesnt hold filters which is a no go for me right now. would i be wrong to say that my main goal is to achieve quality photographs for clients and that spending the extra on the 16-35 that the lower distortion and sharpness will pay off in the end result? I was also looking at the 70-200 f4 and f2.8 too and think Ill be happier with the 2.8 in the long run. I like to travel a lot and the quality of the 2.8 will definitely last and give me the versatility in lower light.... which I ALWAYS seem to find myself in.

 

[Mully]

Buy a Harley get a chick to ride with you and keep photography fun.

 

[Derrel]

VERY few people can tell the difference between the images from a 14-24, 17-35,18-35,or 16-35, especially people who are buying photos. Personally, I think the 14-24 is a bad,bad choice for people or events...it's wayyyyy too wide on the lower end, and the top end is also too wide....16 to 35mm is a much better usable range for people on FX. Lens sharpness is overrated I think. Your equipment is not what will make you succeed, or fail. How well you USE what you have, and your business and marketing skills count for much more than what kind of lenses or lights you happen to own. Almost any half-decent modern gear is plenty good if shot with decent lighting.

You are in for a real workout, Dave.

 

[dearlybeloved]

VERY few people can tell the difference between the images from a 14-24, 17-35,18-35,or 16-35, especially people who are buying photos. Personally, I think the 14-24 is a bad,bad choice for people or events...it's wayyyyy too wide on the lower end, and the top end is also too wide....16 to 35mm is a much better usable range for people on FX. Lens sharpness is overrated I think. Your equipment is not what will make you succeed, or fail. How well you USE what you have, and your business and marketing skills count for much more than what kind of lenses or lights you happen to own. Almost any half-decent modern gear is plenty good if shot with decent lighting.

You are in for a real workout, Dave.

I plan on it being a work out. once i get the lighting equipment I have to learn how you use it properly. I want to use the versatility of the 16-35 for landscapes and my own person creative stuff I like to get into. I was also going to show you my cart from paulcbuff to see if theres anything I'm missing. I got the busy bee setup and added a 1600 and another 400. I also added stands for each plus a small backlight stand (just in case), 20 gels, gel holder and I think thats it.

 

[Benco]

I know you're looking at purchasing stuff rather than services but even so I'd put aside some dosh for some sort of business launch, an exhibition for instance. Contract a PR pro to set it all up for you, they'll have loads of useful advice and they'll do a fantastic job; get you a venue, get you into local news, get the right people to your show and so on, it's a great way to throw your hat in the ring.

...and because they do all the difficult, boring work it's really fun for you.

 

[dearlybeloved]

I know you're looking at purchasing stuff rather than services but even so I'd put aside some dosh for some sort of business launch, an exhibition for instance. Contract a PR pro to set it all up for you, they'll have loads of useful advice and they'll do a fantastic job; get you a venue, get you into local news, get the right people to your show and so on, it's a great way to throw your hat in the ring.

...and because they do all the difficult, boring work it's really fun for you.

That sounds like an awesome idea. I have access to venues and **** too. so i can pool together some resources and make that happen.

 

[rexbobcat]

And business cards. I can't count how many times I've been leisurely shooting some event for free and then someone comes up and asks me for contact info and I don't have anything to give them.

For a basic front-back card, a lot of places will print 500-1000 for like $40