Lighting Equipment

[flyin-lowe]

My father has a birthday coming up and some family members have purchased a stand and some backdrops for him. He does not do any professional work just picks of the kids and grandchildren. He has a Promaster flash (7500 series I think) and I also have a 430 EX that he can use. He shoots with a 40D. I was thinking about getting his some lighting equipment to help him with the portrait's he will be shooting with his new backdrops. Is there some type of setup I can get (stands, and diffuser) that he can use with the two flashes or would it be cheaper to just buy him some lighting and forget about the two flashes we already have. I didn't know what kind of expense I would be looking at to get his 40D to fire the two flashes I have mentioned above.
Thanks for the input. This is just for home use so I would like to get something rigged up for around $200.00 if possible.
Thanks

 

[Misfitlimp]

Go to alienbees website u can get a 2 light setup of strobes for about 6 hundo plus shipping

 

[Big Mike]

Studio lighting like Alienbees would be a good choice...but would we well past your budget. There are cheaper 'e-bay' kits out there...but many of them look pretty iffy.

HERE is a kit, all put together, that includes stands, umbrellas, adapters, radio triggers etc. The link is for the kit without flashes, but you can add a flash or two for a good price.

 

[benlonghair]

If he's doing it in-doors, you could look into AC strobe equipment, which doesn't seem too terribly pricy. This one specifically might be a decent thing to start with. If I understand it correctly, all you need is an on camera flash to trigger it.

Others would have to comment on the quality of this set up, but I'm sure lighting can be done fairly inexpensivly.

 

[Derrel]

I think the best compromise between Alien bees and Strobist-style speedlights/umbrella swivel mounts is the Adorama Flashpoint monolight system. This base model 150 watt-second unit comes with an umbrella, a 10-foot air cushioned light stand, and free shipping.

FP320K Flashpoint II 320A Monolight Kit, 150 Watt Second, One Monolight Kit with Stand and Umbrella.

Adorama sells remote triggering systems from about $32 on up. With most all monolights you only need ONE triggering system; additional Flashpoint monolights all have their own built-in slave trigger, so the one that is tripped by the transmitter on the camera will trip a second or third or fourth monolight that is slave-equipped.

The free shipping on these kits is nothing to sneeze at; longer items like light stands can rack up pretty good shipping charges from many vendors.

 

[Village Idiot]

Two stands, two shoot through umbrellas, and two radio triggers. That's about $140 in all and you can use it with the two existing flashes to good effect.