lighting kit questions, help.

[joush]

well id like some advice from other photographers that are using strobe lighting kits, i take model photography, have mainly done on location photos, but i have now acquired some space for a studio, which even has a green screen setup, and id like some help in choosing some lighting strobes and softboxes, triggers, etc, i really dont know what ill need, lol. but i am looking at a website which claims are great products, can someone please help me to see if my equipment will be compatible, suitable for the kits they offer.

i have a canon xti, a sony dsc-f828 and a sony trv-950 for video, i basically would like some sort of strobe lighting for the cameras and soft box lighting for recording video, will these strobes be compatible with my cameras or are these kits even worth it. please let me know, thank you.

here are a few of the kits they sell,
http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Categories?category=FLASH/STROBE+LIGHTING+KITS

their website is http://www.skaeser.com

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, if you are planning to shoot still photos and video, then strobes may not be the way to go because strobes would be useless foe video.

The light you linked to, look a little on the cheap side to me. If you are setting up a studio, you may want to invest in some better quality and more powerful equipment.

You will be able to trigger just about any studio strobe lights with any camera that has a hot shoe, which I know your XTi does (and maybe your Sony, but I don't know why you would use that one, when the XTi is far superior).

 

[joush]

thanks mike for the response, know of a good place where to buy some lighting online in the us.

basically im looking for lighting to have in studio and to have prtable if necessary, for the xti ill need a strobe then, how good with a soft box light do during say an interview for filming. thanks.

 

[Big Mike]

Check out www.Alienbees.com
They have a line of lights and accesories that is pretty good. Some 'gear snobs' don't like them, but many of on the forum use them, and they work pretty well. That same company has a higher end line called WhiteLighting.
Elinchrom is a good name for lights and accesories, they can be found at many photo retailers. (use the links at the top of the page for B&H and Adorama).
I've also heard good things about the lights from Calumet http://www.calumetphoto.com/

I don't know much of anything about constant studio lights for video...but I'm sure that B&H carries that stuff as well. You may be able to find some accesories that are compatible with both strobes and video lighting.

 

[joush]

hey mike so you wouldnt at all recommend that kit that i put a link to even for a beginner.

 

[Big Mike]

Well, looking a bit closer, the do appear to have a good level of power...not great, but still good at a guide number of 172.

I don't know anything about the quality of them, and I haven't heard any testimonials about them, so I can't really be sure.

It all looks like a pretty good kit...but sometimes the presentation is better than the product, you know what I mean?

It says '100% satisfaction Guaranteed'...so if you believe that, then go ahead. I did a quick search and couldn't dig up any dirt on Steve Kaeser.

So, while I can't really recommend that kit...I can't not-recommend it either.