My first "studio"

rlcphotos · Jul 23, 2009

redtippmann said:
so what light would you recommend?

a strobe, I have hot lights and not very satisfied with them,,if you want I will sell them to you,,,pm me

JerryPH · Jul 23, 2009

See what I mean? :lol:

That is pretty much the consensus of almost everyone who touches constant on lighting. The ones who defend it... likely never bothered to learn or even try flashes... becuase if they did, they would have tossed those constant on lights a long time ago.

Constant on lighting is cool for film... and to be honest, I know of ways that constant on lighting could be beneficial for me, and I will one day look at it... but it won't be those cheap ebay kits for 90 bucks... lol

Dmitri · Jul 23, 2009

ok let me ask this then.
If I buy the vivitar, does it a) work with canon and b) would I need a to buy a light meter?

redtippmann · Jul 23, 2009

A) yes B) you should have a light meter in your camera but on the side of the flash is a calculator where you dial in your settings. There is a youtube video about it.

PS: thanks for taking my thread.

JerryPH · Jul 23, 2009

Dmitri said:
ok let me ask this then.
If I buy the vivitar, does it a) work with canon and b) would I need a to buy a light meter?

Yes.. but you want to learn to contol your flash, and MORE importantly... do what it takes to get the flash OFF the camera. On camera flash is way less flatterring, flat, introduces red eye and basically sucks compared to off camera lighting.

Off camera flash is much better in terms of final results, both aesthetically and artistically.

Do you need a light meter... yes and no. Yes, becuase you can dial in the results you want a little faster and more accurately. No, becuase you can use your camera's histograms to serve as a light meter.

In the studio, I use a light meter becuase I can set my ratios with great accuracy. Is it mandatory? No, especially with only 1 flash when you are starting out.

It is recommended to get one... later, once you get more serious and get more advanced about it.

Dmitri · Jul 23, 2009

Thanks for all the info, Jerry. You've certainly given me much to think about. I headed over to strobist and will do some heavy reading. :thumbsup:

Redtipp, sorry I asked a question in your thread.

JerryPH · Jul 23, 2009

oh, for Vivitar 285HV owners, there is a guy that made an external battery pack for it, for like under 40 bucks! It decreases recycle times and increases battery life well over double. I, personally would use a bigger SLA battery and go for the 1000 picture mark before needing a recharge... lol

DIY Vivitar 285 HV Battery Pack - Page 1

RyanLilly · Jul 23, 2009

JerryPH said:
oh, for Vivitar 285HV owners, there is a guy that made an external battery pack for it, for like under 40 bucks! It decreases recycle times and increases battery life well over double. I, personally would use a bigger SLA battery and go for the 1000 picture mark before needing a recharge... lol

DIY Vivitar 285 HV Battery Pack - Page 1

I was considering something similar to this, I would skip the battery holder connector, and just install a power jack in the side of the flash. That requires a bit more crap be disassembled and screwed with, but I think it would be more convenient and less expensive. Plus it's more convenient to clip a couple of SLA batteries to a "battery maintainer" type trickle charger in the garage an just leave them charging all the time. Now I have to constantly refresh different sets of AA, then try to keep two or three dozen batteries from getting mix up while taking up all my outlets for chargers. (currently 3 for camera batteries and 3 or 4 for AA's, Power strips help though.)

Anyway, good link.

FourAcesPhotography · Jul 24, 2009

Quick rundown:

KmH said:
For backdrops I use seamless paper rolls that are 9' wide and 12 yards long. I buy them from B&H and they cost $43 a roll plus shipping (I get free regular shipping from B&H with my NAPP membership). They come in many colors though I mostly use gray and white. White is only $40.

JerryPH said:
A shoot through AND bounce umbrella is $14.
A light stand is $23.
A swivel mount is $16
A wireless trigger receiver and transmitter are $30

Add in the aforementioned Vivitar 285VH and throw in a reflector and you got your studio for a couple hundred bucks.

Can anyone else think of any other immediate equipment?

JerryPH · Jul 24, 2009

Honestly thats all you need for a good base, even without a backdrop. Use the great outdoors as your backdrop! Anything more than that is so that you can increase the complexity and/or increase the control and/or size of the area lit, of the lighting setup for more varied effects.

The style of the photographer determines their needs and level of equipment. I am a proponent of the "start slow, start small and build as you need" set. I also prefer the "KISS" method too. Though a well designed 50 strobe compilation serves a purpose, and is impressive as heck, I tend to stick to 2 speedlights or 1 studio head and a back light lately even if I do have the options of using more of any of the 3 studio heads and 6 speedlights in my meager collection.

Dmitri · Jul 24, 2009

Well Jerry, you talked me into it. I just ordered the Vivitar instead of the cowboy studio kit. $84.99 +2.98S&H and no tax from Overstock.com.

Now I have to buy that other stuff you listed above (thanks very much for the detailed list and links!).

Here's to money, well, spent

edit: oh, and batteries. Need to buy batteries!

FourAcesPhotography · Jul 24, 2009

The Vivitar 285VH is great - but it's a monster - even for a portable strobe! What are recommendations for smaller alternatives under $300?

As far as STUDIO strobes, I'm reading a book that "recommends that your purchase at least four self-contained units, such as... the X Series from Paul Buff ($399 and up)."

What do you guys think about that?

redtippmann · Jul 24, 2009

Hey just another question. My dad wants me to shoot his wedding for him and I was wondering if the Vivitar would work on my D2H? I know the camera can trigger it but I was wondering if the flash would produce an even light indoors?

JerryPH · Jul 24, 2009

FourAcesPhotography said:
The Vivitar 285VH is great - but it's a monster - even for a portable strobe! What are recommendations for smaller alternatives under $300?

For startes? The Vivitar 285. Size is unimportant becuase its off on a light stand 10 feet away... what do you care what size it is?

If you want to spend more money, its not going to be for more power, but more options... like the ability to be remotely triggered via CLS/TTL... in that case for Nikon people... an SB-600.

FourAcesPhotography said:
As far as STUDIO strobes, I'm reading a book that "recommends that your purchase at least four self-contained units, such as... the X Series from Paul Buff ($399 and up)."

What do you guys think about that?

I think that guy needs to buy a book or DVD from Zack Arias... its called ONE LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY.

Seriously, for people starting out, one will get you far. Master one light, THEN add more. Trust me, its a lot more challenging than you may think but it is so rewarding to be able to say "I *know* what I am doing".

Derrel · Jul 24, 2009

In regards to FourAces' question, "As far as STUDIO strobes, I'm reading a book that "recommends that your purchase at least four self-contained units, such as... the X Series from Paul Buff ($399 and up).What do you guys think about that?"

My personal preference is not for self-contained strobes aka monolights, but rather pack-and-head systems. Monlights are very expensive per watt-seconds; I think a four-light portrait setup is pretty standard; main light, fill light, grid-and-barndoors equipped separation/hair light, and a background light; often times two background lights are needed to easily and smoothly elevate large gray backgrounds up to white or lifting a black seamless up to gray. With a low-cost power pack,like a used Speedotron six-outlet pack like a used 2401B for $500 and four used 102 or 103 heads, you have the ability to light sophisticated setups pretty easily.

Monolights get very expensive when you need four or five or six of them. Power packs these days are very low-cost on the used market, and many brands have ample accessories designed for professional use and long life. I know a lot of beginners and hobbyists love Alien Bees and White Lightnings, but I got into studio flash before the Bees were invented, with the most popular studio flash brand in the USA, which is Speedotron. For beginners, there is no better value than Speedotron; it's a system that has compatibility dating to the 1960's right up to the present day,so there's a ton of used equipment available, very cheaply these days with the lousy economy and all the commercial studios that have folded/are going under, liquidating their lighting gear.

If you go with the lower-cost Brown Line power packs and heads, you can buy D402LV power supplies for $100-$125 on eBay every week,and light heads with 400 watt-second flashtubes are selling or $50-$65 on eBay quite often. D802 800 watt-second Brown Line power packs are very affordable on the used market. If you need say, 1600 watt-seconds fired through one light head, a D1602 power pack and M11 light head is very cheap on the used market ($75 used, $225 new). Same with the D604 600 watt-second, four-outlet power supply.

With monolights, high output level monolights cost a veritable fortune compared with used Speedotron Black Line packs and the "standard",cheap 102 or 103 light heads. With a 2400 watt-second six-outlet pack, you can fire 2400,1200,800 watt-seconds through 1, 2, or 3 light heads--or 400 through six heads. For portrait work, with d-slr cameras, as little as 50 watt-second per head is often enough for fill and hair/separaton lights, so the cost of three or four monlights at $350-$400 each is wasted money that would be better spent on quality light modifiers and a decent boom stand and some good light stands and some accessories like grids,barndoors,and scrims and reflector cards.

I will re-state that last point again: for portraiture of singles and couples,you are wasting money by purchasing four, 400-watt-second monolights because as little as 50 to 100 watt-seconds is often all you need for one or two of the lghts,especially with new d-slrs that have a base ISO of 200. SPLITTING 400,600,or 800 watt-seconds through three, or four light outlets on a power pack is all you will need for many shoots.

If it were "me" I would investigate the pack-and-head system by talking or corresponding with somebody who has experience with pack and heads. Monolights have some advantages, but buying three or four matching monolights might not really be as economically feasible,or flexible, as buying a pack-and head system that has ALL the accessories you will eventually want.

Dropping $1600 for four $399 Paul C Buff monolights would mean foregoing a MUCH more-complete,broader, and more-capable Speedotron system that would have higher output, more outlets, and more options, at a used cost of $1,000 or so for the entire Speedotron system--maybe even dramatically LESS than $1,000 if you score some good buys and choose wisely. Like I said, used lighting gear is extremely affordable these days...and with Speedotron it usually has years of life left due to the design and build quality of every item in the line.