Thoughts on Beginner Lighting Kit

[kripsys]

Hi Everyone!

New to the forum, but have been using the forum extensively over the past couple of months as I venture into the world of photography. Many thanks to those of you who post regularly in various threads regarding gear and learning materials, as I have found many of your thoughts to be invaluable thus far.

A total newbie, my interest in photography has been spurred on by the pending birth of my first child. Treasuring my own childhood photos, I want to be able to capture my child's life moments as best I can in the coming years. First up though, are portraits - currently of my pregnant wife, and soon of our new baby.

I've been taking portraits of my wife on a weekly basis as her pregnancy progresses, but have found (through trial and error - mostly error) that both my camera's flash, and the flash which I purchased (Nikkon SB-400) are inadequate to produce the quality of images I'm looking for. As such, I am looking to purchase some additional portraiture lighting.

From my reading, I have learned that continuous lighting might be the best option for beginners, given that you receive immediate feedback when you move around your lights. However, there appears to be much more control and flexibility with strobes for an experienced photographer. Given that I am on a limited budget, and plan on improving my skills over the coming weeks/months/years, I would prefer to skip the continuous lighting, and move right to strobes.

Given my aforementioned limited budget, I have been looking to get bang for my buck. Cowboystudio, Square Perfect and the like seem to give you a lot of VOLUME for your dollar, but from what I've read, are lacking in quality. Higher end set-ups tend to be out of my price range. From my reading, Flashpoint seems to fall right in the sweet spot, providing affordable lighting for beginners, but with enough quality that you can expect their products to both work and last.

With all of that in mind, I have made up a list of the items I am considering purchasing from Adorama for my first portrait lighting kit (see the attached photo). I was hoping to keep my costs around $500 CDN. As you can see, given that I live in Canada, shipping and taxes hit me hard, as does the current exchange rate. However, I am willing to put out the extra money if it gets me everything I will need.

Anyways, everyone's general thoughts have been so helpful in my quest so far, I thought I'd post and get some specific feedback from everyone regarding my potential lighting purchase. Please let me know your thoughts on my proposed package, and any alternatives in terms of brand, gear, or Canadian purchasing locations you can think of.

Many thanks in advance for the help!

 

[D-B-J]

Seems like a solid choice for a beginning setup. My only question is what are you planning to do about triggering the strobes?

Jake

 

[Derrel]

Looks okay to me, but the snoot is NOT very useful at ALL. And, it's a rather expensive $45. I would scrap the snoot. I consider snoots to be a VERY limited use modifier. As in "I've never needed one in 25 years," and yet. somehow, I have accumulated four of them...and NEVER, as in not one time, ever, have I used one, nor needed one. A grid on the other hand, is a VERY useful accessory. If they have a set of three, like a 10-degree and a 20-degree, and perhaps a 35 or 40-degree, I would buy that three-grid set. I use grids frequently. Same with the barn door set that allows the grid to be mounted (I actually own that very barndoor/grid set from Adorama).

You can trigger the flashes with the included PC connector cord, or use the SB-400 as a flash slave trigger. The set-up you're getting will be fine for many things. Those are items I've recommended on TPF multiple times before.

 

[kripsys]

Thanks for the feedback D-B-J and Derrel.

D-B-J: I was planning on using the included cord to trigger the strobes, as mentioned by Derrel.

Derrel: Thanks for the feedback on the Snoot. Given my limited budget, I want to allocate my funds to where they will be best used. Given your advice, I think I will opt for this instead: Flashpoint II FP2GS7 Grid Set for 7-3/4in Reflectors FP2GS7.

I'll wait a while in case anyone else has any feedback or ideas prior to making my purchases, but am glad to hear that I appear to be on the right track. In either case, I'll post again to let everyone know how I made out, in the hopes that my experience will help others down the road.

 

[Derrel]

That 7 and 3/4 inch diameter grid set appears too small to fit INSIDE the lip of the standard Flashpoint reflector, which is an 8 inch model. These grids could I think, be modified, or just taped, to the front of the flashpoint barndoor kit. Reading the "questions" section makes me wonder why this set is there. I

There are TWO main ways to attach a grid: first is a specific, snap-in size with close tolerances, that fits RIGHT INTO the flat, front lip on the reflector. The second way is the way Alien Bees and FLashpoint do it, which is by using a barn door accessory like the one you're buying here Flashpoint II FPBDK Barndoor Kit 40 Deg Honeycomb Grid FPBDK

As you can (maybe) see, this system uses a thin, steel or tin "plate", that slides down into two grooves, which hold the grid, or the color filters, or the mylar diffuser filter, in place, on the front or "outside" of the slot. Just a really simple "guillotine" type system where the plate drops down into two retaining tracks. The barn doors are often wanted when using a grid, and the retaining tracks are spacious enough to allow you to mount the mylar diffuser AND the grid at the same time. The 7 3/4 inch grids will not fit tightly directly into the 8-inch standard reflector without a shim, but I think ytou could TAPE them to the front of the barn doors.

The mylar diffuser is the milk-jug-colored one. There is a blue, and a yellow and a red colored filter, then that milky one is the mylar diffuser. The 40-degree grid is mounted on a plate that is the same size as the colored filters and the diffuser. I feel that a grid + mylar diffuser + barn doors trio is an absolutely essential accent lighting tool. I use one for my hairlight most of the time.

 

[lucian]

You might want to look at www.bhphotovideo.com and check out the IMPACT series. We have the Impact in our studio and they function well.

Some of the kits come with two monolights, stands, softbox and reflectors. My preference is reflectors. When starting they can be very forgiving.

As to triping the monolights: we use a Nikon D200, Promaster 7500 on manual firing at the ceiling and triggering the monolights.

As to firing the lights using the sync cord there are two concerns.
(1) your movement is limited to the length of the sync cord;
(2) I would suspect you need to be sure of the trigger voltage. Depending on the camera too high a trigger voltage coul damage the camera.

 

[kripsys]

Hi Lucian - I hadn't even considered the IMPACT series as an option. However, after looking at some of the packages which they have available as well, I now have a whole host of additional possibilities to explore! Many thanks for the reply. Again, I'll keep everyone posted!

 

[canontb81]

kripsys - I am also from Canada and looking at a similar setup but still not sure if I should go strobe or continuous. I was wondering did you consider looking at amazon - they sometimes have better prices.

http://www.amazon.ca/Fotodiox-Unive...sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=flashpoint+barndoor+kit

Did you already purchase a backdrop?

 

[JustJazzie]

Your cart looks very similar to what mine did a few weeks ago. I am very impressed with the flashpoint strobes! I haven't even used the snoot yet- so I have to agree with Derrel on maybe scraping that one. I opted to get the barn door (no gels) and a set of honeycomb grids. Something you might want to consider depending on your shooting style. I know when I was first looking I didn't realize you could buy the barn door without gels so I thought I would mention that. I think it knocks off 30-40$ if I remember correctly. One thing I didn't order was radio triggers and I regretted it IMMEDIATELY. I was going to rely on the PC sync cord and optical trigger. Well- I kept tangling the cord, getting caught on things and almost pulling down my lights. To top it off- if I didn't have light number 2 positioned JUST RIGHT the optical trigger wouldn't work. When using grids I couldn't get them both to fire at all. It wasn't even a week before I decided they were more of a "need" than a luxury. I ended up getting the photix ares setup. More pricy than the cheep ones, but lower than a pocket wizzard. I believe they were 27! For the receiver and $50 for the transmitter. I LOVE them. They are super reliable. I don't recall a single misfire. However I was brand limited due to my sony camera so perhaps you can find a cheaper set. Hopefully that helps a bit! Edit to add: I haven't been able to read the whole thread so sorry if I am repeating anything!

 

[smr238]

I agree with Derrel and JustJazzi. Don't worry about the snoot and get remote triggers instead.
I've been using Yongnuo RF-603 Transceivers and very happy with them. I got mine from Amazon for under $70 (including taxes) for 2 pairs. These are no Pocket Wizards but they seem work fine for my setup. I use them with Nikon D5100, D7000, Vivitar 285HV, SB600, SB700 and a mono-light without any misfires or communication issues.
In case you are wondering about the max sync speed on these triggers... on D5100 its 1/160th and D7000 1/200th.

 

[Ihatemymoney]

The cowboy studio light stands are worse then terrible, one of mine broke the first time I used it, another drifts down all on its own.
Bottom line is the light stands are a safety issue because they fall over very easy.
Anything bumping these light stands and its falling over and they are not child proof ...............

I have not ever once got my perfect square 5 ft photo tent to fold back up.

Good luck

 

[Designer]

I see three monolights and some modifiers. FYI: you can fashion snoots and barn doors out of found materials, even if it might be a PITA to attach them to the lights. And you can make other modifiers as you perceive the need, such as scrims, reflectors, backdrops, etc.

Ya, don't get continuous. Even beginners can quickly learn how to position lights without too much trouble. Besides, I think those strobes have modeling lights in them. (a low-power bulb that shows you what to expect when the flash fires) If so, then you've got the right stuff there.

 

[Gavjenks]

I have used a snoot. But yeah, not justifiably often. Also you can make one with like, a piece of construction paper and some scotch tape (probably shouldn't leave the modeling light on if so, lol)

 

[Derrel]

I have used a snoot. But yeah, not justifiably often. Also you can make one with like, a piece of construction paper and some scotch tape (probably shouldn't leave the modeling light on if so, lol)

The "classic DIY snoot" has long been made using cinefoil. Rosco Matte Black Cinefoil - 12"x50' RS100113 B&H Photo

 

[Tee]

Some black Cinefoil makes an awesome snoot and the foil itself is great for creating flags, gobo's and general handy purposes.

I think you're off to a good start. The one thing to consider is think of this as an investment and buy equipment that will last.