x2 180 strobes vs x1 300 strobe and sb600 flash ?

[philipb1383]

I'm looking at getting some lighting ( beginners ) I see some kits that are 180s x2 this seems to weak to me. I was looking at a 300w and using it with my sb600 flash. Does this sound practical ?

 

[mbkPhotography]

Great question, I am wondering the exact same thing. I'm starting to get into portrait photography and my only lighting source, beyond natural light, is the SB600. I'm unsure what kind and even how many additional lights I would need for a basic studio setup.

 

[IgsEMT]

Few things to keep an eye out when looking at gear...
#1 - power. The more powerful units are the fun you can actually have with them - shooting THROUGH umbrella/softbox means you'll loose light, even shooting with reflective umbrella you'll loose a little amount of juice THEREFORE you need a bit more more power to account for that.
#2 - more cheaper units take longer time to recycle. Depending on what you're shooting, 3 seconds might seems like nothing, and at same time could seem like a lifetime (kids photography).
#3 - build quality. Cheaper units might not last you as long as you want them to

For nikons, contrary to popular belief but for portraits at home, even small studio settings, CLS is decent enough. It doesn't compare, in my opinion to ABs or dynalytes, but when 2sb600s or 1sb900 and sb600 is cheaper then 2ABs with lightstands and DEFINETLY cheaper then dynalights.

good luck

 

[mbkPhotography]

IgsEMT thanks for the reply it has definitely helped point me in a few directions. If I went with an AB setup, specifically the Begineer Bee package which comes with the B800, would it still be possible to use the SB600 in some way. Or once you go the AB route should you not mix CLS style lights. Sorry if these questions are FNG related hehe I'm still learning a lot about the lighting side to photography. Thanks again!!

 

[IgsEMT]

You could use your sb600 as part of the setup. Just attach a hotshoe-pc device to it, something like this General Brand | PC to Hot Shoe Adapter | SF941 | B&H Photo Video.
I'm not entirely sure if you can use Nikon CLS + ABs. The whole thing about Nikon's CLS and ability to set it off wirelessly thus if you have some radio triggers to set of ABs, you might as well use the same on sb600 BUT via adapter.

 

[mbkPhotography]

Thanks again IgsEMT for the help. I just purchased the Beginner Bee package from AB which comes with the B800 a stand and a bounce/pass thru umbrella. Initially I'll just use the B800 until I can get more funds to include the SB600 or more AB lights to add to the mix.

 

[willli]

Thanks again IgsEMT for the help. I just purchased the Beginner Bee package from AB which comes with the B800 a stand and a bounce/pass thru umbrella. Initially I'll just use the B800 until I can get more funds to include the SB600 or more AB lights to add to the mix.

Congratulations for you new AB I've been using them for more than a year and I love them I do not have an studio. So use them more for location and with the Vagabung II battery and the cyber link remote units you are going to have a great equipment for location or studio congrats

 

[mbkPhotography]

Got some updates on the B800 and SB600. I got the B800 earlier this week and I'm in love, the only downside is I just have one and I need more lol. It's a great light but I can definitely start to notice that I need one or two more, background and kick lights. Since I don't have the money right now I did some research on using the SB600 as a background light and this is what I've found out.

The camera I use, D300S, has a wireless commander built into it; I can program the commander to fire the SB600 off camera. I set the SB600 as a backlight and then the B800 as the main. When the SB600 fires the slave in the B800 also fires at the same time. It’s probably not the best setup but for now it works good. Here is one of the shots from last night when I was playing around with the setup.

I still have a lot to learn about lighting but please C&C!

B800 camera left, SB600 back, f9 1/125 ISO200

 

[jnm]

pro buddy of mine recommends the Alien Bees B800 for studio use. at $280 it's a bit more then an SB600 but a lot stronger.