[rizingstar]

On the verge of buying a 430EX II and also on the look out for a cheapish studio kit (soft box/umbrella etc) or maybe if anyone can recommend me some cheap seperate equipment to make up a decent package then great

I've been looking at this and seems to be on the top of my list right now, are there any others for around the same price as good?

TIA

[toadoftoadhall]

Looks not bad kit for the money. You may want to consider some cheap reflectors/difusers, eg
Translucent Reflector 2mx1.5m For Studio Hasselblad on eBay (end time 11-Jul-09 18:36:03 BST)

[springtide]

I just wonder whether you'd get more use from off camera triggers, hotshoe softbox|umbrellas|light mods|etc

It's just that I have three studio strobes in my loft that I don't use, just because the hotshoe flashes are more practical|portable.

Obviously the studio strobes have their advantages (power being the main advantage), but unless you work in a dedicated studio, they have a lot of disadvantages (portability being the biggest)

[toadoftoadhall]

Just a quick tip.
Many cameras now dont have sync sockets, and so have to use a hotshoe adapter. This is fine, and I use one to trigger my metz flashgun, but for studio stuff, I usually use on camera flash, manual at 1/16 power to trigger the flash units. Saves using a hotshoe adapter and trailing the wire around.

toad