[santana007]

hi guys

i`m after buying some studio gear. i have a canon 350d and canon 400d
i have been told the flash units can damage canon because of th voltage used , so i want a kit that uses a transmitter.

i want to spend around £500 on a studio kit . can someone please advise which to go for . and please post a link to a site to buy it from

cheers


santana007

[h4rri]

Originally Posted by santana007

i have been told the flash units can damage canon because of th voltage used , so i want a kit that uses a transmitter.

Who told you that and to which flash units were they referring? I have heard this said about older pre or early TTL units. The 430 & 580EX units are safe enough to use though as they are designed for these bodies

As for studio lighting, have a root through the forums as this has been said before with some great reviews listed in the topic IIRC

[santana007]

Originally Posted by h4rri

Who told you that and to which flash units were they referring? I have heard this said about older pre or early TTL units. The 430 & 580EX units are safe enough to use though as they are designed for these bodies

As for studio lighting, have a root through the forums as this has been said before with some great reviews listed in the topic IIRC

sorry h4rri , i should have been clear , i have the 580ex, what i mean is the studio flash units . because the connect to the hot shoe the voltage can damage some canon digital camera`s

cheers

santana007

[Cadire]

I use the Falcon Eyes radio trigger. Works fine.

I got it from here:

http://www.karlu.com/index.php?cPath=41_60_549

Edit: The exact model is the RF-125

[santana007]

Originally Posted by Cadire

I use the Falcon Eyes radio trigger. Works fine.

I got it from here:

http://www.karlu.com/index.php?cPath=41_60_549

Edit: The exact model is the RF-125

cheers cadire,

what studio kit would you recomend to start out with i have around £500 could go to £600. i have looked at the d-lite kits, will they take radio triggers

santana007

[wabbitt]

As for a budget set of heads, I've read lots of very good reviews on the elinchrom D-Lite2 Twin head kit.

Read about it here.

At only £400 it's under budget too.

[wabbitt]

Originally Posted by santana007

i have looked at the d-lite kits, will they take radio triggers

santana007

Yep, they do. Any trigger that plugs into the sync socket will fire the heads.

I believe that there are IR triggers too that the slave cell will pick up.

[Cadire]

I had a rather smaller budget (especially after climbing onto the DSLR bandwagon), so I opted for the Interfit EX150 kit. They actually work very well (in my dining room!) so I have no complaints there.

I would have liked the D-Lites (or the new EX150 replacement), but there ya go

[h4rri]

Was browsing 7dayshop the other day and noticed they do very cheap reflector umbrellas, tripods and clamps etc. Might be a consideration as one setup was sub £50 and with a 430EX you would effectively have a cheap and portable light set-up

[santana007]

cheers guys

very helpful coments, i think i might go for the d-lite although i am looking at this

---http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AME WA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150065343599&rd=1&rd=1


and this

--http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=015&sspagename=STRK%3AME WA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=250055584563&rd=1&rd=1

i`ll keep you posted
thanks for the quick responce

santana007

[barongreenback]

Not sure what your experience but you'd be well worth spending some of that budget on a half decent course and working out what you really want to work with. I personally like the Bowens kit but Elinchrom is good as well. I've been told by several people that the cheaper brands are a false economy.

Don't forget to budget for reflectors, additional softboxes, barn doors, bowls etc.

[santana007]

Originally Posted by barongreenback

Not sure what your experience but you'd be well worth spending some of that budget on a half decent course and working out what you really want to work with. I personally like the Bowens kit but Elinchrom is good as well. I've been told by several people that the cheaper brands are a false economy.

Don't forget to budget for reflectors, additional softboxes, barn doors, bowls etc.

cheers again for input ,

experience in portrait = none other than family = friends and what people say .. did some wedding pics for next door as a,, can i come along and take some .. they showed mine and not the pros at the night do. now they have said can i do the portraits of the kids.
money is not a problem .. i just don`t want to go to high if it will be a waste, as i don`t work and my wife goes out and earns while i look after our lad jake i would love to put something back

course + i hope do take one next year ..

been looking at this kit plus extras

http://www.karlu.com/product_info.ph...oducts_id=8450

cheers

santana007

[santana007]

this was a pic taken of our little lad jake against a black back drop .

taken with a canon digital rebel . with canon 580ex flash

now i want to try and get to grips with it
cheers

santana007

[barongreenback]

Just had another thought. Have you got a studio near you? Would probably be worth spending £50 hiring out their space and equipment to see what you like. Some people swear by softboxes, others like umbrellas, beauty dishes etc. It's a cheap way to find out what effects you like.

I think on that Interfit kit you'll find 150w to be quite underpowered, and you may need to site the lights very close to your subject, which can be intimidating and uncomfortable. I'd look at 250w minimum and if you're really making a long term investment then 500w would cover most of your needs. I've used my Canon with standard flash leads and never had a problem, barring a few misfires so you could probably hold off buying the radio trigger. That said if you're working with kids they're bound to trip over cables!

[santana007]

cheers guys for all help .

i went for this kit with some extras .. went over budget , but the guy i spoke to was very helpful , and said once you get the kit please call and i`ll give you some tips .


http://www.karlu.com/product_info.ph...oducts_id=8450



once again cheers for your amazing responce


santanaoo7

Basically, you get what you pay for. Cheap lights usually produce inconsistent colour, inadequate modelling lamps, have a poor range of accessories and, often, inadequate power.

Personally I wouldn't recommend anything except Elinchrom and Bowens in the UK.

Take a look at this http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-...id=00BjHh&tag= for useful basic info on studio lighting.

[senu]

I would PM Wabbit, He is into Studio potraiture and seems to have found his feet pretty well.

Consider a course ( including post production with Photoshop etc) Otherwise read a few books and have a play with some self help multimedia ( Cd/DVD self help tutorials and ,,, I hasten to say this .. get a better body ( 30D so you can share lenses).

Sell off the 350D and rather than get "affordable" stuff : only do so knowing how much better kit can get you there: ie Hire studio time and "borrow" a few friend of either sex to model for you
HTH

[santana007]

sorry for slow reply guys

thanks to all for your help . i`ll have to stick with what i have for now. but will replace with better as and when i can . i am a full time househusband so we have to watch cash in someways. i have started to put together a web site .

done portraits for next door and have had other people ask for there`s to be done on the back of that.
i think we learn all the time , so a course will be on my agenda at some time .

i`ll keep you posted

once again cheers , and hope you all have a great new year

santana007