Are any of these kits any good. What sort of wattage should someone be looking for ?
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Lighting Kits
- Thread starter Chubster
- Start date
They're good for the bin if that's what you want to know
An idea of what you want to do is the best start- and then how much room you have- if you only have a 10x10 box room then 3 Bowens 1000w lights are a tad unecessary.
Consider what you actualy want to do- if you are going to do fashion shoots then these are usually full length, require lots of room and are better done by hiring a studio.
Do you want portable lights for location shoots?
As you can imagine the list is endless and kit is often very specific given that lighting is the key to photography.
I would rather buy one decent head and experiment with that rather than 3 crap ones but you need to supply more info as to space, type of shots, paid/ unpaid/ studio/location etc
I was looking for a softbox really (I think) just want to experiment with taking shots indoors of various things, flowers, inanimate objects, partner etc
Just starting out so do not want to spend a fortune but also dont want to waste money on tat. I havent a clue about what "heads" i need what wattage etc
Just starting out so do not want to spend a fortune but also dont want to waste money on tat. I havent a clue about what "heads" i need what wattage etc
If you have a flash you could just experiment with using that off camera then you need only buy a trigger and receiver eg RF602's, cheap konig light stand and shoot through umbrella- oh yes and part to mount flash to stand. Could probably get all that for £50-60. Good enough to get a feel and always useful so not wasted.
You'd need to check about your camera's off camera flash capability as I only know Canon and Nikon in this regard. You may not even need the trigger and could use on-board flash to activate the flash but the trigger is better
Do you need a background as well or are you just using a wall or natural for portraits?
What's your budget? I'd recommend Bowens or Elinchrom. There are more expensive brands but not really required here given what you've said. Elinchrom do a nice kit with two softboxes (though they are a bit stingy on the size as only 66x66) for under £500
There're are some alternatives as well without going down the ebay rubbish route.
Personally I think it's useful to have a flash anyway so I'd go out and get one and go down that route rather than filling your house up with lots of studio junk that you may decide is not for you.
A reasonable softbox will set you back £60-£100 alone. An Elinchrom Octa Lightbank is around £700
The trouble with the cheaper lights is that they give inconsistent output which makes it harder to learn and they don't have the same amount of adjustment, are slow to recycle and don't have standard fittings- like Bowens S Type or Elinchrom Bayonet. There's also usually no come back when/if things go wrong.
People do use them though and swear by them so it is an option.
Just had a look for Flashguns for Sony- interesting lack of options....
If you want really cheap then you could use construciton lights and mod them- bare in mind they get really hot. We had a thread recently. Will have a look.
You could maybe get one decent brand light, stand and softbox for £250 or is that still too high?
Thug
Moderator
I am going to go against what Dr O said.
I bought a cheapo set from ebay, from a company called Stable Imaging.
It consisted of 3 heads, 3 tripods, 2 softboxes, barn doors, a snoot, wireless remote and loads of other bits and pieces.
I used them weekly for a year or so before buying my Bowens (in fact i still do use them) and found them to be well worth the £200 i paid (about the price of a cheap dedicated flash gun).
You will learn LOADS about lighting by using them.
They are never going to be as good as Bowens I can accept that, but i still wouldnt be so quick to write them off either.
Here are a few shots i took with the set...
These are by no means perfect, but i learnt heaps from using cheap lights.
I have had them several years and could probably still sell them used for a decent price too.
I bought a cheapo set from ebay, from a company called Stable Imaging.
It consisted of 3 heads, 3 tripods, 2 softboxes, barn doors, a snoot, wireless remote and loads of other bits and pieces.
I used them weekly for a year or so before buying my Bowens (in fact i still do use them) and found them to be well worth the £200 i paid (about the price of a cheap dedicated flash gun).
You will learn LOADS about lighting by using them.
They are never going to be as good as Bowens I can accept that, but i still wouldnt be so quick to write them off either.
Here are a few shots i took with the set...
These are by no means perfect, but i learnt heaps from using cheap lights.
I have had them several years and could probably still sell them used for a decent price too.
Last edited:
shotokan101
Banned
Also worth mentioning that off camera flash units don't need to be "Sony Dedicated" - any old bit of "tat" will do - just need to put them on some stands with optical or wireless slave triggers
JIm
- just need to put them on some stands with optical or wireless slave triggers JIm
get yourself some speedlites, YN460's or if you're feeling posh go for YN560's then get a RF602 transmitter and as many receivers as you have flashes, you will also need an adaptor for your Sony hot shoe.
then have fun on eBay buying budget light modifiers, you can get soft boxes that come with hot shoe mounts which is a good place to start.
£200 will get you a few flashes, stands and modifiers which i think is better than the CFL alternatives.
then have fun on eBay buying budget light modifiers, you can get soft boxes that come with hot shoe mounts which is a good place to start.
£200 will get you a few flashes, stands and modifiers which i think is better than the CFL alternatives.
Cheers Weestie...Are any of these units "brand specific" and what is the adaptor for, what should I be looking for ?
they are not brand specific, but if you buy a RF602 transmitter they generally give you a cable with it so you can put a reciver on your camera and use the transmitter as a wireless cable release so you are best off going for one that has a cable for your camera.
Still dont really understand all this softbox talk.....So am i right in saying that a softbox is just a "light modifier" and when buying you do not "normally" get anything with it...like an actual light source. OK, I realise most come with stands but what else would I need.
Confused
Confused
shotokan101
Banned
Yes a softbog/light tent is just the "enclosure" that diffuses the light sources - flash or lamps - and a couple of coloured backgrounds - most don't come with stands OR lamps but some do as I've linked.
Jim
shotokan101
Banned
Another question....these YN560, are they flashes that I could actually use on my Sony
Yes - you justneed to hget the Sony fit version
e.g.
YN560 Speedlite Flash for SONY A950 A200 A230 A580 A700 | eBay UK
JIm
shotokan101
Banned
Ah...OK from that review it seems its basically manual only, I assume the £300 + ones are auto
shotokan101
Banned
...you can get £80 ones that are auto as well...
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/75165/show.html
Jim
Yes - you justneed to hget the Sony fit version
e.g.
YN560 Speedlite Flash for SONY A950 A200 A230 A580 A700 | eBay UK
JIm
dont think you can get sony versions jim, regardless of what that says i think you need an adapter to use then on camera.
chubster, im not quite sure what you're after.
a softbox is a light modifer a bit like an umbrella that you put on a stand and you use it to get shots like pc thug posted.
a light tent is a translusent tent that you put items in to photograph as it creates a very even light.
the YN560 is a manual flash that is designed for off camera use. TTL or AUTO flash modes are great for when you are moving about, light, subject and distance is changing but off camera when you have plenty of time and everything is constant manual flash is the way to go.
if for instance you wanted two off camera flashes you could buy two YN560s, two RF602 recivers, one RF602 transmitter and an adapter for your sony to normal hotshoe to put the transmitter on.
the jessops flash jim linked too will work wirelessly with a wireless trigger just like the YN560s but unless you spend an insane amount on pocketwizards they will be manual only.
you can get a sony TTL cable for the flash which will allow you to take it off camera and it will also allow TTL mode as the name suggests.
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