Looking for Studio Lighting suggestions
Glen Barrington
the photography I enjoyed the most was portraiture and studio photography.
I trained in photography in the US Air force in 1968, and I think I was
pretty good at the time.
I want to buy a studio lighting set-up. No photofloods, electronic flash
with modelling lights only. I want good quality, with a reasonable life
expectancy. But it doesn't have to be professional equipment. Just
something an advanced amatuer won't feel constrained by.
Picking a camera has been pretty easy, reviews, specifications, and opinions
are all over the place. but lighting equipment is different. Could some of
you more advanced types offers some equipment suggestions and what a
reasonable price for this equipment should be. Also, is buying used a
viable alternative to new?
--
Anyone who tells you "There are no facts, just opinions" is a moron. And
THAT's a FACT!
--
Michael Larsen
would be how much are you willing to spend? If you want top notch quality
at a great price, I suggest Speedotron Brown Line strobes. The Black Line
Speedos are awesome too but quite a bit more expensive. Go to the
Speedotron web site and from there you can tailor make a package or pick one
of their packages. You could also check out Dynalite or Novatron. Dynalite
is very, very nice but pricey. Novatron is good as well. My personal
preferences are Speedotron and Dynalite. You could also check out White
Lightning. They have great stuff as well.
The anwser to your question hinges almost exclusively upon price. Buying
used is an option but make sure you buy new flash tubes to keep with you as
you may not be able to find out how many times the tube has been flashed. I
recommend getting extra flash tubes regardless just because of Murphy's law
but moreso for used lights. Check out ebay for some good deals.
Good luck.
---------------------------------------------------------
Michael Larsen
Worldview Photography
http://www.worldviewphoto.com
Glen Barrington <glenbar...@home.com> wrote in message
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Paul Ferrara
advanced amatuer won't feel constrained by.<<
I can tell you from experience that there's no such thing. The only
difference between a pro and a hobbiest is how much you charge. You still
want great pictures, right?
I'm a hobbyist and decided to get serious about portraiture about 8 mos ago.
In the more than you may have wanted to know category.... I started off by
using two Canon 550EX's w/tih umbrellas and two smaller slaved flashes for
hair and background lights. No modeling lights. I soon gave up on the idea
of using the camera's internal metering and bought a good flash meter. Then
a good friend gave me a very old Speedotron Brownline pack with four heads.
Fantastic improvement but with a symetrical power pack I had to make
intensity adjustments by using ND gels and moving the lights around which is
a bit inconvenient. And the modeling lights on my Speedo heads are fairly
low powered and not adjustable. So this past week I bit the bullet and
added two Photogenic 1250 monolights which I'll use for the main and fill
lights. Besides getting much more powerful modeling lights, I can now also
easily adjust the lighting ratio very precisely with moving the lights or
adding gels. They just came Friday so no pics to show yet.
Now then... there are pros and cons to both monolights and packs and heads.
The newer powerpacks are more flexible than the old ones and the heads are
far lighter than monolights, making them easier to use on a boom. You can
also get a four-light setup cheaper than with four monolights OTOH,
monolights are infinitely adjustable and offer faster recycle times. I
think I now have the best of both worlds.
One caveat, DO NOT buy el-cheapo monolights such as the ones made by
Photogenic and others. They offer no more output than dedicated flashes and
far less adjustability. I would have purchased my 1250's used but couldn't
find any significantly cheaper than new ones. You'll have better luck
buying a used pack and head system, I believe.
If you're interested in a great book on posing and lighting, buy J.J.
Allen's "Posing and Lighting Techniques for Studio Portrait Photography"
from amazon or you local bookstore.
Lots of luck.
Paul
www.columbusoft.com/photos
Glen Barrington <glenbar...@home.com> wrote in message
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Tom Nelson
Barrington <glenbar...@home.com> wrote:
> I want to buy a studio lighting set-up. No photofloods, electronic flash
> with modelling lights only. I want good quality, with a reasonable life
> expectancy. But it doesn't have to be professional equipment. Just
> something an advanced amatuer won't feel constrained by.
You don't need a lot of power to do portraiture. Matter of fact, lower
power units will let you keep the lights in close where you can use the
falloff and their large relative size to your advantage. You could do
worse than an old Speedo Brownline or Norman 400 with 50 w/s per
channel. Four heads is plenty: main, fill, hairlight and background
light. Have fun!
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson Photography
http://www.tnphoto.com/
Joseph S. Wisniewski
traumatic, nearly fatal encounter with a studio flash system which
colors my views on this issue.
Glen Barrington wrote:
>
> I'm getting back into photography after a L O N G hiatus. I remember that
> the photography I enjoyed the most was portraiture and studio photography.
> I trained in photography in the US Air force in 1968, and I think I was
> pretty good at the time.
>
> I want to buy a studio lighting set-up. No photofloods, electronic flash
> with modelling lights only. I want good quality, with a reasonable life
> expectancy. But it doesn't have to be professional equipment. Just
> something an advanced amatuer won't feel constrained by.
Start with one pretty big light source (so you can block the light to
your heart's content) and a good reflector or two. It's a good way of
learning where the light will go. I like a big monolight, with a bright
modeling light. Currently using a White Lightning.
After my last encounter with a "power pack and multiple heads" system, I
try to avoid them. Tell you why in a minute.
> Picking a camera has been pretty easy, reviews, specifications, and opinions
> are all over the place. but lighting equipment is different. Could some of
> you more advanced types offers some equipment suggestions and what a
> reasonable price for this equipment should be. Also, is buying used a
> viable alternative to new?
Not in my opinion. Studio flash systems involve easily fatal power
levels (400, 800, 1200 watt seconds) sent around the studio through
cables that get rolled over, stepped on, kinked, and otherwise chewed
up, over and over again. If you've never had a flash unit blow you
across the room (I have) it's not a fun experience. High enough voltage
to come flashing out a break in the insulation that you'll never see,
until it's too late. Enough current behind it to burn flesh and shock
the heart into stopping.
If a used camera or lens turns out to be a lemon, you may be out a bit
for repairs, but it won't try to blast your heart out of your chest with
explosive power.
I'm not even fond of used monolights, unless I knew who used them. It's
possible to check out a lens or camera and get some idea of how "used
up" it is. You just can't tell how many flashes are left in a capacitor
or a flash tube.
Again, just my opinions.
Ciao!
Joe
waco
testing them before you purchase. Most major cities have rental houses.
Also, if you are really serious abut this, I would also recommend buying pro
level equipment that if more dependable and that you are less likely to
"outgrow." This offers a number of advantages. First, pro equipment is
radlily available on the used market (which also means that there will be a
martket for your equipment if you ever want to get rid of it). Second, if
you have a shoot that requires more equipment than you own, you can rent
additional head, packs, reflectors, dishes, grids, etc and have the
convenience of knowing that everything works together... What you buy will
depend to a certain extent on what type of shooting you will be doing and
your individaul needs. Buy used if you need to, and for maximum value for
your dollar, stick to the major brands (Speedo Black Line (not brown!),
Dynalight, Profoto, etc).
Michael Larsen
> Dynalight, Profoto, etc).
???? Why not Brown ????
I use Speedo Brown Line and find them to be awesome. Not sure why you would
recommend against them. They are versatile and the only difference
according to the Speedotron rep is the power level of the Black Line. All
items are interchangeable and every Brown line light will work with every
Black line power supply and virtually all of the accessories are
interchangeable as well. My power pack is 1200 watt/seconds, more than
enough for almost any job short of large studio work with very large still
life shoots. In my studio, I have never been left wanting more light than
I've been able to get from my four-light setup. AND, Speedotron makes great
stuff and they stand behind their equipment. I've been very pleased with
all they've done to help me. Many people can't afford the huge price of the
Black line and so the Brown line is an EXCELLENT option with an enormous
amount of accessories available for every occassion.
My .02 cents.
Glenn de Souza
power tracking modeling lights. A good example would be the Paul Buff White
Lightning products.Check out www.white-lightning.com.
You can buy them one at a time as your pocketbook will allow, and if you
start out with only one, I recommend becoming skilled with the use of
reflectors for fill lighting (and even limited hair lighting). Check out
some of the lessons on www.webphotoschool.com and you'd be surprised with
the quality of single light work. Gary Bernstein also teaches many
applications using only one light with a pan reflector on www.zuga.net.
You'll never outgrow the White Lightning Ultra Zaps, and can add on as need
be. I've also heard good things about the Photogenic 1250 series monolights,
and the monolights available from Bowens.
good luck,
Glenn de Souza
Glen Barrington <glenbar...@home.com> wrote in message
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Glen Barrington
new equipment rather than used. The overall tone of your combined posts
indicate that you can never be sure when a flash tube will go out and
replacement appears to be a significant cost, possibly eating up any savings
from buying used. At least with new, there is a warranty for a period of
time.
As to what equipment - right now I am leaning towards White Lightning or
Novatron primarily because they offer package deals well within my budget.
(as far under $1500 as I can get) I have to admit I was a bit surprised at
the cost of some of this equipment. But the physical size is much smaller
than I expected. The last studio flash units I used were enormous heavy
things that could send you to the hospital if they shorted out. I assume
they still can knock you on your butt, am I safe in assuming they are safer
than they used to be? One of the posts did bring up the safety issue.
I am thinking of keeping it simple until I am back up to speed. A basic 3
light set up with umbrellas and maybe a snoot for the back light. I have
never used umbrellas, but I can't imagine the technique is too difficult to
learn. A power supply that can handle more than 3 lights. No barn doors,
diffusers or filters for a while although my final choice of low cost brand
of equipment will be partly judged on the accessories available for their
equipment.
Please don't stop responding because of this last post I have written, I am
learning a lot by lurking here and reading your posts.
--
Anyone who tells you "There are no facts, just opinions" is a moron. And
THAT's a FACT!
--
"Glenn de Souza" <Uni...@email.msn.com> wrote in message
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zeitgeist
others are a simple as pulling the tube out and swapping. They last for
years and shouldn't be too pricey though those large circle tubes with
the heavy crystal globe can be up there. Actually professional gear
lasts longer the more it is used, well the more it is plugged in, those
capasitors 'deform' when they just sit around, charging them up is known
as 'reforming.' So if the stuff is gear from a studio that is
upgrading, or clearing out a second shooter's gear go for it, if it is
someone's widow who is clearing out the garage after all these years,
well those cans just may be barely functional...
Paul Ferrara
power supplies in virutally the same breath. WL's are monolights and the
power supplies are built in to each unit; they plug directly into the wall.
They also weigh a good bit more than a flash head designed to be used with a
power pack.
And speaking of WL's, they're vastly over-rated and a good friend of mine is
replacing his units gradually with Photogenic because of the high rate of
repair of thw WL's.
The Photogenic 1250's can be purchased at B&H for $420 each and at Adorama
for $400.
For umbrellas, you can't beat the Photogenic Eclipse. They're available for
$20-25 each.
Paul
www.columbusoft.com/photos
Glen Barrington <glenbar...@home.com> wrote in message
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Mike Jordan
Glen Barrington wrote:
>
> I really appreciate the advice. I think at this point, I am leaning towards
> new equipment rather than used. The overall tone of your combined posts
> indicate that you can never be sure when a flash tube will go out and
> replacement appears to be a significant cost, possibly eating up any savings
> from buying used. At least with new, there is a warranty for a period of
> time.
>
> As to what equipment - right now I am leaning towards White Lightning or
> Novatron primarily because they offer package deals well within my budget.
> (as far under $1500 as I can get) I have to admit I was a bit surprised at
If you haven't looked at the SP Excalibur series of monolights, you
might want to. About a year ago I went through the same process and
found that for the money, I got more with the Excalibur series than
I would have with the next closest priced packages (like White
Lighting). I bought the SP-6400 (640 ws) a year ago, the SP-1600
(160 ws) about 10 months ago and the SP-3200 (320 ws) about 4 months
ago. I paid around $800 total for all three lights. What makes them
even more of a deal is that they come with a light stand and
umbrella and you can also buy a SP softbox at a reduced cost when
bought at the same time. The only problems I've had with them was
the modeling light burned out after about a month on the SP-6400.
It cost $18 to replace it and hasn't had any other problems. I
figure that the halogon light got bounched around in shipping and
was weakened or I didn't let it cool down completely before I moved
it around. All three lights let you adjust the flash power and
modeling lights together or seperately with continuous sliding
adjustments from full down to 1/8th power. They all have built in
slaves which seems to work pretty good even in high light levels.
Besides the 3 45" umbrellas that came with each light, I also have
a 60" and a 32" umbrella. I also recently bought the 36x24 SP
softbox. I didn't get the new style they have out now, which opens
and closes like an umbrella.
I have also bought barndoors (which I use on occasion) and a snoot
with honey comb (which I don't use very often). I also bought a
Photogenic 3001 (about a 100ws) strobe to use as a background or
hair light, although I've not used it very much. If you get only
one light, start with the SP-6400. Lots of power and works great as
a single light source. Then get the SP-3200 (or another SP-6400) as
a second light. I got the SP-1600 as my second light and found it's
lower power didn't match the higher power SP-6400 very well for fill
situations. The SP-3200 gives me plenty of power when I need almost
as much light as the main light.
I bought everything at B&H Photo, http://www.bhphotovideo.com and
you can see the SP series of gear at http://www.bkaphoto.com/
Good luck.
Mike
--
Hillsboro, Oregon
Bouvier des Flandres - Herding & Working Dogs
http://www.europa.com/~mjordan - Pictures & Info on Bouviers
David O. Garcia
can then be adjusted as needed, and no more cables running all over the
place.
David O.
Glen Barrington
those with their own power supplies and those that require a separate power
supply.
I must admit, each unit with its own power supply appeals to me as an
amateur. If one breaks, the others are still operable and I won't have an
ugly black box to trip over in the limited space I will have available for a
studio.
But are there any advantages to a separate power supply that I need to take
into consideration? I mean there must be a valid reason to produce both
types.
By the way, This is probably the best, most knowledgable newsgroup I have
ever encountered.
--
Anyone who tells you "There are no facts, just opinions" is a moron. And
THAT's a FACT!
--
"David O. Garcia" <the...@widomaker.com> wrote in message
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David O. Garcia
like. Portability and adjustment of the lights are the best reasons.
--
David O. Garcia
Hampton, VA
http://communities.msn.com/davidogarciaphotography