Advise on eBay Kit .....

SteveTolcher

SteveTolcher

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So I am after a cheap and cheerful Flash setup for some portraits in the boxing gym, backstage at a theatre and also for home use.

I've found the following kit on eBay that is bang in my price range, but was after some advise on it.

Any comments would be appreciated.
 
From what you have said eiter kit will be Ok for your use. at the end of the day its a 100 quid set up...so expect 100 quid results. I was going to get a cheap and cheerful ebay set up but in the end decided to plumb for a Lencarta set up for a bit over twice the price. I'm very glad i did. All too often i but cheap and then end up having to upgrade in x months time.

I'm sure one of our more knowledgable members will point out the pros and cons with cheap units.
 
This kit in Jessops is the very, very, very top end of my budget (currently on offer) Maybe a better choice?
 
What sort of shots do you want to get? You can get some great shots with just one light and a reflector providing fill. If you are wanting to take shots of fighters then strong shadows certainly wont be a problem as they add to muscle definition and make the image more "moody". If you want to blow a BG white then you will need at least two, ideally three lights. One on the subject and one or two on the BG.

It MIGHT pay you to get a single flash head from lencarta or elemental for a little over 100 pounds (pound sign isnt working on my PC sorry) + stands and a reflective brolly or softbox and a reflector. Then if in the future you want to add another light you can do, t least you will have a damn good one to start with.

thats just my 2p worth, there will be other opinions of course.

Have a look at my 52, the first twoshots are a single light on the subject, the second shot has a light on the BG. I just use a reflector for fill.
 
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The second link is better than the first, but I would advise against both.

This is very much a case of 'You get what you pay for' and a bit extra for a good quality kit will make it much easier to get good results and should last a lot longer. I'm inclined to agree that you can probably manage with just a single flash for now but by the time you've added a stand, radio trigger and bits it makes good economic sense to buy a kit.
The Lencarta SmartFlash kits start from just over £250 (out of stock at the moment) and that's a saving of £200 on the price of the individual bits.
 
Cheers chaps.

In repsonse to Chris' question, I suppose I am looking for a number of different looks - all of which you've mentioned! The dark shadows for the boxers, whilst a blown out white BG for the family stuff. All the theatre work will be against a black background.

With that in mind (and your comments) I will steer clear of the eBay kit. I am tempted by the Jessops setup - it's got some very good reviews.

I understand the Lencarta kit is only £50 more, but then that doesn't include a softbox etc, so before you know it I am looking closer to £300 which is just way over budget. £200 is pushing it at the moment!
 
For the theatre work you will be fine with 1 light to start with, though ideally with a black BG you need a hair light/ rim light for separation...this could be a cheapie though.

The white BG will need a couple of light on it plus one on the subject, if you only have 1 light on the Bg you will need something like a BG reflector. these shots here were lit with one light on the subject and one on the white BG using a Bg reflector...they did still need a wipe with the dodge tool here and there to whiten it more in places.

For the shots of the boxers a single light will be fine, perhaps a reflector to give fill.

The jessops kit will be fine for now i'm sure..maybe later you could add a single higher quality light if you wanted to.

Don't worry too much about a softbox or umbrella, a good friend of mine get fantastic results with an umbrella (and cheap lights for that matter....though what could he achieve with better ones??)
 
Ended up ordering a three head kit from Stable Imaging! Cracking kit and just right for what I need

Can't wait to get practising this weekend!

Cheers all!
 
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