Brain Ache through not knowing which light set to buy!

~BB~

~BB~

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Hi All

I am literally just starting out in the photography field but am in the fortunate position to be able to set up a home studio.

I have a 12.5tf x 13ft square room which I think is just about ok to use (?) and I am looking to purchase a good light system.

I am however driving myself round in circles about which I should go for!

I want a 4 light set up so I was originally going to plump for the Elinchrom 400fx kit x 2. Then I wondered if I would be better going for the BX kit because of the replacable flash tube. Then I started to panic about whether the 400 was powerful enough and if I should bite the bullet and go for the 600 kit - although the price of this really isn't where I want to be going!

Primarily this is just for me to be able to practise on friends and family - with the intent of then taking it further to try to make a bit of a career out of it hence why I want to buy better to begin with, but I am just at a bit of a loss atm!

Any advice would be gratefully welcomed!

Thanks!

BB
 
~BB~ said:
I want a 4 light set up so I was originally going to plump for the Elinchrom 400fx kit x 2. Then I wondered if I would be better going for the BX kit because of the replacable flash tube.
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Replaceable is good, but how often do you think you will need to replace one??
 
Hi Richard

Thanks for your reply :)

Well being so new to this all I don't know how often you are likely to need to replace it - providing no accidents happen and the bulb is in good order I suppose hopefully not for a few years??!

But then do I go 400 or 600 *sigh, choices choices!

BB
 
Why do you need 4 heads? and what modifiers are you going to need during the life time of this kit? I bet you in the long run, if you get into your lighting, you will spend more on modifiers than the heads

So many questions...
 
I have 8 or so heads with fixed flash tubes that are all twenty or more years old now. I've have them all for at least ten years and I've never had a problem with the flash tubes.

Modeling lamps, well that's another story all together. :lol:
 
I've been using studio flash since the 70's and have never need to replace a flash tube, except for once when a half witted assistant knocked over a light.

Power? Don't think in terms of Joules, which is nothing more than the amount of energy stored in the capacitors, think in terms of the guide number, which is what really matters. And then think about the type of light shaping tools you're likely to use, which can have a massive effect on the guide number.

And before you decide on a brand, take a look at the light shaping tools and how much they cost. Buying some brands of lighting gear is like buying a cheap inkjet printer - it's only when you buy the essential replacement cartridges that you realise you made a bad choice.

Before you do that, take a look at this brief intro to choosing lighting equipment.
 
Richard King said:
Why do you need 4 heads? and what modifiers are you going to need during the life time of this kit? I bet you in the long run, if you get into your lighting, you will spend more on modifiers than the heads

So many questions...
Click to expand...


I am choosing to go for a 4 head set up as the course that I have just been on used this set up and I liked the way it worked. I know you don't need to have 4 but I want to - lol!

As for modifiers to begin with I have the stand brollies, 2 x 100 x 100 soft boxes with inner skins and will prob get an Octa too and then slowly will end up adding to my HUGE list no doubt!
 
Garry Edwards said:
Power? Don't think in terms of Joules, which is nothing more than the amount of energy stored in the capacitors, think in terms of the guide number, which is what really matters. And then think about the type of light shaping tools you're likely to use, which can have a massive effect on the guide number.

And before you decide on a brand, take a look at the light shaping tools and how much they cost. Buying some brands of lighting gear is like buying a cheap inkjet printer - it's only when you buy the essential replacement cartridges that you realise you made a bad choice.

Before you do that, take a look at this brief intro to choosing lighting equipment.
Click to expand...

Ok so I am fairly happy that replacement bulbs are not an issue now, providing you don't have a half witted assistant ;)

Many thanks for the link, had read it just literally before, but am still a bit befuddled about which to go for in terms of output - not really sure what you mean about guide number am re-reading the info to try to get my head round it - lol!

I understand what you are saying about choosing a brand too, but I have only ever used Elinchrom through my courses and at college and for now would be happier to continue along these lines but then again are the Bowens a lot cheaper?

BB :)
 
~BB~ said:
I am choosing to go for a 4 head set up as the course that I have just been on used this set up and I liked the way it worked. I know you don't need to have 4 but I want to - lol!

As for modifiers to begin with I have the stand brollies, 2 x 100 x 100 soft boxes with inner skins and will prob get an Octa too and then slowly will end up adding to my HUGE list no doubt!
Click to expand...

The 'normal' route for newcomers to studio lighting is to think that soft light is wonderful and that they need get the biggest softbox they can . As people grow in understanding of light they realise that soft lighting is just one of many options and they tend to learn how to get good results with harder and harder lighting. Look at this page for examples of (mainly) hard lighting. So yes, by all means get one of the bigger softboxes but don't assume that it will solve all your lighting needs.

As for teaching beginners to use 4 lights... No comment:'(
 
Garry Edwards said:
The 'normal' route for newcomers to studio lighting is to think that soft light is wonderful and that they need get the biggest softbox they can . As people grow in understanding of light they realise that soft lighting is just one of many options and they tend to learn how to get good results with harder and harder lighting. Look at this page for examples of (mainly) hard lighting. So yes, by all means get one of the bigger softboxes but don't assume that it will solve all your lighting needs.

As for teaching beginners to use 4 lights... No comment:'(
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Hi Again Garry

Sorry if I mislead you - the course wasn't for beginners per se - it was a portrait course and they had a 4 light set up for it. They told us that we didn't need to do this but I just liked the way it worked - rightly or wrongly I don't know...

Thanks for the link I will have a look, I also appreciate that soft boxes won't solve all my lighting needs but I have to start somewhere and so I just decided to practice a little on what I have just learnt.

So many options and so many questions - lol!
 
~BB~ said:
Ok so I am fairly happy that replacement bulbs are not an issue now, providing you don't have a half witted assistant ;)

Many thanks for the link, had read it just literally before, but am still a bit befuddled about which to go for in terms of output - not really sure what you mean about guide number am re-reading the info to try to get my head round it - lol!

I understand what you are saying about choosing a brand too, but I have only ever used Elinchrom through my courses and at college and for now would be happier to continue along these lines but then again are the Bowens a lot cheaper?

BB :)
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Guide No = a simple measurement of the actual amount of light. A benchmark figure that takes into account the electronics, design efficiency and the shape, design and finish of the reflector used when carrying out the test and which takes no account of the amount of energy stored in the capacitors. Whenever I test for guide numbers I take great care to use a standard reflector and to test in neutral conditions, Elinchrom figures are accurate too, not all manufacturers seem to adopt the same standards so, whether or not you can rely on the accuracy of the guide number depends on the testing protocol used, and whether or not a particular light is actually usable in its standard form depends on the design of the reflector - some have mirror-like finishes that produce a very uneven light that is rarely actually usable, just to boost the guide number.

All things being equal, the real world difference in light output between a 400 and a 600 head is just 1/2 stop - the difference between 100 ISO and 150 ISO, or in other words use a 600 head at 100 ISO and a 400 head at 150 ISO and you'll get the same exposure.

I'm not trying to put you off of buying any particular brand, but buying it just because you've used it before is a bit like buying a particular model of car just because you took your driving lessons in it - surely you'd want to see whether there were better or more suitable cars available before you bought?
 
Garry Edwards said:
I'm not trying to put you off of buying any particular brand, but buying it just because you've used it before is a bit like buying a particular model of car just because you took your driving lessons in it - surely you'd want to see whether there were better or more suitable cars available before you bought?
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yes of course :) however I have been led to believe that the best options to go for are Elinchrom or Bowens. Whether that is good advice or not I don't know yet - lol!
 
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