Cheapest lighting/flash kits worth buying??

Fodrigal

Fodrigal

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Matt
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Hello,
After a bit of the forums personal opinions if possible

I'd like to learn more about artificially lighting my photography but as i'm not a pro I don't want to spend a fortune.

I've seen the cheap continuous lighting kits on eBay etc but I'd imagine they are mostly just cheap imports and not worth even the small amount that they cost!!

Are there any recommended budget setups aimed at beginners or am I better off just saving up and buying second hand pro level equipment?

Like I say I know nothing about this equipment other than that I want to learn more so any advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

Matt
 
Would you take the approach with a car or anything else of unknown brand and price of JUST looking for the cheapest? Most would say no. Personally I would go with a dealer with backup as that will ensure you get the use you want. Pretty sure that very soon that somebody will jump in and say Lencarta, they usually do here. It is that level of support and reputation you require so it is worth paying for. There are other dealers such as The Flash Centre that are well known

Mike
 
Firstly, you're bang on about the continuous systems, they're junk. Though not because they're cheap and imported, but because they're low powered and have crap colour.

So that leaves flash, the only thing to avoid like the plague are the cheap units that have a built in reflector, they come in many brands, are often rated 180Ws. They're crap all round but the biggest issue IMO is that the mount for the modifier is non-standard.

Look for inexpensive flashes that are either Bowens S mount or Elinchrom mount, then you'll be able to get reasonable price / quality modifiers. Because it's the modifiers that make your lighting what it is.

There's lots of sellers on ebay selling similar eqpt coming out of Chinese factories, the quality is a bit of a lucky dip, or you can go with a UK seller with backup, like Mike said.
 
Hi

How about one of these kits

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281514470752

I keep hovering over the BIN button myself but don,t do much if any people photography these days

Still trying to convince the other half that I need it for table top photography, she thinks I am after persuading some unsuspecting filly to get her kit off ;)

Thats a lot of kit for the money though, 3 flash heads, stands brollies and soft boxes and free delivery as well.

Paul
 
Paul-H said:
Hi

How about one of these kits

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281514470752

I keep hovering over the BIN button myself but don,t do much if any people photography these days

Still trying to convince the other half that I need it for table top photography, she thinks I am after persuading some unsuspecting filly to get her kit off ;)

Thats a lot of kit for the money though, 3 flash heads, stands brollies and soft boxes and free delivery as well.

Paul
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They're the ones I mentioned, built in reflectors, 'universal' mount, lack of real choice of modifiers. Just avoid!
 
This is nearer the mark.
Not that I'm recommending it, but you can see it's proper S fit, Godox make flashes for many brands, I didn't check where it's from, so there could be tax to pay.

But: a single head kit (from a known brand) will get you a long way, in fact even if you buy a 2 or 3 head kit, you should start shooting with just one, and change 1 thing at a time, otherwise you're not going to learn what does what.
 
Fatheadedlizard said:
Personally I'd recommend getting a decent speedlight first with a set of triggers. Don't buy cheap, I wasted £250 on a cheap set I bought!!!
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If mains power is available, a proper studio head is the better choice - fast recycle, modelling lamp, power in hand, and vast choice of light modifiers. Probably cheaper than a speedlite too, eg Lencarta Smartflash-2 for £110.
 
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HoppyUK said:
If mains power is available, a proper studio head is the better choice - fast recycle, modelling lamp, power in hand, and vast choice of light modifiers. Probably cheaper than a speedlite too, eg Lencarta Smartflash-2 for £110.
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As Richard said, whilst a cheap flashgun is cheaper than the cheaper studio head, they're comparable to most peoples first flashgun and cheaper than lots. A 2head kit from Lencarta is less than a single Canon 600 ex rt or Nikon SB910, and remember to add the cost of a bracket to each flashgun (trivial, but it's all the little bits that add up).
 
thanks for all the tips

I'll do some more looking based on the info here and will probably be back with more questions :)

Thanks again
 
I have 4 x yongnuo 560s which I use in slave mode with one wireless trigger, cheap, small and do the job - plus no wires! I picked up a couple of packs of rechargeable batteries and a charger of Amazon at the same time. The real fun is working out what light modifiers you want/need. The 560s fit the Bowen S type mount fine.
 
Hi guys, beginner here:

Just reading this thread has made me wary about a purchase I nearly made! I haven't got oodles of cash to spend but I don't want to buy twice out of ignorance.

I was at a creative effects session the other night - strawberry into milk with laser triggering the speedlight etc. One of the set ups was liquid being poured into a wine glass using a continuous head and softbox. It must have been high powered as it would have blinded you. Probably costs a lot to run too.

Anyway how could I achieve the wine glass without the continuous light? Are continuous lights a good thing to learn about lighting as you can see the effects before you take the shot? I know doing one creative type photo isn't a reason to spend money on a continuous light however!

TIA
 
Using a speedlight, set to very low power to produce the fastest short flash duration, plus a laser trigger to get the flash to fire at exactly the right time, is a classic way of producing this type of shot.

The biggest single downside is that the speedlight has very low power.

I'm not sure what purpose the continuous light played though, not needed at all and very likely to introduce movement blur.
 
Brill! Thanks Garry. I'll try this out and it will save me wasting money when I've just read in the threads that continuous are not recommended.

I don't know why the continuous light was used unless it was because he had multiple set ups going and not enough kit?? Must try and find out.

I guess from what you said, a studio light with a laser trigger would be a better idea. I'd intended buying a studio head when the cash flow returns after Christmas and I can borrow a laser trigger from a friend.

Thanks again! Julie
 
Continuous lights looks blindingly bright in a darkened room, but actually they're not. Even the brightest affordable ones are marginal for most studio work, ie portraits. Good for video though.

Speedlites are usually good for strawberries/milk type stuff and because you can use them close for this, 1/8th power or so will give a usable exposure and short enough flash duration to freeze the splash. Pushing ISO effectively multiplies the flash brightness in exposure terms, if needs be.

Studio heads works differently. Much better than speedlites for portraits etc, they have much longer flash durations - too long for freezing splashes, and durations actually get longer at lower power settings. There are one or two studio-type heads that work like big speedlites (using IGBT technology) but they're few and far between, and more expensive.
 
Thank you, Richard. Lighting is a bit of a mind field at the minute! I really appreciate everyone's advice. Julie
 
Get some used pro spec gear form ebay. I was just about to buy a forth speed light and considered yongnuo(who seem to produce decent gear) for 100, but ended up buying a sb800 for 40£ more. Used,yes, but it's back up to back up and my other SB 800 is just amazing. I feel better with used professional gear than new Chinese brand gear.
 
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