i am in the process of purchasing some studio lights but dont know what to go for. choices are - godox tc 600 2 head kit £360 comes with wireless trigger barn door + gels 2 x 100cm softboxes on ebay, or lumens8 sv 400w kit £400 with radio trigger and 2 x umbrellas. will be used for family portrait work at home and at friends, family homes etc so will be setup and stripped down quite regularly. the other option is to by second hand units from elinchrom which are being offered at £280 at the minute. suggestions would be apreciated, as i have know idea what to go for apart from the godox tc 600 having the most power, and accessories coming with it.
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The Lumen8 is a pretty good kit. It's best to shop around, last time I checked the Lumen8 400ws kit was retailing at £299. I would completely forget about the other no-name kit though. Just think about what would happen if it dies after 3 months. Local support is important with lights.
A lot of us here use Lencarta lights, which IMO is identical in quality to Bowens/Elinchrom but only at 1/3 of the price.
A lot of us here use Lencarta lights, which IMO is identical in quality to Bowens/Elinchrom but only at 1/3 of the price.
thanks for the comment harryL. i have checked out the lencarta 300w elitepro kit and am well impressed with them for the money £480+ depending on the kit. but are 300w x 2 enough for full length family portraits or should i go for the lumen 400w x2 instead?. i must say i do prefer the lencartas though, just worried a little about the watts.
You'd best speak to Garry Edwards, a lighting expert working for Lencarta and a member here. His ID is Garry_Edwards I think...
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On paper, a 400Ws flash head produces just 1/3rd stop more power than a 300Ws head - will that make any practical difference to you?
In the real world, what counts is the amount of measured flash energy actually produced, not the amount of energy stored in the capacitors. The amount of flash energy produced depends on a number of factors including the efficiency (and type of) the reflector used and the electrical efficiency. Flash energy is expressed as a guide number, which in the case of the Lencarta Elite Pro is 162. What that means is that when I tested these heads my larger-than-average studio with the standard reflector fitted, it produced a correct exposure at full power of f/16.2 at a distance of 10'.
Whether or not you will get the same figure I don't know. In a normal living room you will have far more effective power because light will reflect from walls and the ceiling. In an aircraft hanger you will get far less because there will be no reflected light worth measuring.
I don't know what the Lumen figures are, and even if I did know it wouldn't help because I don't know the test conditions.
Please see this article, which might help.
In other words, 300Ws is plenty enough even at 100 ISO. If you ever find yourself wanting more effective power, set your camera to 200 ISO, which will effectively double the power of the lights.
thanks for the info garry, thats cleared things up alot. i have narrowed it down to either the lencarta or elemental 2 head kits at around the £500 mark. doesn't seem to be much between the 2 except elemental come with more accessories and a backdrop and stand. thanks again for the replies....