eBay Studio kits - Any examples / Advice?

HappySnappy1977

HappySnappy1977

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Dean
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Hi,

Before I start let me firstly say that I understand that yes, you get what you pay for!! I understand that these kits will not be the quality of kits 4X, 8X and 16X the price so there's no need to send a barrage of messages saying not to waste my money and that these kits will fall apart / maim / possibly kill me and any poor models unlucky enough to be within a 5 mile radious of them and the blast zone created when they blow up!!! (I have posted for advice on "another" forum and got pretty much all of the above from said very stuck up and not at all as friendly as TP forums!!)

Now that that's over with.....

I have seen this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170651877986?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 on a thread a few down from this one and wondered if anyone had some more examples of photos taken using this kit. Also, can anyone offer any other options for around the same price. I don't mind paying a little more but no more that £200.

It is going to be for a home studio and some location work in the future but all indoors. I will be going down the strobist road for outside work and already have 2x Vivitar 283's and again would welcome any comments about whether I could get the same results if I just used the money to finish off buying this setup.

My rational for going for the eBay setup is that a few of the components of it are what I will be looking to buy anyhow for the strobist side of things (lightstands, softboxes and possibly umbrellas) and I feel it will be easier to learn with a setup like this than it would be to learn with a strobist setup.

Any help welcomed (puts flame retardent suit on but hopes that TP is indeed friendlier than the "other" forum!!)

Dean
 
The softboxes included in this kit will only fit the strobes - they are held on with 4 screws not a bowens / elinchrom etc etc mount. So pretty much useless with any other kit.
 
jdfotos said:
The softboxes included in this kit will only fit the strobes - they are held on with 4 screws not a bowens / elinchrom etc etc mount. So pretty much useless with any other kit.
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Hi James,

shame as that would have been a bonus but this still does not deter me, as long as at least the lightstands are of use as the cheapest I can find them is £15 - £20 each and I will need 3 anyhow.

Cheers again for the input though (already more helpful than the other place!!)
 
Hi,

yeah I've had a look at that thread as mentioned earlier buy I was hoping for some further examples?

Anyone?
 
HappySnappy1977 said:
Hi,

yeah I've had a look at that thread as mentioned earlier buy I was hoping for some further examples?

Anyone?
Click to expand...
I looked at this thread earlier and didn't bother to reply as I would only repeat the advice you were given on another forum - and you don't want to hear it:lol:

But really, example photos won't help you in the slightest. See this thread. Even the worst fleabay lighting equipment can produce decent results as long as you work within its limitations and are prepared to take hundreds of shots in the hope that the colour and flash energy output will be close enough on a few of them, and that the ones where everything happens to come together are also the ones where the subject has exactly the right facial expression - and if you decide to go for better gear that's no guarantee of success either, even the best equipment won't help if it's used badly.

Some people have bought that kit and have said that they're happy with the results, and some people have bought much worse kit and are happy, so it's really something that only you can decide
 
Garry Edwards said:
I looked at this thread earlier and didn't bother to reply as I would only repeat the advice you were given on another forum - and you don't want to hear it:lol:

But really, example photos won't help you in the slightest. See this thread. Even the worst fleabay lighting equipment can produce decent results as long as you work within its limitations and are prepared to take hundreds of shots in the hope that the colour and flash energy output will be close enough on a few of them, and that the ones where everything happens to come together are also the ones where the subject has exactly the right facial expression - and if you decide to go for better gear that's no guarantee of success either, even the best equipment won't help if it's used badly.

Some people have bought that kit and have said that they're happy with the results, and some people have bought much worse kit and are happy, so it's really something that only you can decide
Click to expand...

Hi Garry,

I opted for the 750w fleabay cheapies in the end.

It's not that I didn't WANT to hear advice on the other forum, it's that they couldn't seem to grasp that I understood that this kit is not the best (or anywhere near the best) kit in the world but that I was perfectly happy to use them as a training kit to learn the basics and then move onto better kit in the future (actually I've got my eyes on a few Lencarta bits already!!) and flog them on to another student etc. I simply wanted to see some results using the kit.

What made me laugh was that the very same guys that were saying about colour output were also happy enough to tell people to go down the strobist road (because 3 X 5-20 year old Vivitar 283's and 285's would all be EXACTLY the same output wouldn't they!!)

As you've said, even the best equipment won't help if it's used badly. My thoughts are that if I can learn how to get reasonable and fairly consistant results using this kit then it should make it easier to use the better kit when I come to you to buy it!!

I'll get some results posted when I eventually get the kit and also a review of how the kit performed (good AND bad!)
 
Dean, you've obviously heard all the negatives etc, so wont go there. I bought a kit (probably the same) just to use as background lights in conjunction with the (slightly) more expensive kit I already had. For this they are fine, nothing special but they work.
If I start using them as subject lights, there are colour differences, so tend not to bother.
All my stuff is used at home only, to practice and learn what works - if I'm shooting proper, I use a studio with full Bowens kit.
Use yours to practice, see what works, I guarantee you will want to buy better gear!!
 
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