Home photography studio kit - ADVICE REQUIRED

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Will86

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Hello everyone, first post from me. In need of some advice and recommendations.

I want to purchase a photography studio kit, i.e. lights, backdrops etc.
As I am on a budget here I've been looking at eBay/Amazon and came across this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2850W-Pho...153074?hash=item54110a7db2:g:kb4AAOSwT5tWLgEg
(I'm sure someone is bound to comment negatively on this as its probably a china import, but any help will be great).

If anyone good tell me what they think of this or any other sites to go to, makes, models etc. would be much appreciated.

This is mainly for family use at the moment as we have a 15 month old daughter and cant afford to pay another photographer when I could possibly do it myself. I have done some portraiture before and used some continuous lighting which I prefer.

Thanks in advance

Will
 
it'll attract far more criticism because it's continuous lighting instead of flash, to be honest... I've no real first hand expertise on the extreme budget end of the market to be honest, so I'll leave it to the rest of the regulars to point you at better deals / more suitable equipment.

However, from the same fleabay seller - this 2 flash head kit looks half reasonable as a starting point (you could always add in a backdrop stand or whatever and combine the postage if you wished, as they seem to have them on sale seperately) , if you really, really don't have the budget to take the next step up and buy proper branded kit...
 
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I'm not an expert in continuous lighting but what I do know is you need some seriously good ones to make it worth it. I've read nothing but bad things about these kind of lights.

As for the rest of the stuff I can possible help. I've used some of the stands like these in the past, mostly as a backup and they're very poor quality and there is no cushioning etc. involved and always the risk that a heavy roll or light will bring them crashing to the ground, or on top of a child's head.

The backdrops are muslin cloth and are very bad for creases. The black one may work in some situations if setup correctly but the white one will be hard to light and I've seen them give off a blue-ey cast. The green one is for chroma key photography and you will probably never use it.

I don't understand how 5 x 38 watt bulbs makes a 950watt light?

I don't really know what to suggest if you're on a budget, probably nothing because this kind of setup will leave you hungering for something more professional in the future.
 
connersz said:
I don't understand how 5 x 38 watt bulbs makes a 950watt light?
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they're quoting "incandescent equivalences" for the fluorescent bulbs at a guess - i.e. 1x35w bulb is roughly equivalent to 190w filament bulb...

the main thing you need to ask yourself about those lights though is this...

"Would you really want to sit under up to 15 of those 35w bulbs for any real period of time - and more especially, would you want to sit your daughter under the same..."
 
Thanks guys.

Certainly makes me think though, regarding buying this low quality of kit. Looking at the details of the seller I'm guessing these are china imports in which case probably best to stay away then.

I only say I'm interested in continuous lighting as that's all I've only used in the past and I don't have any experience using flash.

So if I was to say my budget could be stretched, what good starter lighting kit would set up me up? (in terms of branded ones). And what material backdrops are best, as you say those eBay ones are not good.

Thanks again

Will
 
[QUOTE="Would you really want to sit under up to 15 of those 35w bulbs for any real period of time - and more especially, would you want to sit your daughter under the same..."[/QUOTE]

Good point! Thanks
 
Just to add to the negative comments, this kit is just junk - if you buy it you'll use it once and then put in back on Ebay:(
As others have said, cheap continuous lighting kits are just not suitable for portrait photography (portrait photography in particular that is, they are really only just about adequate for video) and what you need is studio flash.
That kit does represent very good value for money but it just won't do the job.
One thing that annoys me a bit is their reference to "Full Spectrum" which means that the bulbs produce the full spectrum of colours, and that statement is just false - Even the very best fluorescent lamps cannot be full spectrum, and discontinous spectrum lamps like these cannot reproduce colours accurately. Generally, the cheaper the bulb, the worse the colour rendition.

We produce a twin head studio flash lighting kit with one softbox and 1 umbrella for £320 - you will find other sellers selling more basic kits for even less.
 
I would agree to save a little longer and buy something decent rather than the cheap junk on Ebay. You'll regret it.

Personally I don't like Interfit - but they do have some reasonable budget choices for reasonable money, and they are at least better than what you find on Ebay. I had a negative experience with them - but many do use them and get great results.

I've used Elinchrom which are not the cheaper end of the market - but have been most reliable.

As an in between - the Lencarta lights mentioned above get very good feedback and reviews - so they'd certainly be on my list of ones to look at..
 
I have the Interfit EX150II lights and have never had any issues with them, great introductary budget lighting system. MIne will be upgraded in the near future, as I now have wish to change my lights/lighting style.
 
get a light with fans trust me you will regret it in the end I had a very bad experience with a cheap set lol
 
The funny thing about cheap continuous lights are that they're not even cheap. They just have a low initial price point, if you want a lot of power, they're expensive, if you want a decent colour rendition, they're expensive, if you want further off the shelf modifiers... You're completely out of luck, you'll have to start again with a more expensive system.
 
its right phil you always end up replacing the cheap ones etc
 
yep agreed mickledore been there and done it myself lol
 
Thanks. I don't have any particular axe to grind but note Gary Edwards' comments above. OP probably won't know that Garry is a good friend of this forum and his advice in these matters is as good as he'll find anywhere.

It's worth looking at his gear suggestions. He won't be trying to sell his gear but will be trying to give advice.
 
tbh I don't class the lencarta as a cheap alternative or anything like that always thought they are good quality
 
owenb said:
tbh I don't class the lencarta as a cheap alternative or anything like that always thought they are good quality
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Lencarta are very cheap but that doesn't need to reflect poorly on their quality, if we rule out second hand then I think the only thing cheaper of a decent standard would be something like a Godox DE300 kit but don't count on any kind of after sales support; you pays your money and takes your choice.
 
tbh some interfit kits are cheaper than lencarta and obv some ebay kits like any gear some are great some aren't I bought a brand new car 10 years ago and had 13 problems with it in the first 6 months hence I got a refund lol
 
owenb said:
tbh some interfit kits are cheaper than lencarta and obv some ebay kits like any gear some are great some aren't I bought a brand new car 10 years ago and had 13 problems with it in the first 6 months hence I got a refund lol
Click to expand...

Interfit kits aren't really cheaper unless they're second hand and while I'm a huge fan of second hand gear it may also be a mine field for a beginner.
 
I found that there were always Interfit lights available, and if you watched and waited (ebay) you really do land a bargain.
 
Will86 said:
Thanks guys.

Certainly makes me think though, regarding buying this low quality of kit. Looking at the details of the seller I'm guessing these are china imports in which case probably best to stay away then.

I only say I'm interested in continuous lighting as that's all I've only used in the past and I don't have any experience using flash.

So if I was to say my budget could be stretched, what good starter lighting kit would set up me up? (in terms of branded ones). And what material backdrops are best, as you say those eBay ones are not good.

Thanks again

Will
Click to expand...
I've been meaning to get around to selling some old gear recently so just as another option for you I would be happy to sell you a set that comes close to what you're after if you're interested:

*2 x Interfit EX150's - The first model, needs a new modelling bulb in one.
*1 x Interfit Softbox
*2 x Umbrellas, 1 shoot-through and 1 reflective black one
*1 x Backdrop support stand and case (same as the ebay one)
*2 x Light stands
*1 x White muslin backdrop

I could let you have that lot for £120 including p&p if you want. If I can find a set of triggers you can have those as well. That would give you a better start than those ebay continuous lights in my opinion.
 
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What is seldom mentioned with these continuous lighting sets is that these bulbs are full of horrible s*** that can do serious damage to your health if they break and you breathe the stuff in.
 
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