Home studio set up

Andy77

Andy77

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Ok guys and gals, im looking to set up a home studio but havnt got a clue where to start :shrug:, What gear would you recommend for me to get started, all i have at the min is a 430ex, do i need continuous lighting or not? ive been looking at the interfit 3 head kit :thinking:.......... So guys if you could point me in the right direction i would be very grateful........:thumbs:

Looking at a budget of £400

Thanks Andy.............:thumbs:
 
I have just received the Lencarta Smartflash twin box kit... seems perfectly good quality, especially for the price. Had a quick play but nothing too serious yet, but so far I'm happy with the kit... could be worth a look :)
 
You can get one of the Lencarta SmartFlash 3 head kits for your budget, and you won't get such good quality for the price anywhere.

Please don't even consider continuous lighting if you want to photograph people. Flash gives you much more control, much more power and is far easier to use as well as being much more comfortable for the people you're photographing.

This article on how to choose studio lighting may help you and this one on light shaping tools should make it clear what you can do with flash and why it should be your choice.
 
Hi Andy, i have a home studio set up and I use the bowens 500r's which are excellent, but come at a price. Depends what you intend on doing long term really as it might be worth investing in some more expensive kit.
 
I got a continuous kit from Smick that uses compact flourescents. It's a nice kit, but not much use for anything serious really when it comes to photography. AWESOME for video work though (which is now all I use it for).

You didn't mention if this budget was just for lights, so I'm going to assume it's not.

Hit up eBay and get a background stand, you can get a fairly decent one for less than £100, possibly with a background, possibly not. You can get 10'x20' whites starting at around £30 on eBay though. Couple of basic light stands (20 quid each), then hit up FITP's thread and see what he has. He has some flashes for about 50 quid that apparently work with Canon's TTL system, softboxes, diffusers, reflectors, etc.
 
+1 on Lencarta.

I have the Lencarta SmartFlash and found them to be on par in quality to the Elinchrom D-Lites, at a much cheaper price. I can vouch for the build quality, consistency and customer service of Lencarta. The flash head recycles in a second and takes standard Bowens S-fitting accessories. Personally I wouldn't recommend Interfit. The brand has a scary failure rate.
 
Thanks for the replys peeps, just a question, what would be the best lens for me to use for portrait work on a 40d, ive heard before about the 85mm 1.8. but on a crop body this will be to long, ive also heard about a 50mm prime? Is there any zooms that are also worth a look? e.g 24-70 L

Thanks andy........
 
70-200 & 24-70 are the two most commonly used for portraits depending on the size you have to work in. I love my 70-200 f/2.8VR. 24-70 f/2.8 is next on my list.

There are some good primes out there for Nikon, but not sure what Canon has. 50 1.8 or 1.4 shouldn't be a bad one though, but you can get some perspective distortion if you get closeup for head/shoulders.
 
i have the canon 70-200mm f4 L, but to be honest i dont have a lot of room to work in............:thumbs:
 
Lighting should be your main consideration, lenses and bodies are secondary.
Bodies are relatively unimiporant in studio photography because the camera is being used in a fairly relaxed environment - i.e. we don't need to worry too much about build quality, fast autofocus, number of shots per second, weatherproofing...
And much the same for lenses. An ultra wide aperture may help with focussing but you're unlikely to need to actually use it at max aperture, so there's no point in spending a lot of money on it.
And zooms are generally a bad idea in the studio because, with creative lighting (and with white backgrounds) flare is a real possibility and not only are zoom lenses more prone to flare than prime lenses, the standard lens hoods supplied with them are pretty useless too.

The Canon L zoom lenses are pretty good, but complete overkill in the studio, so unless you have a need for one outside the studio you'd be better off with the 50mm prime lens - and spending the money you've saved on some creative light shapers:)
 
Lenses secondary? Lenses are the biggest investment you'll ever make in photography. Lights burn out or are technologically obsoleted by newer versions, bodies are the new disposable cameras as they also get technologically obsoleted regularly (which is why you should never really worry about having the latest and greatest unless you know it fills a specific need and have the funds to justify it), a good lens can last you 20-30 years or more, and many hold their value extremely well in the used market if you ever decide to pack it in.

Lighting is important, but so's good glass if you want to take things seriously.

I know plenty of people who who do glamour/fashion/portrait regularly or for a living who would disagree with you on your opinion of L glass and high end fast zooms.
 
I have the Elementals G2 kit, excellent quality, £329 for the two head kit and I'm now about to buy a third head.

A backdrop and stand will cost about £200 depending on what you want, and I'd agree that there's no real need to spend hundreds on lenses for home studio use, you'll be shooting at around f/8-f/11 anyway so won't need to go wide open. My 18-135mm does me just fine, just as well as my 50mm f/1.4 in the home studio.
 
Dman said:
I'd agree that there's no real need to spend hundreds on lenses for home studio use
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That really depends on where he ultimately wants to take it and what he'll be shooting in his home studio.

A lot of cheaper/lower end glass shows bad chromatic abberations, vignetting & light falloff, softness even at f/8.

That said, the Canon and Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lenses are both pretty inexpensive and good for it if the focal length is one you're happy with (even the 1.8s are outstanding for what they cost). Like I said though, once you start getting close with it to do headshots, you're going to start seeing perspective distortions - or you're gonna have to stand back and crop it in post.
 
Andy77 said:
how about these then garry....

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-ef-50mm-f1-8-ii-lens/p12814
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-ef-50mm-f1-4-usm-lens/p12813

:thumbs:
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I don't use Canon, other people may be able to advise on these specific lenses, but personally I'd go for one of those 50mm - which on a crop sensor body won't cause perspective distortion problems.

My experience with Nikon (Canon may be different) is that the f.1.4 lens was more prone to flare and didn't perform as well in the studio as the much cheaper f/1.8

A lot of cheaper/lower end glass shows bad chromatic abberations, vignetting & light falloff, softness even at f/8
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. I didn't advocate getting poor lenses, I just said that top end lenses are overkill for studio use


I know plenty of people who who do glamour/fashion/portrait regularly or for a living who would disagree with you on your opinion of L glass and high end fast zooms
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No doubt, but I know plenty of people who who do glamour/fashion/portrait regularly or for a living who just use flat lighting that doesn't put zoom lenses to the test
 
Garry Edwards said:
No doubt, but I know plenty of people who who do glamour/fashion/portrait regularly or for a living who just use flat lighting that doesn't put zoom lenses to the test
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That's their loss. Me, I'll stick with my 70-200 f/2.8 VR and use flags between the flashes and the camera. :)
 
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