is this kit any good for a beginner

Any reason why you want continuous rather than flash? Flash is generally considered better for the sort of things you want to do.
 
ive only ever used normal lights with a lightbox for my pictures and wouldnt have a clue how to use flash lighing im a complete novice, i dont know how they work or how they attatch to the camera etc.
 
...oooh, fresh meat to convert t the ways of flash!! :lol:

Shazza, flash is simple - it's just a different delivery method to get the light out there.

You're probably going to have to go down the off-camera flash route at some point but if you have a flashgun then that is a good place to start; bouncing on-camera flash against a wall or white card can produce some lovely light without any hassle.

What size products are you photographing? :)
 
i thought i was going to be laughed out of the forum and told to go research. fantastic that i can get advice i was a bit scared to ask being a novice.. im photographing dolls, baby sized ones so need the light be perfect to show the artwork of the paint etc.
 
You might find this post: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=4219584&postcount=35 useful insight as to why flash is better for what you want.

You're going to have to do some internet reading about the areas that you don't understand though ;) If you have specific questions (e.g. the "normal" connection is with radio triggers that sir where your hotshoe flash normally sits) then ask away.
 
shazza69 said:
i thought i was going to be laughed out of the forum and told to go research. fantastic that i can get advice i was a bit scared to ask being a novice.. im photographing dolls, baby sized ones so need the light be perfect to show the artwork of the paint etc.
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No problems with asking but "I don't know how it works" is a bit of a nebulous topic to answer (i.e. tell us the bits you do know and which bits confuse you and we can help).
 
shazza69 said:
i thought i was going to be laughed out of the forum and told to go research. fantastic that i can get advice i was a bit scared to ask being a novice.. im photographing dolls, baby sized ones so need the light be perfect to show the artwork of the paint etc.
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Ask and you will receive - that is TP's unnofficial motto ;)

Something that size would light quite easily in a light tent if you want to go down that route. Personally, I'd buy a chap flashgun like a YN460, a flash trigger set, a light stand and a 60cm softbox. The softbox will have a large apparent size compared to the prooducts so the shadows will be soft and you can always use a piece of A3/A2 white card to bounce light back into the shadows.

That set-up should cost no more than about £100-120. and it'll be a versatile set-up that in the confines of a house/studio, will last for ages.

One question I have is what do you deem 'perfect' light - no shadow whatsoever? Some shadow to give it more impact? I know it's for selling purposes so clarity is key to show the products off, but also you may need to think about the product standing out in thumbnails in ebay listings, which is where more 'artistic' lighting might help :)
 
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ok will be continuing to do homework :) this is going to sound thick to you guys but i couldnt understand how the flash went off if it wasnt attatched to your camera, but obviously i researched a bit and see you need a trigger ontop of my camera which i take it sends a signal to the flash when the shutter is pressed....or am i wrong, im desperate to learn.
 
shazza69 said:
ok will be continuing to do homework :) this is going to sound thick to you guys but i couldnt understand how the flash went off if it wasnt attatched to your camera, but obviously i researched a bit and see you need a trigger ontop of my camera which i take it sends a signal to the flash when the shutter is pressed....or am i wrong, im desperate to learn.
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Spot on. :thumbs:

These triggers range from cheap ones that have limited range (distance) but will do a job, through to ones that will pretty much work out everything for you.

how much were you willing to invest and how much can you invest?
 
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shazza69 said:
ok will be continuing to do homework :) this is going to sound thick to you guys but i couldnt understand how the flash went off if it wasnt attatched to your camera, but obviously i researched a bit and see you need a trigger ontop of my camera which i take it sends a signal to the flash when the shutter is pressed....or am i wrong, im desperate to learn.
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Trigger on top of the camera and receiver on the flash. This might confuse you a little but you can set most flash guns to slave so they are triggered my the flash of another gun.
 
i have been using a light tent but just cant get enough light in it so the subject comes out darker than id like it to. i have just been putting a normal lamp on all sides and one on the top, ive tried daylight bulbs in the lamps also but just am not happy with the shots so i thought i have a go at getting some professional lighting and thought continuous would be easier for me to use and set up and do away with the light tent. im open to flash guns i guess. Is the link i put in for the interfit kit not any good then.
 
shazza69 said:
i have been using a light tent but just cant get enough light in it so the subject comes out darker than id like it to. i have just been putting a normal lamp on all sides and one on the top, ive tried daylight bulbs in the lamps also but just am not happy with the shots so i thought i have a go at getting some professional lighting and thought continuous would be easier for me to use and set up and do away with the light tent. im open to flash guns i guess. Is the link i put in for the interfit kit not any good then.
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Just a quick thought but are you using a tripod?

What the guys say about flash is 100% correct but you can also get decent results with household lighting, if your subjects are static and you take a bit of care. Shoot on a sturdy tripod, base ISO, long exposure at a narrow aperture (for max DOF). Set a custom white balance first.
 
shazza69 said:
i have been using a light tent but just cant get enough light in it so the subject comes out darker than id like it to. i have just been putting a normal lamp on all sides and one on the top, ive tried daylight bulbs in the lamps also but just am not happy with the shots so i thought i have a go at getting some professional lighting and thought continuous would be easier for me to use and set up and do away with the light tent. im open to flash guns i guess. Is the link i put in for the interfit kit not any good then.
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It isn't about the subject coming out darker than expected, with the camera on a tripod just about any kind of continuous lighting can provide enough QUANTITY of light - what you should be concerned about is the QUALITY of the light, and I'm guessing that you already know that and that that's why you want to get rid of the light tent and bring the quality of the lighting under your own control...

I recommend flash for all the reasons I gave in that link. But if you do want to use continuous lighting, take a look at the Lencarta Quadlite. It won the group test in 'Advanced Photographer' and has about twice as much power as its nearest rival, as well as costing far less.
 
Don't listen to em! barking mad the lot of em. Get yourself a couple of second hand Tilly lamps, a miners helmet with mains tungsten and sync the on camera flash to an arc welder.

Works for me:thumbs:

BAAAAAAAAAA
 
shazza69 said:
ive only ever used normal lights with a lightbox for my pictures and wouldnt have a clue how to use flash lighing im a complete novice, i dont know how they work or how they attatch to the camera etc.
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Believe me it is soooooo much easier than continuous if only because you can vary the intensity.

These days I dont bother with studio flash and yes I had Bowens once, I now use my flashguns, on stands with softboxes.

I have shot everything from close up to portrait with a flashgun setup, and will never look back.

Remember to begin with you can start so cheaply it is almost free, pich up some iShoot radio triggers off Ebay, a couple of flashguns, as they will be off camera they don't even need to be for your camera, a couple of stands and some soft boxes, I could kit you out with a starters setup that would produce VERY good results for under £70
 
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thanks for all your comments its something to think about certainley. but back to my original question, is the kit i found in the link any good or a waste of money i would just like comments to help me make up my mind, theres alot to think about now....oh dear.:)
 
JSER said:
Believe me it is soooooo much easier than continuous if only because you can vary the intensity.

These days I dont bother with studio flash and yes I had Bowens once, I now use my flashguns, on stands with softboxes.

I have shot everything from close up to portrait with a flashgun setup, and will never look back.

Remember to begin with you can start so cheaply it is almost free, pich up some iShoot radio triggers off Ebay, a couple of flashguns, as they will be off camera they don't even need to be for your camera, a couple of stands and some soft boxes, I could kit you out with a starters setup that would produce VERY good results for under £70
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A set up for under £70? Id like to hear hear this setup.
 
It will probably be fine for product photography (where the subject is completely still) but I suspect you will get frustrated with it for portrait photography.
 
shazza69 said:
thanks for all your comments its something to think about certainley. but back to my original question, is the kit i found in the link any good or a waste of money i would just like comments to help me make up my mind, theres alot to think about now....oh dear.:)
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The Interfit stuff is okay, especially at the prices they sell for, but continuous isn't anywhere as versatile as flash IMO.
 
I've got a pair of interfit cool-lite heads. They're fine for still life/product shooting, and great for video, but they're just not powerful enough for most portrait work.

I moved on from these to battery flash guns, then lencarta studio heads. To be honest I wish I'd saved my money rather than getting the continuous lights, although I do still use them from time to time.
 
Johnd2000 said:
Just a quick thought but are you using a tripod?

What the guys say about flash is 100% correct but you can also get decent results with household lighting, if your subjects are static and you take a bit of care. Shoot on a sturdy tripod, base ISO, long exposure at a narrow aperture (for max DOF). Set a custom white balance first.
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This for your product photography. Utilise natural light from a window. Fill in shadows with white card or even a newspaper. If you've already got a tripod, then the cost is nothing.
 
hey guys ive been researching and im looking at the flash heads, but can you tell me what a slave flash is please. explain in simpleton terms mind :cuckoo:
 
A studio flash head can be turned to slave mode, so that it "sees" other flash being fired and fires its own in synchronisation. In practice this means you only ever need to hook up one flash head to your camera, the rest act as slaves firing off at the same time as the master.
 
shazza69 said:
oh wow i understand now, thank you for clearing that up for me...:)
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Glad that helps. :)

To link your camera to the master flash head, you use either a "PC" sync lead or remote triggers. Most flash heads, including our ones, include a PC sync lead in the box. One end goes into the DLSR, and the other end plugs into the master flash sync port.

For not much more money, you can get a set of radio trigger which makes the connection wireless, works through walls, etc. The transmitter sits on top of the camera, slotted into the hotshoe, and the receiver plugs into the master flash sync port. When you release the shutter, the transmitter sends a signal to the receiver and fires off the entire lighting system (as many heads as you like, with slave mode turned on). Range can vary between 30m to 300m, depending on which trigger you go for (and to some extent how much you pay). :thumbs:
 
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