Kit :)

[TheHogMother]

Hi

newbie here in terms of it all -

I want some for of basic lighting kit mainly for indoor portrait shoots but maybe some outdoor ones

Macro lens ( though I think I am going to start with filters)

and a tripod

Would love some recommendations please - quite happy to start at the bottom and work up quality wise lol - my budget isn't huge lol x

Thank you

 

[John Mc]

Well, what exactly is your budget? My budget for camera and lens is about £1500, and that's a relatively small budget for the type of photography I want to do which is Bird/wildlife.

 

[andyred]

With regards to a macro lens it depends on what tours wanting to shoot.

My daughter has the Sigma 50mm Macro and lives it for her close up work and doubles as a great 50mm standard lens aswell.

If you're wanting to shoot wildlife, I'd suggest a 100mm minimum.

And as above, an idea of budget helps ...

 

[TheHogMother]

I dont have a budget but definitely not huge lol - It will be on an as and when basis with regards to funds -

 

[John Mc]

Then what may help here is your dslr system. Can't really comment much on what you should looking at without it.
As for tripods, get one that suits you're height, Is sturdy(which can mean heavy) ) and has multiple leg angles. A good quality tripod can last you years if maintained correctly. So a decent proportion of budget should go towards that. And I'd suggest it be your first purchase. You can use ambient lighting before the need for speedlights etc. A tripod will help you take longer exposure meaning the need for less light.

I purchased my Giottos 3 years back for around £ 150, head included. Out of all my camera accessories, it's been the most useful out of all of them. If I could only have one accessory, it would be that.

 

[Andy_S]

For macro have a look at the Auto Focus Extension Tubes, I have a set from Polaroid, ~£60, and I'm very pleased. They're hollow tubes, of different lengths that fit between your camera and standard lens. They reduce the minimum focussing distance so you can get much closer to your subject for higher magnification. AF tubes are much better than basic manual tubes as they have the electrical connections to control the aperture and focussing. No need to get the expensive sets, they give the same results.
Basic lighting kit: Set of remote, wireless, triggers available from ~£20,
A basic flash from £30 (Yongnou YN460, but would recommend getting one with ETTL functions for use on camera.)
Photographic Umbrella and Light stand with clamp from ~£20.
All prices from Amazon.
HTH

ETA, Depending on your photography you may not need a tripod. All my (non-self) portraits I do hand held and my tripod gets demoted to light stand. Long shutter speed shots and some landscapes will need one though.