Lencarta Studio Lighting Kits

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Alex Prokop

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Alex
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I'm pretty much a beginner when it comes to studio flash. My girlfriend runs a fashion ecommerce business and we're looking to improve the lighting in the product shots. The shots are full length portraits of both models and mannequins on a grey backdrop.

After reading a lot of posts here we've decided on Lencarta as they seem to have good quality and features for the price, we just can't decide between the Smartflash 2 or the ElitePro 2 kits. Would the Smartflash's be powerful enough for full length shots? Considering we're using some really weak continuous lighting we bought of eBay at the moment, either would be a dramatic improvement, but since we're looking at investing some money we'd want them to handle the job and paying a bit extra for the ElitePro could be worth it.

https://www.lencarta.com/studio-lighting/studio-lighting-kit

Also as beginners would we be better off with softboxes or umbrellas? Or maybe one of each?

Thanks!
 
This would be better in the Lighting and Studio section, I'm sure Garry Edwards would give you the answer you're looking for.

If you're concerned about a 200w or 300w head I wouldn't worry as they're close enough not to matter and I can't think of many occasions where I needed to go over 300w indoors, in a small controlled environment the problem tends to be having too much power not too little.

I'd suggest getting both modifiers, mainly because umbrellas are dirt cheap and it's an extra tool which is useful as one does not replace the other. I don't do fashion or portraits so I'm not entirely confident here but you may find doing full length requires some large modifiers, umbrellas should work well there but large softboxes can get expensive.

Regardless I'm confident whatever you get will be a vastly better experience than your existing lights and give you scope for future expansion should you need it.
 
I cant really comment on a comparison between the two as I've never used the elite pros but own 3 smartflash 2's. For what your describing the smartflashes should be more than powerful enough. I've shot small groups on white and grey seemless full length at f11 without close to full power being needed. If you go for the elite 600's you may benefit from slightly faster recycle times but doesn't sound like that would be a major concern and I'd doubt you'd need 600w very often.

You'd probably be better investing extra in good modifiers if you can. If your wanting even lighting over full length to show off the clothes more than anything you'll want fairly large modifiers. Softboxes will be easier to control where the lights going than umbrellas vut if you go softboxes unless you've got the space to leave them setup permanently I'd go for foldable softboxes as those rods can be a right pita. To keep it affordable I'd probably start with a smartflash kit with umbrellas and add a couple of bessell foldable softboxes to complliment them.
 
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Thanks both, really helpful info - particularly about the large softboxes. Sounds like I should plump for the Smartflash with umbrellas and look for some large softboxes.
 
Just buying the kit is not the complete answer, you can have the best kit in the world but if you do not know how to use it then it was a bit of a waste. Get in contact with Garry who will advise you on the most suitable gear and consider getting some training from him because good training is the best shortcut.

Mike
 
The SmartFlash 2 is small and light, and really designed or amateur use
The ElitePro 2 is much bigger and looks prettier, and is really designed for pro use.
But our customers ignore this, a lot of Pro's use the SmartFlash and a lot of amateurs prefer the ElitePro - and they're right, because different things matter differently to different people and the only real difference between the two is the extra half stop of power with the ElitePro - which really doesn't matter.

What DOES matter is the way that the equipment is used - technique always trumps gear - and the modifiers that are used.
For the sort of shots you need to take, my obvious thought is 2 x lights used in the rimlight position and each fitted with both a 30 x 40cm strip softbox, each with a honeycomb, and a 3rd light used directly in front of where the model is facing, fitted with a 100 x 100 softbox or a 70 x 100 softbox (the 70 x 100 will be out of stock until the end of the month)

And each of the strip softboxes will need one of these combination stands, the 'normal' stands will be much too high.
 
Hi Garry, Thanks so much for the advice. Right now we can only really afford the two lights, but would be looking to expand on our setup in the future. What would be the best setup if we were limited to two lights?

Thanks
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Garry, I'm thinking of trying some studio-like headshots, I assume that this would be the same recommended startup system. Is a Lightmeter mandatory to start with (I'm on a limited budget here) or does it just make everything easier.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
A flash meter is a nice-to-have but most people manage without one. Yes, that's the kit that I recommend for most portrait uses, it's far more versatile than either twin softboxes or twin umbrellas.
 
For clarity, I've actually merged the two threads together for you Alex, and left the resulting thread in the Lighting section...
 
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