Lighting kit for unit

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cloudhunter

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Hi,

Well ive taken the plunge and leased a unit (only £250 per month and i can swallow that up easily enough)

So.... i was going to buy a lighting kit for home but now am going to need one for a commercial use.

So im thinking the cheapie £300 200watt 2 head ones arent going to be good enough?

Whats the cheapest decent 2 or 3 head kit i could get away with in a unit (its massive and have lots and lots of space)

Matt
 
200ws should be fine for your typical portraits, but not if you want to drive big softboxes to light large groups.

Bear in mind that just raising ISO by one stop is effectively the same as doubling the flash power. Might help you work around a few things. Good lighting is more about control than power - getting the right reflector/diffuser/shaper in the right place, turning it up or down to get the f/number you want, and making sure the light goes where you want it, and doesn't spill and mess up all around. Good light shapers are vital (and expensive) and most of the cheap kits are often pretty poor in this respect.

Look at kits from Bowens, Lencarta and Elinchrom. Don't forget a background of some kind and flash meter.
 
I pretty much agree with Richard on this, it's a good idea to have a bit more power for large groups but lighting control is far more important than power.

People talk a lot about light 'lost' when using large softboxes etc but in fact the light isn't so much lost as spread around, and the loss can be a lot less than you might think, when the softboxes are properly designed. See this comparison chart and you'll see that with both the softboxes tested, the 100 ISO figure only goes down from f/16.2 to f/7.1 at a distance of 10' - and you wouldn't normally place a softbox anywhere near that far from the subject.

Kits are designed to meet popular needs and I agree that you're very likely to want to add creative tools that aren't included in kits, once you've gained experience and are ready to produce more creative work. The best bet for you is probably to get the Lencarta twin head starter kit (because it provides very good value for money) and then build on it later.
 
If you have plenty of room maybe you could have a few different sets and move your kit around.

Post a pic of the inside of the unit, it helps to see the actual size....

Maybe we can all help with suggestions.

:thumbs:
 
cloudhunter said:
Hi,

Well ive taken the plunge and leased a unit (only £250 per month and i can swallow that up easily enough)

So.... i was going to buy a lighting kit for home but now am going to need one for a commercial use.

So im thinking the cheapie £300 200watt 2 head ones arent going to be good enough?

Whats the cheapest decent 2 or 3 head kit i could get away with in a unit (its massive and have lots and lots of space)

Matt
Click to expand...

Have been thinking about doing something similar, might even rent it to other togs to help towards the rent. Have you had to sign a long term lease to get that price?
 
Would also like to know more about renting a unit...

:thumbs:
 
Hi,

Ive signed a 12 months lease. And i can automatically extend for a following 3yrs as long as i dont do anything wrong (not pay rent , cause a nuisance etc etc)

Its a local farm where i live and it has 4 units. Ive called the council about rates and they said as its my first and only commercial premisies i get 50% off so the rates are only about £60 a month. So just over £300 a month and i got my own work place.

Just off the subject slightly , ive heard that unless you use constant apertures for the zoom lenses you have to fix the aperture every time???

Is that true??
 
Just off the subject slightly , ive heard that unless you use constant apertures for the zoom lenses you have to fix the aperture every time???

Is that true??
Click to expand...

Only that you set your aperture according to your lights, then you may zoom to a different focal length, and your aperture will have changed, so you'll then need to change your light settings. It's doable, but inconvenient.
 
treeman said:
Only that you set your aperture according to your lights, then you may zoom to a different focal length, and your aperture will have changed, so you'll then need to change your light settings. It's doable, but inconvenient.
Click to expand...

Not quite. This only applies at lowest f/number. At normal f/numbers the diaphragm changes automatically to compensate and f/number remains constant.

With respect to the OP, elementary questions like this do not bode well for anyone expecting to take on commercial work.
 
HoppyUK said:
Not quite. This only applies at lowest f/number. At normal f/numbers the diaphragm changes automatically to compensate and f/number remains constant.

With respect to the OP, elementary questions like this do not bode well for anyone expecting to take on commercial work.
Click to expand...

nor does not using fixed max aperture lenses
 
cloudhunter said:
Hi,

Ive signed a 12 months lease. And i can automatically extend for a following 3yrs as long as i dont do anything wrong (not pay rent , cause a nuisance etc etc)

Its a local farm where i live and it has 4 units. Ive called the council about rates and they said as its my first and only commercial premisies i get 50% off so the rates are only about £60 a month. So just over £300 a month and i got my own work place.

Just off the subject slightly , ive heard that unless you use constant apertures for the zoom lenses you have to fix the aperture every time???

Is that true??
Click to expand...



I've recently rented a modern unit at the local business centre. Easy in easy out terms. (1 months notice). £120/month inc rates. 24hrs access and very clean/secure.Carpeted and decorated.
You also have use of a meeting room, modern toilets etc free of charge. Its not huge (6mtr X 3mtr), but big enough to leave a backdrop and train set up and have a desk and seating area in there.
Just a place for me and some mates to have a go at portraiture during the winter months. :)

Kev.
 
Take a look at either Lencarta (mentioned above) or elemental, which can be found here:

Elemental studio flash

They're both compatible with the bowens S mount fitting so you'll have lots of accesories to choose from, and they're well made, reliable and both rapidly expanding uk based businesses.

Otherwise, I would suggest (as above) looking at Bowens, Profoto or Elinchrom. Elinchrom are my personal preference, but the others are just as nice :)


Good luck! be sure to post some pics when it's all done :D
 
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