Loking for starter advice, please

Bristolian

Bristolian

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Having recently started to advertise myself to take portraits I've taken a few orders ... now I need to splash some cash and get a lighting setup :)

I've been looking at "out of the box kits" and have found a couple that look okay. The problem I have is I don't know what I'm looking at/for so they could be complete dogs. So, here I am asking for advice ... pretty please :D

The three I'm looking at are:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230590990508&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320659970626&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PhotoSEL-LS...VCGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300725707&sr=8-1

Comments/advice welcome :thumbs:
 
Link 1. A cheap and cheerful flash kit that will work, but probably not very well in terms of consistent colour temperature and consistent flash energy. It has no cooling fan, so the modelling lamp is too dim to be useful. It doesn't have an interchangeable reflector, so the accessories included with it are pretty much all that's available, and softboxes won't work well with it. But it's cheap.
Links 2 & 3 - these are continuous lighting kits, please don't even look at them again.

Take a look at the various free tutorials in the Lencarta Learning Centre, they should help you to understand what's important and why.
 
Garry,

Thank you for your comments ... concise and insightful if a little brutal :D

I'm working my way through the tutorials on the Lencarta site and will be purchasing some of your books too. Does that sound like grovelling?

I promise not to look at 2 & 3 again and appreciate that 1 may not be up to professional standards but my needs are some way below that. I'm only planning (still at the thinking about it stage) to do occasional portrait sessions at a local community hall.

Do you have any recommendation for something you would consider more suitable? My budget is maxed out at £300 BTW.
 
Bristolian said:
Garry,

Thank you for your comments ... concise and insightful if a little brutal :D

I'm working my way through the tutorials on the Lencarta site and will be purchasing some of your books too. Does that sound like grovelling?

I promise not to look at 2 & 3 again and appreciate that 1 may not be up to professional standards but my needs are some way below that. I'm only planning (still at the thinking about it stage) to do occasional portrait sessions at a local community hall.

Do you have any recommendation for something you would consider more suitable? My budget is maxed out at £300 BTW.
Click to expand...
Brutal but honest.

No.1 will do the job but you'll soon grow out of it, there's a lot of truth in the saying 'buy cheaply buy twice'. And cheap kits typically produce very different power and very different colour from one shot to the next, this is frustrating for experienced users and worse for new ones, it makes sense to buy kit that makes your job easier, not harder.

I'm not exactly impartial, but you might want to look at the Lencarta SmartFlash twin head kit - min price £255, ideally you should get 1 umbrella and 1 softbox, that will still be within your budget.
 
If your in two minds then definitely go for the lencarta at that price. The cheap lights are not consistent and will not last.

Secondly it's not just about the lights it's more about the accessories; umbrellas, softboxes, grids, snouts etc.
Without them you will not be able to create the effects or progress, so buying a kit that you cannot get accessories for will limit you anyway and effectively be a waste of money long term
 
Garry, Jonathan, Nigel,

Many thanks for the comments. I need to make a decision before the weekend so have a lot of reading to do :)

That Lencarta kit has risen to top of my list .... until I get some better recommendation :D
 
Short answer is get the Smartflash, get them now and get some practise in. Spend your reading time on learning how to use them.

You can spend a heck of a lot more, but you won't get anything cheaper that will do a good and reliable job :thumbs:
 
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