New to studio lighting- what to buy

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aligibbs

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Alistair
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Hi All,
I don't have a huge space to work with, using either my study or lounge- but what to start looking into studio lighting. I only have a 430ex2 at the moment, which is fine for my 2nd togging at weddings etc.
I have a budget of £500 max really (though I could wait and this could be increased).
I was looking at 3 lights really and found this:
http://www.stableimaging.co.uk/stud...studio-flash/strobe-lighting-kit/prod_14.html
or
http://www.lencarta.com/smartflash-...rtflash-3-head-softbox/umbrella-kit/index.php

Any reason why I should pay twice the money for almost the same power? I know lencarta has a pretty good reputation- I know nothing about stableimaging.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Alistair
 
Stable Imaging is a reputable business and their products are good value for money. Their kit is suitable for starting out but the reason you should consider paying more is that, unlike the kit from Stable Imaging, the Lencarta kit is expandable - i.e. it has the almost standard S-fit accessory mount so you can get an enormous range of light shapers, softboxes and so on, which will be important to you if you want to use creative lighting techniques in the future.

Other things to consider are recycling time (very different), colour consistency, power of modelling lamps, output consistency and so on.

As with most things in life, what is important to one person may not matter at all to another, so really it all comes down to what is important to you, and what you may or may not want to do with your lighting kit in the future.
 
Hi Garry,

Thanks for your reply, I was going to go straight for Lencarta stuff- but then saw this, with the price being nearly half of the Lencarta. Will see if anybody actually uses this stable imaging stuff :)
 
Hi. I currently use the stable imaging kit (my first setup) I'm having a lot of fun trying out different combinations from 1 light to all 3, plus a couple of 430ex guns. sometimes colour a backdrop with gels and so on.

you can do a hell of a lot with this kit, particularly to learn from, but as Garry rightly said, it is hard to expand on this kit. you can find other light modifiers on ebay that have the same 'universal' ring fitting, but i must admit, i'm having a hard time doing so - that being said, i don't really need to right now as the supplied kit gives me enough flexibility in the short/mid term.

I know i will want to move on to something more 'pro' later on due the shortcomings of the stable imaging kit, but at least i'll have a bit more knowledge to take with me.
 
karfeef said:
Hi. I currently use the stable imaging kit (my first setup) I'm having a lot of fun trying out different combinations from 1 light to all 3, plus a couple of 430ex guns. sometimes colour a backdrop with gels and so on.

you can do a hell of a lot with this kit, particularly to learn from, but as Garry rightly said, it is hard to expand on this kit. you can find other light modifiers on ebay that have the same 'universal' ring fitting, but i must admit, i'm having a hard time doing so - that being said, i don't really need to right now as the supplied kit gives me enough flexibility in the short/mid term.

I know i will want to move on to something more 'pro' later on due the shortcomings of the stable imaging kit, but at least i'll have a bit more knowledge to take with me.
Click to expand...

Hi Harry,
Many thanks for your reply. Do you find the recycle times annoying? Do you think its well made and will survive? Thanks
Alistair
 
The site says 4.something seconds recycle time at full power, i find it quicker than that - not had any issues with missing a shot, however i don't do pro/paid work where time is of the essence. i might notice it then if i did. I don't shoot full power often anyway, so i normally get 1-2 seconds recycle.

Build quality - the heads are fairly light with a plastic body. they do feel like budget lights, but perform much better than this would suggest. One problem i feel is there is no cover for the reflector/bulbs, so you do have to take care. the reflector is fixed.

The stands that come with them are not too bad. air cushioned and sturdy enough for indoor use and outdoor if weighted down.

I feel you get a bit more than what you pay for with these, however - if the intention is to do paid work with clients in the very very near future - i'd stump up for something better such as the lencarta smartflash range or similar.
 
You've already seen my for sale thread :P But I've only used it once and found it very simple to set up and use. Doesn't take much knowledge to get some quick shots either such as high or lew key shots and using the softboxes improves the softness of the light but a long way.

The softboxes are easily set up and down aswell something that is sometimes a difficulty with some kits :)

Hope that helps
 
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