potential "strobist" setup

Danger_Mouse

Danger_Mouse

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wayne
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I have been looking into what equipment i will be purchasing in the next few months so i can start gaining experiance to lead to work.

im thinking:
4x Canon 580EX 2
4x light stands
2x 32" softboxes
80cm defuser
2x reflectors
1x 6x7 HiLight

i have chosen the speedlights so i can use them on location and they will be small and light for traveling, and have chose the latest ones as they will give me full iTTL controllwhen needed, i also decided to keep them all the same so they recharge at the same rate and i can grab any one and know how to use it and not get mixxed up with different menues ect.

I am going to start doing the Highkey style portraits with this kit, aswell as on location shoots and will be looking towards weddings in the near future.

i have costed this up at £1621 (ex delivery) is there anything else you would surgest looking at for my style of photography i want to do? anything i have missed off? (dont say camera :lol:) would you go for some different light shaping tools or stick with the soft boxes?

Thanks for any imput
 
That looks fine to me. Personally 4 580MkIIs sounds like overkill but you give your reasons which are fair enough. I guess you might need some light shapers (snoots, half snoots, grids etc). Honl do some good ones, but DIY works well too. How about a ring flash adapter (several options available)? I've never used one, although I have one supposedly on the way, but I have heard good things about California Sunbounces - big controllable reflectors you can bounce flash into to good effect. How about an ST-E2 commander for your flashes? Or can you live with one on-camera always? Some radio triggers for when IR fails (eg no line of sight).
 
If you're serious about it then you're probably missing Gels + Modifiers (as Ian said) + Radio Triggers (Not IR or Slave)

1) For Gels I can recommend kits from www.skategoat.com, they come with velcro and give enough colours without bombarding you with thousands of choices.

2) For modifiers I bought lots of Interfit Strobies Flashgun Bouce sets. They are small and come with their own pouches yet offer a decent amount of flexibility for a fair price.

3) Triggers are a tricky one. If you want the best then you'll want pocket wizards, however they will add at least another £1k to your budget if you need to fire all flashes. A midrange solution (and the one I use) is Elinchrom Skyports. They are reliable but are between the cheapy stuff the PWs. Will still set you back £350 to fire all lights though.

Hope that helps.

Doug

P.S Plus extra stands for your reflectors and/or boom arm.

P.P.S Also forgot umbrellas as you are not always going to want to use softboxes.
 
Thanks for your replies,
I have a set of gels and have a studio kit with some umbrellas so guess i can ass some addapters so i can use them.

as for light modifiers it looks like i will have to get a selection in to have a play with.

I was hoping the IR would do the job but have looked at skyports in the past, may just have to wait untill i get a job i know the IR wont work with before i splash out all that extra money.

more stands and gris are a good shout too.


im going to be poor :( im doing this to make money not loose all of it.lol
 
I thought speedlights weren't too happy inside a highlight because of the lack of power and 'built in reflector - ie not a single point of light' issue (though I guess you could use a stofen, but this will eat another stop or so of light)

You can get a lot of studio heads for your money... elemental have got 4* 300ws heads, stands etc for £800 atm in their sale section, and elemental do a pretty comprehensive setup for quite a chunk under a grand... though you do lose the portability :(

You'll want some radio triggers for when the ittl signal just can't quite reach or you want to bury a flash in something, flash in the pan's 2.4ghz ones are rated quite highly, but skyports or pws will be the way to go if you're making money from this :( onestop and ebay do pocket wizards at £130each iirc, makes them not vastly more than skyports.


edit: replied too late and saw you've already got some studio kit...ignore me!
 
Danger_Mouse said:
Thanks for your replies,
I have a set of gels and have a studio kit with some umbrellas so guess i can ass some addapters so i can use them.

as for light modifiers it looks like i will have to get a selection in to have a play with.

I was hoping the IR would do the job but have looked at skyports in the past, may just have to wait untill i get a job i know the IR wont work with before i splash out all that extra money.

more stands and gris are a good shout too.


im going to be poor :( im doing this to make money not loose all of it.lol
Click to expand...

The IR will work in most indoor setups, however if your being comissioned for something then 'most' isn't good enough generally.

Another expense you may need to consider is batteries. Now would be the time to invest in a good rechargeable solution rather then whacking in new Alkalines all the time. With all those modifiers you are going to be eating light for breakfast along with a generous helping of battery power. You're probably looking at £50-£100 depending on what you decide to go for.
 
Don’t forget at least 8 re-chargeable good quality batteries for each 580s and an eight bay charger. Nothing worse than getting on location and finding you don’t have enough power.
 
This seems like massive overkill for someone just getting into off camera flash work. I highly recommend just getting one flash (or two at the most) and learning the basics first. You can always add more flashes later.

Also, why do you want ETTL to work? You'll have so much more control and creative freedom by using the flashes in manual mode.

I would say get the following to start out with:

1/2 x Flashes
1/2 x Light stands
1 x Umbrella
1 x Softbox
Wireless trigger/receivers (check out the Yongnuo RF-602)
1 x reflector

Then again, it's your money. If you want to spend out that much then go for it, it just seems way OTT. Also, consider getting some cheaper/older manual flashes instead of getting so many 580EX's if you want to save money.
 
Batteries are saved in a shopping basket online for when i order the flashes, was thinking of ordering in bulk. but the big charger idea is good, cant keep doing 4 at a time if im shooting a lot.

i was planning on using the speedlights in the HiLight but then if they are not powerful enough i can use my studio kit (even *** it is cheap) so may look into
2x studio heads for the HiLight and 2x 58ex2's for location work and lighting the people on the HiLight.

Does anyone know how big the HiLight actualy is when packed away? as i am hoping it will fit in the boot of a "normal" car? and leave space for camera gear?
 
ScarySquirrel said:
This seems like massive overkill for someone just getting into off camera flash work. I highly recommend just getting one flash (or two at the most) and learning the basics first. You can always add more flashes later.

Also, why do you want ETTL to work? You'll have so much more control and creative freedom by using the flashes in manual mode.

I would say get the following to start out with:

1/2 x Flashes
1/2 x Light stands
1 x Umbrella
1 x Softbox
Wireless trigger/receivers (check out the Yongnuo RF-602)
1 x reflector

Then again, it's your money. If you want to spend out that much then go for it, it just seems way OTT. Also, consider getting some cheaper/older manual flashes instead of getting so many 580EX's if you want to save money.
Click to expand...

I would need 3 so that 2 can go in the HiLight. if i use this set up.

i understand its a lot of money to be spending but its not my first use of off camera and i do usual work in manual but having them all the same means:
all recharge at the same time
all accessories will fit on them all
i can get to know how to use them fast easily
they are new so will have a warranty

I have been reading the joe mcnally book and his use of iTTL makes me think that its a good way of working quickly so i may aswell buy well first and not buy again later.
 
iTTL can be good, but I find using manual offers more predictable results and isn't actually slow once well versed.
 
i agree with the above, and if manual is something you think you'd use more initially, id certainly go down the cheaper route. you could buy 4 manual flashguns from fitp for about half of the price of just one of the 580EXs! alternatively hes got some ttl versions that i think are only about £50 each, but manual really isnt a slow way of working. if you're not looking at doing anything where you need the extra seconds or the one or two shots (such as weddings) for the time being, then ITTL wont really offer you any more of an advantage.

if im honest it seems quite a lot of money to spend out on a 4 light flashgun system to start out with, but its your money to spend, and with the above comments it seems like you'll be fairly well covered for a lot of situations if you went for it.

a piece of advice, dont think you'll need all the modifyers when you're starting out. with the likes of snoots/grids/flags etc a lot of them are fairly easy to make yourself for the first few times, then buy if you want to invest in something more permanent, especially if money is tight!
 
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