Softbox and lightstand purchase - Beginner

dan_yorkshire

dan_yorkshire

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Hi all,

Looking at getting into off camera flash a bit more and have a dabble at portraits. Am looking at purchasing a softbox and stand for it.

Could any recommend kit for a starter but that will stay with me should I decide to take it a touch more serious.

Have upto £100 to spend but obviously only if I need to.

Have PM'd FITP but he has nothing in stock at the moment.

Would a softbox and reflector be a good combination to get me started?

I have a D90 with SB600.

Cheers

Dan
 
radio slaves (I'd go RF-602 or atlas if you have more money) a nano stand from calumet (own brand) and umbrella adapter and 36" dual duty umbrella from same (all own brand). If you can produce a student then you get student discount on calumet brand stuff which is niiiiice

for a softbox the ones graham carries can be bought on ebay for ball park money
 
Dan,

You can go with PT-04 trigger & receiver set, cheap softbox with additional diffuser and Konig light stand. Works for me :)
 
Cheers David, Sebastian

For now I will fire the SB600 using CLS so wont need any triggers just yet, or will I get more consitant results using them?

Will take a look at the Caumlet site
 
In my VERY limited experience you will have more flexibility with radio triggers - if you want to light something just from the off-camera flash without any on-camera flash, for instance. CLS doesn't have fantastic range either....
 
Thanks Simon, yeah know the limits to range with CLS.

You can get hotshoe accesories that block the onboard flash which I was thinking of.

Might have to look at triggers
 
To start with the SB600 will be fine with CLS. If you decide to get more advanced and want to use more flashes then look at radio triggers (unless you use CLS compatable guns)

The range may be less than a radio trigger but I doubt you'll be beyond it's limits for portraits to begin with. You can also adjust the power from the camera. THe onboard flash does not need to be visible in order to activate CLS on the gun.

Andy
 
Depends on where you shoot really. For indoor, you can use the built in flash to trigger. For outdoor with bright sun, the cls might suffer a bit.
 
CLS will be fine, just remember to set the on board to commander mode, then also remember that it has to be able to "see" the optical slave on the side of you SB600 so you may not be able to quite get what you want.

Then if you get into it spend some more money on triggers, a softbox and a stand are more important to get started with.

To save even more cash, just get a convertible brolly (shoot through and reflective) and a light stand.

That will do you to get started...!

Mac
 
Cheers everyone, think I'm gonna just stick with CLS for now and maybe look
at some triggers later on.

Can anyone recommend a good quality yet cheaper alternative to the Ezybox
kit? The reason I was going to buy the Ezybox kit is that it all comes
together, tilt head the lot.

I have had a look on a few sites and am getting confused with what the
equipment comes with and how they are put together.

If I buy a stand and softbox separately will that be enough? or will I need
to buy the accessories that attaches it all together?

Dont want to do what I have done before and buy cheap stuff and soon
upgrade to higher quality when it would have been cheaper to just opt for
the higher quality stuff in the first place.

Cheers

Dan
 
I know FITP doesn't have any softboxes, but they are good value & quality. there are similar ones on ebay for around £40. I use it on my Hama star tripod at the minute instead of a light stand..
 
You can turn off the on camera flash and light the subject only with the off camera flash using CLS. You will notice that the on camera flash fires but this is BEFORE the shutter opens and is what is used to actually meter the shot. In the commander menu just dash out the firing type for the onboard flash to -- and away you go!
 
Thanks Darren, that confirms I probably won't need triggers any time soon unless I start doing more outside and the CLS struggles to perform.

Adam could you point me to the type of softbox on eBay please, also what does it arrive with and how do you attach it and the flash to a lightstand or tripod as you do?

Know I'm asking basic questions but I just want to know exactly what I'm buying and get the best for my money.

Thanks again
 
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