Studio flash kit for use at indoor locations

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cybergibbons

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Morning all,

I've been spending the last few days looking through various forums about lighting, and this seems to be the most active and friendly one about - so I thought I'd ask this here...

Last time I looked at studio lighting, probably 9 years ago or so, you only had the option to buy either expensive kits (Bowens, Elinchrom, and they only seemed to do higher end stuff then) or cheap crap (can't remember any names, but looking at it, it was pretty poorly made).

So for that reason I've been going down the strobist route, but I think that this suffers from a lot of issues - lack of control, lack of power, lack of modifiers, awkward to set up, and really not any cheaper than the current studio flash systems available.

I'm looking to buy a studio flash kit, under £600. The main use would be for glamour photography (I guess "boudoir" would be the term), on location (bedroom, lounges etc.). I've normally used natural light and balanced this with fill from a single strobe through a diffuser. I'd like to continue this, but using the flash to emulate natural light. I like the technique of placing a flash outside a window and shooting indoors, and would also like to be able to balance with ambient if required.

So there are a few questions:
1. What kind of power would I need? Indoor locations vary massively in size and colour - this may be from a 4m x 4m white bedroom to a 8m x 8m dark living room. I've read that operating flash at 1/32 power can introduce colour casts.
2. How many heads? 2 is the bare minimum, I'm sure 3 would be better, but not if it means comprising on power should I need it.
3. What kind of accessories would be best to emulate soft natural light? Of course, using indoor locations means that space might be tight. I'm thinking two large softboxes and a snoot.
4. Out of Lumen8, Elemental, Lencarta, Elinchrom, Interfit (and any others), what kit would you recommend? I'm keen on the fitting being Bowens due to the huge number of accessories available. Both Elemental and Lencarta have impressed me with their responses on various forums.

Anyway, any advice you have will be helpful! Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Andrew
 
I know lencarta stuff take bowens fit acessories, and I THINK (not sure) elemental do as well

are you looking for mains powered or a battery portable system?

for on location stuff I like a bit of studio heads and speedlights as its very hard to get a low enough power from studio heads in a tight space (where speedlights excel) and you can get lovely soft lights and loads of power from good studio heads
 
cybergibbons said:
Morning all,

I've been spending the last few days looking through various forums about lighting, and this seems to be the most active and friendly one about - so I thought I'd ask this here...
Click to expand...

Welcome bud. This is indeed a friendly place. And refreshingly free from bickering Americans ;)

Last time I looked at studio lighting, probably 9 years ago or so, you only had the option to buy either expensive kits (Bowens, Elinchrom, and they only seemed to do higher end stuff then) or cheap crap (can't remember any names, but looking at it, it was pretty poorly made).

So for that reason I've been going down the strobist route, but I think that this suffers from a lot of issues - lack of control, lack of power, lack of modifiers, awkward to set up, and really not any cheaper than the current studio flash systems available.

I'm looking to buy a studio flash kit, under £600. The main use would be for glamour photography (I guess "boudoir" would be the term), on location (bedroom, lounges etc.). I've normally used natural light and balanced this with fill from a single strobe through a diffuser. I'd like to continue this, but using the flash to emulate natural light. I like the technique of placing a flash outside a window and shooting indoors, and would also like to be able to balance with ambient if required.
Click to expand...

Digital has changed studio photography as well. ISO is higher so you don't need nearly as much power, and with the LCD and histogram you can can see what's happening without powerful modelling lights, and even set the exposure without a meter (but it's a faff). Clever hot-shoe flash systems, with usable amounts of power, like Nikon CLS and Canon E-TTL, make complicated exposure calculations a breeze, and can be used on location.

It's spawned a whole new genre of photography. It's fantastic and although top end guns are expensive there are loads of cheap accessories available - softboxes, diffusers, light shapers, remote triggers etc. Check out the stuff in the for sale section from Flash In The Pan :thumbs:

The problem with strobist I think is that hot shoe guns don't have enough power to drive a big brolly or softbox, and they are slow to recycle.

So there are a few questions:
1. What kind of power would I need? Indoor locations vary massively in size and colour - this may be from a 4m x 4m white bedroom to a 8m x 8m dark living room. I've read that operating flash at 1/32 power can introduce colour casts.
Click to expand...

I have an Elinchrom D-Lite 2 kit with two heads. If you are happy to shoot at ISO400 like me, you'll not want for power. I think control is more important than power, the ability to turn them up and down once they are in the right position. I hardly ever have them flat out, and usually shoot at ISO100/200.

I have not noticed any colour shift when turning down the power. I think that's a historical problem.

2. How many heads? 2 is the bare minimum, I'm sure 3 would be better, but not if it means comprising on power should I need it.
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I think less is usually more with lighting, and a lot of the time I shoot with just one light (big softbox) and a reflector which can act like a third light if you're careful. A second light for the background and that's all I usually need. I'm going to get a radio trigger so I can incorporate a Canon Speedlite - they are brilliant as accent or effect lights - small and easy to position.

3. What kind of accessories would be best to emulate soft natural light? Of course, using indoor locations means that space might be tight. I'm thinking two large softboxes and a snoot.
Click to expand...

Indoors, I find the softest light comes from a big shoot-through umbrella - the light spill around the room softens it even more. But I like the control you get from a soft box, and the bigger the better frankly :) You might need more than 200J with a really big softbox over 100cm.

4. Out of Lumen8, Elemental, Lencarta, Elinchrom, Interfit (and any others), what kit would you recommend? I'm keen on the fitting being Bowens due to the huge number of accessories available. Both Elemental and Lencarta have impressed me with their responses on various forums.
Click to expand...

Elinchrom is good, and I know Bowens and Lencarta are too. Quality gear. Some of the cheaper makes are a bit ropey though.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the helpful responses.

I'd not seen that you could get Bowens kit that cheaply - we had (ancient) Bowens kit at school, but I never really got into flash work back then as developing it myself meant there were just too many variables in play. And we were constrained to taking pictures of fruit bowls and other student's art...

I'd forgotten to mention that was the other thing about the strobist approach - the recycle times. It starts off OK, but then one flash will slow down more than another, and by the end the recycle time is almost intrusive. Having all the heads charge in 2s and at the same time would be brilliant.

It sounds like I could probably do better with 2 x 200 - 400J heads and more modifiers rather than 3 heads and less modifiers. I can't really perceive any noise problem at 400ISO, especially if the scene is well lit. Maybe go for a bit more power if I'm interested in big softboxes.

I can get more with my money if I go for Lencarta or Elemental - what's the catch?
 
I'd forgotten to mention that was the other thing about the strobist approach - the recycle times. It starts off OK, but then one flash will slow down more than another, and by the end the recycle time is almost intrusive. Having all the heads charge in 2s and at the same time would be brilliant.
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Decent makes of mains powered studio flash generally recharge in around 1 second, a major advantage over hotshoe flashes - and that's at full power. Most of the time you will be using them at far less than full power, and they will recharge very quickly indeed.

It sounds like I could probably do better with 2 x 200 - 400J heads and more modifiers rather than 3 heads and less modifiers. I can't really perceive any noise problem at 400ISO, especially if the scene is well lit. Maybe go for a bit more power if I'm interested in big softboxes.
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My most frequent recommendation is 300 J. That's enough for most people, most of the time, using 100 ISO. It's only when you're lighting large sets, or using tools such as honeycombs or spotlights that more power becomes important, and of course that's the time to increase the ISO. Please see this article. And see this one on light shaping tools (modifiers)

I can get more with my money if I go for Lencarta or Elemental - what's the catch?
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There isn't one. Some Companies sell their products via retailers, this obviously makes a big difference to the price as the retailers have to make a profit. Lencarta sells direct, saving this cost. All Lencarta products take the Bowens S-fit accessories, if you are considering buying a different brand you should check that the head you're interested in also takes S-fit accessories - not all do
 
I have just got a lencarta kit for just under £600 notes that gave me:

2x 300J heads with stands
backdrop setup
1x reflective umbrella
1x 120cm octa softbox
5in1 relfector
wireless trigger

the kit is really easy to use and got to grips with it in minutes. As mentioned i dont need to use full power and the recycle is pretty much instant.
 
33L said:
I have just got a lencarta kit for just under £600 notes that gave me:

2x 300J heads with stands
backdrop setup
1x reflective umbrella
1x 120cm octa softbox5in1 relfector
wireless trigger

the kit is really easy to use and got to grips with it in minutes. As mentioned i dont need to use full power and the recycle is pretty much instant.
Click to expand...

Sounds good :) That Octa Softbox is fantastic :thumbs:
 
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