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Hi guys and gals,
I'm in the UK and I wanted to move into studio lighting (for own children portrait). I got myself 2 sigma EF430 flashes (from ebay £25 each) and also have a old Vivitar flash and a SB600. I also managed to get a Sekonic L308B on the cheap (£80 from ebay). I was planning on getting some light modifiers (umbrella and softboxes) on ebay until I spotted a "deal" for Lastolite F200 kit for £199. It turned out to be a fake deal as Lastolite don't sell the F200 kit anymore. So back to square one for me.
I have been looking at other lights as well. Interfit EX150 MkII seems like a good starter option but later found out that it's not Bowen S-fit. Same applies to the EX200. Also not sure whether they are "powerful" enough. Moving up the price range I considered the Lastolite SV400, Lencarta ElitePro and Elemental M Series. Didn't really looked into Lencarta SmartFlash or Elemental B Series. I really don't know what I need. I don't have room for a dedicated studio so it'll have to be the living room (22' x 12') or study (12' x 12'). I supposed I should start small and get some lightstands and modifiers and go up from there. However I am concern that it will be so "difficult" to work with that it might just be money down the drain. Or I could get the EX150 and see whether I really want to play with home studio. Or I could get the more powerful systems knowing that I would get a decent price should I wish to sell them at a later date. Obviously money is a big limiting factor for me. Getting the better lights would really be stretching the budget for me, but is it the best option?
I know Garry (Lencarta) and Danny (Elemental) are active on this forum. Obviously I'm looking for impartial advice and hopefully the advice will be useful for my peers in the future as well.
Thanks in advance.
Adrian
Welcome to the site Adrian, I'm sure Garry or Danny will pop along at some point.
The flashes you have are capable of delivering good results if you use modifiers. The main downside (apart from a possible wasted investment) is that you cannot see where the light will fall so there's more guess work involved. Studio flash have modelling lights so you can adjust the position and view where the light and shadows are. Having a digital camera means you can view the result and get a good idea, but nothing beats the modelling light approach which makes life easier.
Studio flash resells easily on eBay so you'll probably not lose much more if you buy a studio kit and decide you don't want to do that kind of photography, than you would buying modifiers first.
I would go for Courtenay (Cheapest option.) or Bowens. There are plenty of accessories around for these and you can always resell them. Have a look at EBAY, Loot and Fordes UK site. for the best second hand deals.
Quote: Obviously I'm looking for impartial advice
I've used Danny's elemental stuff at his studio evenings and a friend of mine has one of his kits, MadTrace, and it's very good kit. Robust yet reasonably lightweight, very controlable and as powerful as you're ever likely to need. Danny also does a wide range of supplimentary equipment.
I would avoid Courtenay simply because they're old, it's difficult to get repairs carried out, they don't have light shaping tools available and only have a very limited range of adjustment. Bowens are fine, new or second hand, but I would advise against the very old Bowens for much the same reasons that I advise against Courtenay.
As far as power is concerned, this shouldn't worry you. 200 - 300 Joules (W/s) is fine for most home uses, and if you ever find yourself needing more you can always set your camera to 200 ISO instead of 100.
Obviously I believe in Lencarta but I'm not going to plug them or compare them to other makes. Just look at the technical specs (number of capacitors etc) and build quality before making a decision, and bear in mind that colour temperature consistency and flash power consistency are vitally important - these are the things that are often overlooked when people are making their buying decisions...
Thanks for all the advice so far.
My "concern" with the strobist setup is the lack of modelling lamp. It would make it so much more difficult that it probably would be near impossible to photograph my 2 yr old daughter. Having said that getting light modifier for them wouldn't break the bank and I could always use them outdoor as I suggested before.
My question now I supposed is would I "regret" getting a entry level set or should I stretch myself a bit more and get a "amateur" level set? The difference is around £100-200 depending on the make (Elemental or Lencarta).
TTFN
Adrian
The 'Strobist' approach was really designed so that people on the move (basically press photographers) could get SOME kind of lighting under any circumstances, and get it quickly from very portable kit.
Nothing wrong with that. But the concept then grew to the point that a lot of people now believe that it can do anything that studio lighting can do, and there are now quite a lot of light shaping tools available - but the light shaping tools don't work nearly as well as they should, and although hotshoe flash can do some things very well it does other things very badly.
I don't think it's really a decision about whether one approach is better than the other, it's really about whether 'near enough is good enough' for you, and about whether most of your shots will be indoors or outdoors.
Only then should you consider which make to buy, and compare specifications
How about buying second hand studio equipment off ebay or the likes? That way if you find it isnt for you then you can resell and probably not lose a great deal, if anything.
It is a pain setting up in the living room, (I do it often but theres no wife to nag me...) but the same really applies if you are using flashguns or studio lights, you still need to setup stands, brollys,softboxes etc so really the only things extra are mains cables and possibly synch cables.
Whilst you already have a few flashguns to hand, I'd bet that by the time you bought all the things you "need" 
then you wouldnt be far off a couple of used heads with accessories. I picked up a dlite2 setup for £200 not long ago which includes 2 heads, 2 softboxes, 2 stands. That said, I also have some bowens lights now too (right price,right time) but looking back I would go for bowens fit simply because there are more 3rd party compatible accessories available than for the elinchrom - and as you probably know, the price of some of the modifiers is beyond belief.
Im not an expert and dont pretend to be but just giving another option to consider.
Quote:
I know Garry (Lencarta) and Danny (Elemental) are active on this forum. Obviously I'm looking for impartial advice and hopefully the advice will be useful for my peers in the future as well.
Ours are better. That impartial enough?
Feel free to give me or Jess a bell in the office and we'll have a chat and see what we can do for you.
Danny
Buy the ex 150's secound hand, play with them, when you have had enough and want to upgrade, put on Ebay and get you money back to put towards something a little more powerfull. I have them and I am very pleased.. I know where there is a set for sale on another site and if not sold they are going on Ebay sunday. Let me know and I will put the two of you in touch...Paul
I bought the Elemental G2's last week, they work really well, although I'll have a background on Tuesday and then I can really play with them. Have had some great results though just using them against the wall.
No instructions with it although if a lighting simpleton like me can understand it all, anyone can. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and bad language on trying to get the softbox up though!
Instructions are all on the website... we are a clean, green, lighting machine.
I've always wanted to say that. Well, not always.
Just as I decided on the Elemental G2 Ultra Kit, they are out of stock until November... sigh
Any other recommendation for a kit around that price range?
Quote: Just as I decided on the Elemental G2 Ultra Kit, they are out of stock until November... sigh
Any other recommendation for a kit around that price range?
A couple of weeks ago I bought the G Series 2 head Kit and I have been really impressed with it considering the price - really well built and good qualty and on top of that great customer service. So personally, unless you are in a real desperate need, I would wait for them to get more stock. Also, have you spoken to Danny to see if he can source them any quicker for you or maybe suggest an alternative for the same sort of money?
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