Lighting equipment

[mad325is]

So I’m thinking about finally pulling the trigger and getting a couple strobes, I mean I have 580ex 2, and a small vivtar flash...

But I’m looking to start working with the bigger strobes and have been shopping around for a while and I really don’t think I can beat the price to quality ratio (or so I’ve read) of Alien Bees... I am working on a budget, and have been trying to save... retail has not been kind to me with hours for a long while :(

and I have had photography as a serious hobby for about 5years I have been considering trying to make a little money from pictures (I mean isn’t that the dream, i guess big money would be the dream haha :D)

So I guess my question to you guys is, what kind of equipment are you using? And do you have any other recommendations?

[RD408]

I have also been looking at the Alien Bees. The seem to be the best bang for the buck.

[tonyguy]

check out some packages from Adorama. They look like great deals for pretty decent stuff.

[mad325is]

so it maybe useful information to say that i have stands, a set of shoot though umbrellas and reflective umbrellas and some other misc. light accessories... as i have been trying alittle bit to go on the cheap and use speedlights... but have found several things i want to use a soft box with and speedlights just arent going to be powerful enough

and ive looked on adorama and b&h kits a bit but would like to keep it under a grand

[mad325is]

no one? mojocoggo, Pswirley, M.Burroughs?

[Pswirley]

I am using 2 Promaster 160ws strobes. They are not very powerful and I try to be very creative with bouncing the light off of the ceiling or the wall.


I use a Vagabond 2 from AB for mobile power.

I am going to be getting some reflectors and such after my daughter goes to this tournament. I am currently awaiting some ebay triggers and an 80-200 2.8 ed lense.

[mojocoggo]

I use a car headlight bungee-corded to a softbox.

[Pswirley]

I use a car headlight bungee-corded to a softbox.

Why in the fuck do I actually believe this.:shifty

[mojocoggo]

Because bro.

[Bimmerteck]

Alien Bees are a great option, I'm not so much a fan of the wireless remotes they come with but for what thay cost they are great, You might want to look into the newer Pocket wizards as well though as the new trancievers can bump the sync speed of your 580exIIs (or the alien bees) all the way up to 1/8000, which makes them a lot more useful as remotes. Not to mention the in-camera control of remote flashes (all custom functions not just a fire command including TTL)


Erik

[J.Owen]

I actually have an older Novatron 2 head set-up that i picked up on the cheap and has worked great for me. The light color is good and they have functioned flawlessly. I DO wish I had a little more control over the power of the heads, but this hasn't been too much of a problem so far.

From some brief use and experience of friends, the AB's are great strobes that will get you into the game and carry you for a while without having to move up again right away. For the money, I have also heard good things about the Genesis monolights from Calumet. You can get a 200 w/s 2 light set-up for $369 which is great for small studio work.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CF0502K1/

[Pswirley]

Here is a shot from a pitch black parking garage on a black car with my set up. You can see what I mean by creative light bouncing to make lower power strobes do the trick.


http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z279/pswirley/Cars%20go%20bump%20in%20the%20night/E92MikeandE46Nick269.jpg

[D-rock]

alien bees all the way!!! I have 3 of them.

[Stephen]

I have 2 vivitar 285s. Spent 70$ on them. Then an optical slave for the second. In certain shots i have one bounce directly to the other ( dont have a wireless trigger) so the light doesnt show in the picture at all...

Budget light ftw

Straight from cam: both flashes

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2478/3756659501_f29298dfa9.jpg


and one flash bounced to the other ( only one flash worth of light)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2482/3756659493_3c960197a0.jpg

[mad325is]

wow thanks guys, that was exactly what i was after...

Alien Bees are a great option, I'm not so much a fan of the wireless remotes they come with but for what thay cost they are great, You might want to look into the newer Pocket wizards as well though as the new trancievers can bump the sync speed of your 580exIIs (or the alien bees) all the way up to 1/8000, which makes them a lot more useful as remotes. Not to mention the in-camera control of remote flashes (all custom functions not just a fire command including TTL)


Erik

this is actually what i initially was saving up for, and still plan on purchasing... but will wait... have you tried the new PW?

I am using 2 Promaster 160ws strobes. They are not very powerful and I try to be very creative with bouncing the light off of the ceiling or the wall.


I use a Vagabond 2 from AB for mobile power.


i was wondering about the vagabond being used with other strobes, or if it were somehow proprietary, but i guess that answers that question...

i notice that a few of you guys are using strobes at or around 200 ws... would it be fair to say that 300ws would be fairly sufficient?

Stephen, that is roughly the rounte i was going down but found myself constantly wishing i could use different kinds of light modifiers, and when i was using a diffuser, it just wasnt doing what i wanted it to... which is why i decided if i was going to do this, i should spend a few bucks a make life a little easier on myself... or atleast try to :D

thanks to everyone else for all your input, it has given me some more things to think about :cool

[ebphoto]

im using 2x nikon sb28s, 1 sunpak 544 handle mount, and 2x Norman DP320 monolights with a vagabond II and pocketwizards... gonna get a ab b800 in a month or two and ill be set.

do alienbees b800s and a vagabond.
you wont regret it.
good price, and solid.

[Stephen]

Stephen, that is roughly the rounte i was going down but found myself constantly wishing i could use different kinds of light modifiers, and when i was using a diffuser, it just wasnt doing what i wanted it to... which is why i decided if i was going to do this, i should spend a few bucks a make life a little easier on myself... or atleast try to :D



Yeah, diffuser dims the light to much with my setup, but i was happy with the results without one. i just like the portability and simplicity of my setup (it was cheap too) but i may go with somethin else later..

[Bimmerteck]

wow thanks guys, that was exactly what i was after...



this is actually what i initially was saving up for, and still plan on purchasing... but will wait... have you tried the new PW?



i was wondering about the vagabond being used with other strobes, or if it were somehow proprietary, but i guess that answers that question...

i notice that a few of you guys are using strobes at or around 200 ws... would it be fair to say that 300ws would be fairly sufficient?

Stephen, that is roughly the rounte i was going down but found myself constantly wishing i could use different kinds of light modifiers, and when i was using a diffuser, it just wasnt doing what i wanted it to... which is why i decided if i was going to do this, i should spend a few bucks a make life a little easier on myself... or atleast try to :D

thanks to everyone else for all your input, it has given me some more things to think about :cool


Yes, I have tried the new pocket wizards and they are great, raised the sync speed on my 40d to 1/8000 (from 1/250th) Meaning I no longer need to rent a 1d mkIII for weddings, though it is having issues with some of the early 5d mkIIs at this point.



As for the vagabond, it is just a clean package for a battery and an inverter, but it works great. The red light to indicate the battery is charged did raise an eyebrow with TSA once upon a time though.:confused

[psiglx]

i'm thinking about getting the alien bees for my wife. i see it as an advantage for me too :)
its seems like a nice simple package for her studio stuff and i can use it with the vagabond for my stuff...

bimmerteck, the new vagabond light is green for charged and red while charging

[Bimmerteck]

i'm thinking about getting the alien bees for my wife. i see it as an advantage for me too :)
its seems like a nice simple package for her studio stuff and i can use it with the vagabond for my stuff...

bimmerteck, the new vagabond light is green for charged and red while charging

I doubt that will change anything, they just made one of us come back through the security checkpoint, leave the airport, and unhook the battery then return and recheck the bag before we could fly. Apparently they don't let any devices with "glowing lights" fly. Odd since we had no problems flying into Vegas only 2 days earlier. Gotta love the TSA's inconsistancy. Year before when I was flying out of Omaha they wanted to look through every single lens and body I was carrying. I ended up taking me almost 2 hours to get through security. :mad

[Travis]

I have 1 sb800 lol. I too will be purchasing some alien bees in the future..