 Aimee C. Eisaman |
Studio Equipment My husband just told me to buy some studio equipment because I have just really gotten into doing portraits and once winter sets in I will need it! I'm just starting out so I didn't need anything too fancy, but I also wanted to get as much as I could with a smaller amount of money. From shopping around stores in my area, this eBay set is a steal! Let me know what any of you think, please!
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Mark Feldstein |
Aimee, The lights you're looking at are 160 watt seconds per head. I get 200 watt seconds out of my Quantum portable / on camera light. In other words, 160 watt seconds for portraits is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. You need depth of field in terms of f-stops to get sharpness - working at, say, f8.0 to f11, for example. At 10 feet from your subject and ISO 100, you'll be hard-pressed to get those numbers. I suggest you look for a small used pack system on eBay like a Norman, Speedotron, 800 watt seconds (w.s), or something with even more pop. Photoflex makes excellent monolights, reasonably priced, in the range of 500 w.s. to 1500 w.s per head. The Calumet Traveler monolights are made by Bowens in England. An excellent product. In sum, it's much better to have more light and switchable to lower output when you need it than less when you really need it, especially if you shoot small groups or multi-person portraits, even two or three people using a reflector card with one lamphead. I like the Bowens monolights like the 1000 w.s. unit I use in a 3x4 foot softbox or Chimera Strip bank. I can switch that power down to 250 w.s. as a fill light when I need to but use a single light to shoot most portraits. (See my web site.) And later, you can always add another light or two to your set-up. They're also very portable, durable, relatively light weight and versatile in terms of available accessories and mounting rings for things like modifiers. I highly recommend that you buy a system you can grow into. I'm pretty sure that my buddy John Siskin will be inclined to agree. (Take a look at his BP lighting course). Meanwhile, save your dough, buy something good that's useful and you won't need to buy twice. IMHO, the lights you're looking at are mainly accessories and not really useful lights at all other than perhaps for fill light or hair or shooting small products at wide f-stops. I wouldn't buy them because chances are they'll fail when you need them most: when you're shooting. Get the better stuff and enjoy your purchase. Avoid buying lighting off eBay unless you REALLY know what you're looking for. It's a lighting jungle out there. Take it light. Mark
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Aimee C. Eisaman |
Wow Mark thanks so much for saving me from wasting my money! I kinda figured that all that stuff for that amount of money had a catch! And you can't ask the people selling it because they will lie to you! I'm afraid I haven't seen much used lighting equipment on ebay...if it is good people keep it forever! I will take your advice and stay away from ebay for this purchase since I don't know the ins and outs of lighting! I will take a look at some of the the manufacturers you mentioned! And once again thanks a million!
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Aimee, I took John Siskin's An Introduction to Photographic Lighting to help me get an idea of what I needed. I ended up going with Paul Buff's Alien Bees - - and have added more as needed. Cheers, Carlton
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Aimee C. Eisaman |
Thanks for the info and website Carlton!
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Aimee C. Eisaman |
Well I thought this was going to be easy! LOL! I found something else on ebay used...I really need to get something soon since hubby is allowing me to spend around $500. I want to grab ahold of the opportunity before it disappears! I'm a stay at home mom so I have to jump on these things since I don't exactly get a pay check! If I can start making money doing a portrait here and there then I can take some BP classes that I have been longing for! I also love buying better equipment used! I got my macro lens for $300 and love it! No I can't use the autofocus because I have a Nikon that requires AFS instead of the old AF, but who needs that for macro work! Not I! Well this is the listing on ebay. It already ended, but the seller said he was relisting since nobody bid. He told me everything comes with the kit except the stands...guess he is keeping those for with his other kit! Any other questions I should ask him about this set? Click Here
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Mark Feldstein |
Howdy. For some reason, I always forget about Alien Bees, as Carlton mentioned. Could it be that the Aliens are "foreign" to me? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnoooooooooooo. But they're great lights from what I hear. The Speedotron pack you picked is a good one. It's switchable, I believe you can use it with one head and full power of about 800 W.S. or multi heads it comes with. It's made and serviced by Speedotron on South Racine Ave. in Chicago, very fixable and likewise, a real workhorse. Stands are plentiful and available used (I prefer used "C" stands with a sandbag for stability. Softbox rings are also widely available as are replacement UV flash tubes and modeling lamps. Good price too, even with the dings in the reflectors. Don't sweat those. Umbrellas are good light modifiers to start with. Drop me a note if you want to know how to set the lamphead inside the umbrella. Softboxes can come when you get your next annual bonus, so-to-speak. Be careful when you rig these since they have cords that attach to the pack that can be tripped over. AND if you can get the manual for this pack, either from the seller or Speedotron, be sure to do that and read it thoroughly before plugging it in. While these are pretty straightforward to operate, you need to know the proper technique for switching down or up on the power supply, whether to discharge the pack when you;re through shooting or whether it will dissipate by itself, how to change tubes and modeling lamps, etc., and operating temps. I have a couple of Speedotron packs. They run about 2400 watt seconds each and they're totally reliable under all sorts of conditions. Built like tanks, they weigh a ton but won't disappoint you and as I said, starting with that 802 pack is a good choice, IMHO. You might need some stand adapters for those heads, a set of barndoors or snoots but they're easy to find. Anything else, just let us know.
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Aimee C. Eisaman |
Thanks so much for your speedy reply! I did check out the alien Bees and they are very nice looking, but they don't seem to be for sale used anywhere...they may still be too new? Well I'm all about having fun and have been self taught thus far...I'm a geek...love to read and learn so I'm confident that I can figure anything out! I have been doing much research today and found Speedotron to be a household name in lighting and very durable! I like that! YOu have been a wonderful help! I'm going to be putting a bid on this and hope nobody else does! I'm not worried about dings....my husband does auto repair so he can work wonders there if need be! I'll check out the other add ons you mentioned as well. This man didn't photograph everything that comes with it so I may have to wait and see what I have! I will however look into stands and getting the manual before I get this if I win! Awesome talking to you and I'll be adding you to my favorites so I can take a look at your work when I have some more time!
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Mark Feldstein |
One last tip. I know what you mean but for those who may not, a word of caution: Your husband is probably a wonderful, A-1 Indy class mechanic. Power packs, however, are a lot different than the 12 volt (and less) power systems in autos, even the secondary ignition circuits when charged up. A power supply takes AC current, runs it into a series of capacitors, stores high voltage there up to thousands of watts. Inside the cover, a finger placed in the wrong position across a lead or connector, grounded on the other side can kill ya. Getting whacked off the trigger voltage of any strobe or lamphead with an open connector or terminal can be a hair-raising event as well. If you can't cut a deal with the guy on e-bay to sell it now or if you get skanked, take a look at KEH.com for used Speedotron OR the Speedotron website may have some reconditioned packs available. The market is a tad soft right now. If you find one, bargain with them a bit. Helix Photographic upstairs of Speedotron in Chicago, often sells their equipment used as well. Oh and one reason Alien Bees are hard to find used, like other studio brand equipment, is because they're built to last and do what they're supposed to do, over and over and over again. :>))) So photographers hang onto them. I had a little Norman P500 portrait pack I used fairly often for about 14 years. It was going strong when I finally sold it. Have fun Aimee. Still good choice though.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
What about space?
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Aimee C. Eisaman |
Yes Mark....I would only have my hubby straighten out dents and such! He is not gung ho on fixing things he knows nothing about because he knows the dangers involved! If I did happen to have a problem with it I would see about getting it repaired by Speedotron people! So far nobody else is bidding! I think it has alot to do with the picture this guy listed! Not that appealing! Not to mention that many new photographers want the new shiny stuff! And Gregory....what do you mean "what about space?" Yes this will require some space to use I'm sure. I have a large living room and this will not be used on a daily basis. Probably more like monthly so the living room with be cleared out, this set up, and then torn down after use! My husband plans on building me a studio in the basement, but who knows when that will get done. He is a very busy man! I also have the option of doing a photo shoot in the hall next door that my inlaws own. I'm a firm believer that where theres a will....theres a way! I am planning on doing some portraits here and there as a side business, but I'm pregnant with my 3rd child so I'm not going to get into anything too drastic yet! I'm mainly getting this to learn on my own kids and do some creative still life things! If I can make a couple bucks here and there shooting other peoples kids then so be it! :)
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Few things make a room feel suddenly small or crowded like trying to set of lights to take pictures. Even with moving furniture to side.
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Aimee C. Eisaman |
Ah yes Gregory! I so wish I had a studio to work in! LOL! Well I got outbid on Ebay and don't want to go any higher I think I'll just be getting one or two lights to work with especially since I'm learning unless I come across the deal of the century on something else! Thanks!
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Aimee, I really wish I had checked in earlier. I’ve been busy! Here’s the problem: As you spend more on lights, what you really get is more power, not more features. For instance, almost all monolights, like the Alien Bee or the Calumet Travelite, have the same switches and controls: power, power control, modeling light, modeling light power, trigger and slave. So if you buy a car with only thirty horse power, you shouldn’t expect to learn to drive on the freeway! Really, you should consider starting with one powerful light, perhaps the B1600 from Alien Bee. Check out this article on shooting with one light: www.siskinphoto.com/magazine3a.html. Then you can build up more equipment. Speedotron is excellent equipment, as Mark said. I would certainly buy used power pack equipment from either Speedotron or even Norman (I have a lot of Norman gear). I do not think I would buy most monolight gear used. To continue the car analogy, older cars are easy to work on, plenty of room to work, but newer cars require you to grow more elbows to reach anything. I don’t do strobe repair, but the guy I use to do repairs doesn’t like to work on most monolights. Since I said I have Norman, you have to assume I know a strobe repairman. Also good working monolights are not sold very often, too useful. As Mark mentioned, strobes have dangerous amounts of electricity. It takes about 150 to 250 watt-seconds to defibrillate your heart. Mark and I are talking about strobes with 500 to 1000 watt-seconds of power. Bad to make a mistake. Here is an article on setting up home studios: www.siskinphoto.com/magazine4b.html. And one on making backdrops here at BP: www.betterphoto.com/article.php?id=176. You might want to check out the other articles on my Website! Thanks, John Siskin
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John H. Siskin |
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