Studio Starter Kit

[dalmorloson]

The boss (my wife) just told me I could take $1000 out of savings to get a jump start on a little home studio set-up. What I have now is a Canon T2i, kit lens, EF 50mm 1.8 lens, and a homemade backdrop stand. I was looking at the strobist light kits (2 light) and maybe a few Cactus v5 trancievers. I also thought about one Canon speedlite and the strobist one light kit. Any thoughts on these or any other options for getting the best bang for my thousand bucks?

[Dennismc]

I would say a couple AB800's stands and softboxes, the the wireless..

[autofocus]

Here's a pic with costs showing our investment so far. We are not using radio triggers as yet, but that Nikon cable serves our needs nicely for the moment. Obviously, it's connected to the camera on the other end and that small speedlight/softbox combo will trigger the AB800. We also purchased a Seconic light meter (not in the photo) for ~$270.
Total investment ~$1150 (these costs are close, but not 100% accurate, and the Nikon SB800 speedlight was already owned and not included in this example)
Hopefully, this will give you a feel for what your money can buy


setup by vmontalbano, on Flickr

[dalmorloson]

Thanks guys...so many options...gotta love these dilemas though

[Deleted]

I'd stop and ask yourself if you want a strobist kit or a studio only kit (a flash head isn't the only way to do strobist lighting) and are you wanting something to learn on or build up on.

You can get a full three light 1000W kit with wireless trigger and optical slaves for ~$550 and then a background kit for $120, leaving you with $330 for a reflector stand ($75), another backdrop ($80), dual 57" brolly box kit ($80), and a boom stand ($95).

That'd be $1k and a really good place to start, but you could end up getting newer equipment as you find out exactly how you want to shoot and what you want to shoot with. I'm looking at only using flash heads in a high speed strobist kit so $1K would get me two flashes and I'd need to build up from that.

[dalmorloson]

The more I think about it, I'm leaning toward a Canon 430 EXII and a single light strobist kit plus the single light strobist kit without the flash. That way I can use the 430 on or off camera both in the field and in studio. I wish I knew more about this stuff...seems like the more I read, the more confused I get...too many ways to go.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by dalmorloson

The more I think about it, I'm leaning toward a Canon 430 EXII and a single light strobist kit plus the single light strobist kit without the flash. That way I can use the 430 on or off camera both in the field and in studio. I wish I knew more about this stuff...seems like the more I read, the more confused I get...too many ways to go.

if you don't already have a solid high performance ittl shoe mount flash, that may be your starting point. Being ittl with bounce and swivel capabilities would be first before other lighting equipment. You can then build a hotshoe strobe kit by adding another shoe flash, stands, triggers, & light modifier or you can go studio and get a kit like Vince described (ABs). ...but first would be the canon flash like the EX580.

[ddr]

have you used an external flash at all in the past? are you comfortable with lighting concepts?

my 'wish' list changes dramatically throughout my process of learning about light.

[AdrenoJunkie]

If you're gonna go with a Speedlite you should skip the 430 and go straight for the 580EXII. It has alot more capabilities and is something you can grow into instead of out of.

[dalmorloson]

My head is spinning. I've been reading reviews and comparisons for hours. To answer your question, ddr, No I have never used off camera lighting. I've been reading a lot and wanted to set up a little studio at home. I like the idea of getting a Canon flash first though. Being a newb who just upgraded to a dslr this Christmas I find myself cringing at the thought of laying out $500 for a flash. That's why I thought I would go with the 430 EXII. I know that's not real sound reasoning so I'm now reading about the 430 vs the 580 (like I didn't have enough to think about). I want to get this right because its rare that my wife relinquishes her stranglehold on our savings account (lol).
I guess I'd better get back to reading. If anyone has any more thoughts on this let me know. Like I said, I want to get this right the first time.