Studio Light Kit for Beginner

[theent01]

Hi, I am a serious hobbyist who wants to get into studio work. I don't have plans on doing this for profit at this point, it's more for the love of photography and all its varieties. I see a lot of kits on ebay and amazon.com, but I'm not sure about brands, compatibility, how much I should spend, etc.

to give you more information, I would like a kit with at least one good softbox, one umbrella, stands for both, strobes that work with my equipment, a backdrop stand, and a couple backdrops (non-reflective black and white, preferably).

I have a D80 and a SB-600 already.

What else would I need? What brands are good for beginners? How much do I need to spend to get a decent kit that will lasts me a while and give good results? What should I avoid?

Thanks!

[111t]

You could do a lot worse than a calumet genesis 200 kit. They have 1 light umbrella kits and 1 light softbox kits as well as a 2 light umbrella kit that would be my pick. The build quality is great. The lights use the elinchrom mount for modifiers so there are a lot of options for future accessories.

Calumet Genesis 200 2-Light Kit - CF0502K1 -

I own and use the 400ws models quite a bit. We use them at work to do school photos which is kind of intense in terms of wear and tear on the equipment. We were issued 72 of the 400 ws models in august of last year. We haven't had any significant failures.
Check the rangefinder review:
http://www.calumetphoto.com/pdfs/Ran...esisReview.pdf

[theent01]

Thanks! Those look good. any other ideas are most welcome!

[RexK_Cozumel]

how much are you looking to spend. How often will you take the lights out of the studio? Are you planning on investing more on lighting in the future?

Choosing a lighting system is similar to choosing a camera system. You are not only getting lights but all the modifiers and stuff as well since a lot of the higher end lights force you to get their modifiers. (Not as bad as camera systems since you can get adapters to mount sometimes and you don't really lose any functionality.)

[theent01]

I imagine the lights would stay in my "studio" pretty much all the time, but I have no idea really. Ideally, I would spend less than $1000, preferrably in the $500 range. The point about brands is exactly why I'm asking. I am very new to this, and have NO idea what good brands are and which are crap I shouldn't consider. I'm willing to pay more for a good set, but I'm not a pro and don't really plan on becoming one.

[pahowes]

If you can spend a little more, consider the Calumet Travelite 1000 W/s kit for $875:

Calumet Travelite Digital 1000w/s, 2 Head Lighting Kit - CE2200 - CE-2200

or the 1500 W/s kit for $1099:

Calumet Travelite 750Ws 2-Head Radio Enabled Kit - CE1300 - CE1300

[Cam Monroe]

[WooD]

Originally Posted by Cam Monroe

I use AlienBee's and they work great.

[zona5101]

Add a plug for photoflex and you have my 3 favorite studio lighting monoblocks for the advanced amatur/price conscience pro:

calumet
alien bees
photoflex

Besides the quality, the nice thing about all three is the number and availability of light modifiers and accessories.