Help with buying some intoductory lighting equipmet

[rcooper102]

Hey so I recently had the honor of taking a course on studio lighting from Joe McNally and I am dying to try out some of the stuff I learned. I, however, have very little lighting equipment. My budget is pretty tight at the moment though so I want to be sure I am making the best use of my funds. I already have an SB600 and a stand for it so I figured my best bet would be to get some strobes and some softboxes/umbrellas. The following is what I am looking at. Any advice would be fantastic!

Currently I am looking at three options. My budget is currently in the $350-400 range.

Option A:

Impact EX100A Two Monolight Kit (120VAC) EX100A-2KII B&H Photo
Westcott Photo Basics Stripbox - 17x50" (43x127cm) 789 B&H
Photoflex LiteDome Kit 1 For Shoe Mount Flashes FV-XTXS222KIT

Option B:

Impact VSD160 Two Monolight Kit (120VAC) VSD160-2KI B&H Photo
Westcott Photo Basics Stripbox - 17x50" (43x127cm) 789 B&H
Interfit Strobie Off-Camera Octobox (12"/30cm) STR125 B&H
Interfit SGM100 Flex Mount for the Nikon SB600 & 800 SGM100

Option C

Interfit Home Studio EXD200 (110VAC) INT119 B&H Photo Video
Interfit Strobie Off-Camera Octobox (12"/30cm) STR125 B&H
Interfit SGM100 Flex Mount for the Nikon SB600 & 800 SGM100

Let me know if I am completely out of my mind though and am looking at the wrong stuff hahaha. Also I know i need a hotshoe PC adapter to connect the strobes to my camera, is there anything else that I am missing that I would need to make this stuff work? (I currently use a D90)

thx so much for any advice!

[OsmosisStudios]

Grab another SB-600 from the used market (may want to wait a bit if you can for SB700s to flood in a bit more) and get a stand/umbrella setup for fairly cheap. You could almost get two stands for your budget.

Unless you're doing some weird stuff outdoors in bright sunlight, CLS is the way to go on the D90

[rcooper102]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Grab another SB-600 from the used market (may want to wait a bit if you can for SB700s to flood in a bit more) and get a stand/umbrella setup for fairly cheap. You could almost get two stands for your budget.

Unless you're doing some weird stuff outdoors in bright sunlight, CLS is the way to go on the D90

Hmm, I thought about going the speedlight route but it is just so expensive, if I were to go with a second SB600, the stand and a couple umbrellas I would only have 2 lights and would be stuck with only a couple umbrellas to control the light.

I know the TTL is really nice to have and the speedlights will be much easier to use but I figured 3 lights plus several different softboxes/umbrellas of different shapes and sizes would give me much more to work with.

thanks for the feedback.

[StarKatz]

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[zona5101]

You are probably going to want to get as much power as you can afford...even if that means one light, a stand, and an umbrella. You can use your sb600 for hair light or BG light or fill. When you use softboxes on your main you are going to chew up power. For example, that first light has a guide number of 80 (the sb600 is 98), You are going to chew up a stop to two stops with the softbox, you are going to lose another 1/2 stop to a stop as you move the strobe off axis to the typical (45degree angle). At this point you are shooting wide open or the soft box 2 feet from your subject.
Why not build into your kit. Start with a good mono light and an umbrella. Something like an AB400 or a Photoflex starflash300. Umbrellas are very effective. Check out this link. Then as time progresses you'll be able to grow into your kit with additional light modifiers.
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2010/12/2...x-vs-umbrella/

[zona5101]

following up...
AB Beginner bee with a ab400 = $305 or with the more powerful AB800 $350
AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment
Starflash300 kit - this kit includes a wireless transmitter and receiver $500
SKSF300W43WR Photoflex StarFlash 300 Mercury Umbrella Kit with One StarFlash 300ws Monolight, 45" Silver Umbrella, 6" Reflector & FlashFire Sender/Receiver Kit

Anyway good luck in your search.

[rcooper102]

hmm, ya that makes sense. So if I was to find the little extra budget to go with something like this that would be better:

Impact VSD300 Two Monolight Umbrella/Softbox Kit VSD300-KIV B&H

or

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...rella_Kit.html

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by rcooper102

Hmm, I thought about going the speedlight route but it is just so expensive, if I were to go with a second SB600, the stand and a couple umbrellas I would only have 2 lights and would be stuck with only a couple umbrellas to control the light.

I know the TTL is really nice to have and the speedlights will be much easier to use but I figured 3 lights plus several different softboxes/umbrellas of different shapes and sizes would give me much more to work with.

thanks for the feedback.

Do you know how many times I've used more than 2 lights? hell, more than 1? Not very often. You're more than welcome to disregard the information, but I thought I'd just let you know.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by rcooper102

hmm, ya that makes sense. So if I was to find the little extra budget to go with something like this that would be better:

Impact VSD300 Two Monolight Umbrella/Softbox Kit VSD300-KIV B&H

or

Interfit EXD400 Softbox/Umbrella Kit INT491 B&H Photo Video

If this is going to be your system to build from I would probably steer towards more well know brands. Not that the light kits you posted won't provide good service, but you may find you want additional light modifiers, different softboxes, beauty dishes, grids, etc. and I do not think there are many accessories available for these two kits.

edit - i will modify that statement - it appears the Impact kit uses the Bowens mounting system. You will be able to find softbox rings and modifiers with out any problem for that unit. Photoflex and Calumet Travel lights also use the Bowens mount.

[rcooper102]

Ya I briefly considered that, BH seems to have quite a few interfit softboxes. However, I agree, I think going with a more mainstream mount would be desirable. Thanks for your advice so far, you have been very helpful.

Also, just thinking for argument's sake (even though it is a wee bit beyond my budget), would this kit be a significant upgrade from all the others? It is a 500WS per light.

Impact Two Monolight Kit (120VAC) VC-500LR2K B&H Photo Video