[Carlman]

I'm looking to setup a small (11'x11') room as a photo  studio for product shots.  I'm looking for a 3-light kit with a soft box, and couple of other heads.  It'd be great if I could also take this setup on location also on the rare occasion I'm shooting a large wedding or doing some work at a manufacturing plant.  Most of my shots are for web sites and occasionally a brochure.
I don't shoot a lot but it seems to be getting more and more... and when you're designing a website and know exactly what you want, it's easier just to shoot it myself... Plus I have a degree in it, have done it professionally, etc. I'm basically doing the math now to see whether setting up a studio or hiring a local photographer will be the right move for me.

My experience with lighting is Broncolor and Speedlight mainly, using all formats of traditional film cameras 10 years ago.  I can't afford either of those lighting systems.  If I could get half of that performance for 1/10th the cost, that'd be fine.  I'm only shooting digital with a Canon Rebel XTi now.  The results mainly need to be good enough for mildly creative product shots... and secondarily for location shots.

So, I've come here to ask about cost-effective setups for this mini-studio...  I normally shop at B&H photo and I see they sell 'LED' and 'Fluorescent' lighting... I have no clue about this gear, is it any good?  Should I avoid it?  Looks like it'd only work for the studio and no location shoots.

Thanks for your thoughts on a good kit for this purpose/these purposes.

Many thanks,
Carl

[F-100]

Take a look at Paul Buff's flash units.
I've been using them for over 10 years now (not on a daily basis since I'm just an amateur) and never had any problem. Their flash units are rock solid and price are very reasonable comparing to other Swiss made lights such as Elinchrom.

[Carlman]

OH yeah.. White Lightning's have been around a long time.. forgot about those guys...
Thanks,
Carl

[Parnelli777]

The Calumet Travelite kits are excellent.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CE1465/

[drphoto]

The nice thing about digital is you don't need much power. Dynalite's 500w/s packs are fairly cheap. I like their stuff because it's all so compact. Been using it for 20 years. Not as rugged as Speedotron, but a lot less weight.

I have a Dyna head that will run off AC or DC and that's really useful.

I too have owned Broncolor, and it's riduculously expensive. Replacement flash tubes are like $500

I've heard good things about the White Lightening products. I'm thinking about picking up one of their ringlights.

[TONEPUB]

As you mentioned, digital doesn't need as much light as the large format stuff does..

I've been using the little Speedotron Black line 405... 
I think they are only about 500 bucks.  A pair of heads will run
about 300 each. That's for the newer more compact ones that have
detachable cords. 

That way you have the option of always renting bigger speedo packs
if you need it for a big shoot, and sometimes the 2401/2403's come
up pretty cheap on ebay from time to time if you need addl power.

I would highly suggest NOT buying the standard 103 heads used.
They are usually beat to hell from a lot of studio use and still go
for about 200 used!  For the extra hundred bucks you can have a
nice brand new one with warranty!

Have used Speedotron and Broncolor for about 30 years now and
went back to speedotron because of the cost factor. Now with digital
the precise exposure control of Broncolor isn't the issue it was
when I was shooting chromes.

Good luck shopping!

[Carlman]

Thanks for the recomendations... I used Dyna's and Speedo's extensively as an assistant so I've narrowed it down to either of those.  I'm familiar with their operation, maintenance, etc.
If I had to choose today it'd either be http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=182653&is=REG

or

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=262181&is=REG
(plus an extra head)

I'll also need to add a boom and soft box to either of these.  I plan to use a softbox on top, with highlights from the sides.  I know I'll probably have more power than I need but I've never thought "darn, I have too much power"... I think a little extra power might come in handy on location.

All in all, about a 2,k investment... not terrible, about what I expected 10 years ago...  I wasn't sure if anything had changed significantly to where I could get something similar for 500 bucks... From what I've read it seems like the fluorescents are more for video not still... It's something that didn't exist last time I was in the biz... and it's off the list.... until the energy bill makes me start using an alternate lighting method.

Thanks again,
Carl

[drphoto]

Regarding the too much power thing.....stock up on some neutral density gels (for the lights, not the lens) I've shot w/ just the modeling lights when I wanted to use an open aperature. Nice thing about digital....you have control over white balance if using RAW.

Speedo's stuff is bombproof and fairly cheap, but it's bulky and heavy. I've got a 4803 pack and it must weigh 60lbs. (yeah, I know they've got newer stuff that is lighter weight) The good thing is, there's a ton of these older packs around and sell fairly cheap. If you don't need portability, it might be the way to go. I use mine in the studio w/ Speedo's focusing spotlight and it's really useful, especially when I was doing a lot of bottle and drink shots.

I've had to have most of my Dyna packs repaired at some point, but I'm willing to put up w/ that for the portability. I must admit that I'm pretty hard on my lighting gear as this stuff's been dragged or shipped all over the country many times, run off generators, manhandled by careless grips, etc.

[Carlman]

Speedo's seem like the way to go to me... It'll be mostly studio use with occasional location stuff.  I'm not even sure what I'll use it for yet.  I have 1 shoot to do that's driving this... and it has to be good.  I can rent the speedo's for $40/day or $55/weekend locally.. seems like the way to go at the moment.... then I can make a less hasty decision...

If I could assist for a local photographer to trade some studio time, I'd be even happier.  I just don't know anyone locally, I'm no longer a member of PPA, etc.  It's a little frustrating but I could call around I guess... You never know.  But I think it'd be worth it to get to know the local photographers here.

Thanks again,
Carl

[navi]

carlman-

Looking for studio gear on budget? Check out Ebay- (soft boxes are about 1/4 of it cost to buy a bowens soft box)  but make sure you get heads that are at least 500W. NOTE** Some chinese made heads claim to be 500W but are more like 250W**

Invest in a Bowens or hensel heads (or kit) and get the stands and softboxes on EBAY

http://dragonimage.com.au/product.asp?id=1343
the FlashPro heads, I find better than the Bowens heads if you can get it for US voltage

Don't think just because you capture digitally that you can get away with cheap lights- you want consistent power output and colour- you are going to have trouble shooting at high aperture and low ISO with low power / cheapo lights.

Ivan