Studio Lighting - HELP

[gixxer1000]

Folks, I am keen to do more portraiture and studio work and have been looking into buying my own studio lighting.

What I (think) I need is:
* 3 flash heads/slaves
* a softbox (70cm x 70cm min)
* silver, white and translucent brollies
* snoot & honeycomb
* modelling lamp
* stands/brackets etc.

Jessops do a couple of studio lighting kits by Portaflash that look ok (and are pretty cheap compared to others).

1) Studio Kit 2 - £279

Contents:
* 336VM flash head
* 208W Wide ES slave flash
* 61cm (24in) Silver/White brolly
* Studio Stand 1
* 5-in-1 Reflector 80cm & Support Arm or Silver/white * reflector 70cm (27.5in) x 86cm (34in)
* Low level stand
* Series 3 tilt brolly bracket
* Series 2 diffuser
* Series 2 ES clamp socket
* Outfit bag small and studio book

See:
www.jessops.com/search/viewproduct.cfm?PRODUCT=PORSK2&BRAND=&CONTINUE=false&FEATS=&FIRSTPRICE=&KEYWORD=&LEVEL=&MODELNUMBER=&NEWQUERY=True&NODE=316&ORD=ASC&ORDERBY=&QUANTITY=10&RECENT=0&REFINE=&SEARCH_FOR=&SEARCHNODE=0&SEARCHURL=dointellisearch.cfm&SECONDPRICE=&SHOWCASEID=&STARTROW=1&SUBS=&WORD_SEARCH=N&


2) Studio Kit 3 - £509

Contents:
* 2x 336VM flash heads & 2x 208W Wide ES slave flash
* Series 3 tilt bracket for brollies
* 81.3cm (32in) Silver/White Brolly
* 5-in-1 Reflector 80cm & Support Arm or Silver/white * reflector 70cm (27.5in) x 86cm (34in)
* Series 3 soft box & Series 3 snoot/honeycomb
* 2x Studio Stand 1
* Series 3 tilt bracket
* 2x Series 2 diffuser
* Series 2 filter set, ES Clamp socket, ES Stand socket & Low level stand
* Outfit bag large and studio book

See:
www.jessops.com/search/viewproduct.cfm?PRODUCT=PORSK3&BRAND=&CONTINUE=false&FEATS=&FIRSTPRICE=&KEYWORD=&LEVEL=&MODELNUMBER=&NEWQUERY=True&NODE=316&ORD=ASC&ORDERBY=&QUANTITY=10&RECENT=0&REFINE=&SEARCH_FOR=&SEARCHNODE=0&SEARCHURL=dointellisearch.cfm&SECONDPRICE=&SHOWCASEID=&STARTROW=1&SUBS=&WORD_SEARCH=N&

Anyone out there bought either of these kits, or have an opinion on them (or on alternatives to them)?

All thoughts/recommendations welcome.

Cheers,
Gixxer

[Bacardi]

Not at all familiar with that make of flash. It all depends how serious you want to get. Buying a cheap system may be a false economy in the long run when you find you want to fit different light modifiers to the units and they won't take them. I suspect they don't offer much in the way of control i.e. can you vary the output, and by how many stops? Doesn't say on the specs. I also suspect they will fall to bits quite rapidly if you give them any serious use.

Depends on your budget, but see if you can stretch to Bowens or Elinchrom (just had a look on ebay, there's a three head kit which would do nicely) or try the www.theflashcentre.com which also do second hand. You would then have a good make/base to build more kit up as needed.

[gixxer1000]

Thanks for that Bacardi. I agree that the Jessops sets may well turn out to be false economy. Not too impressed with the lack of detail in the spec list too!

Had a look at the Elinchrom set on ebay, but feel the price is creeping a little high.

Found this however:

Elinchrom EL 500/500 Portable Lighting Kit
Comprises:
* 2x Elinchrom 500 flash heads
* 2x clip lock stands
* 1x 16cm reflector
* 1x 85cm translucent umbrella
* 1x 60x60cm soft box,
* 2x mains leads
* 1x sync lead
* 2x Joe Craig Videos and Joe Craig Lighting Guides -

COMPLETE £699.00

On www.bobrigby.com

Which looks ok. Not sure if the Bowens Esprit 500/500 Kit would be better (same price).

Perhaps hiring from theflashcentre, to try before I buy, is the way to go.

Cheers,
Gixxer

[Bacardi]

I'm sure the flash centre would refund the hire fee if you decided to buy. The two head Elinchrom kit has, unfortunately for you, have just had a price hike. They were giving them away last year. Just checked Robert White and he's a little cheaper for the 2 head kit at £570 + VAT. www.robertwhite.co.uk/studio.htm#LabelElinchrom

Elinchrom also do a cheaper range called Prolinca. Not as versatile as the classic range with just full/half power switching, but does take all the Elichrom reflectors and accessories. The Flash centre also do second hand so could build you a cheaper kit, yet, still with some warranty.

There's not much to chose between Elinchrom or Bowens in terms of value/build/features. It comes down to personal choice. I used to use Bowens for many years, then moved to Elichrom for lighter weight, shorter flash duration, quicker recharging, but that was 10 years ago. Things are fairly even now but I think the bowens are still heavier.

Both systems offer good value and reasonable reliability. But after a two to three years reasonable use both brands will start to need servicing. I am in the process of buying new lighting, neither Bowens or Elinchrom, I'm actually buying packs, but the cost of one monobloc head with 600 W/S power (similar to a classic/Esprit head) is £595 + VAT, no stand, case or anything. Built like an outside convenience though. Like everything..... you get what you pay for.

Cheers

[gixxer1000]

Bacardi, I have read that flash synch can be unreliable with Elinchrom, but is better with Bowens, and also the power output from Bowens is more consistent than Elinchrom.

Is that something you have experienced?

Also, the flash duration of the Bowens 500 tops out at 1/700, whereas the Elinchrom 500 goes to 1/2600. How much should that be influencing my decision?

Sorry for the endless questions.

Cheers,
Gixxer

[Bacardi]

gixxer1000 said:

Bacardi, I have read that flash synch can be unreliable with Elinchrom, but is better with Bowens,

All sync leads (if that's what you are referring to) are a PITA and unreliable. The problem with Elinchrom is the unique fitting into the flash unit. So it's best to have a few spares in stock. The Bowens sync cables are the more common Jack to PC connection and so are more readily available. The alternative is infrared which will cost you another £100-£200.

A common failure with these units is 'Dry Joints'. IIRC, the heat generated by the model lamps and flash combined dry up the connections on circuit boards and the unit just stops flashing or the slave cell stops working. If you bought new, I don't think you would see this problem for a long time with amateur use.

gixxer1000 said:

and also the power output from Bowens is more consistent than Elinchrom.

When they talk of Power output I think they mean you cannot fire the flash until it has fully recharged giving, as near as dammit, 100% consistent exposures shot to shot. You can 'pop' the Elinchroms before they have fully recharged so you could get a shot with under exposure.

However, what that means in reality is, that if you are shooting, a portrait for example, you may be shooting rapidly to try and get the expression and 'beat' the flash. You will end up with a black frame/capture (are you shooting film or digital, by the way?) if the unit hasn't fully recharged. I would rather have a great expression/shot with 80% exposure than none at all.

gixxer1000 said:

Also, the flash duration of the Bowens 500 tops out at 1/700, whereas the Elinchrom 500 goes to 1/2600. How much should that be influencing my decision?

These figures are measured to 'Flash Duration to t=0.5' which effectively means they only measure the flash duration of half the total output of the flash. In other words, in the real world, the flash duration is even slower than the above figures suggest. It only is an issue if you want to 'freeze' fast moving objects. i.e. if you were photographing a girl spinning around in a dress. The Elinchrom would freeze the action but the Bowens would have some blur on the fastest moving parts of the object. This can be used creatively, but then again, you could create a similar effect with the Elinchrom using using some ambient light as part of the exposure and using a slower shutter speed.

There isn't a obvious answer as to which make to buy. They both have pluses and minuses. If I had to choose, I think I would stick with Elinchrom. I prefer the more central umbrella mount and some of the large softboxes they do, but they are another £500 or so a go, but produce beautiful light quality.

Another point. Don't think you have to use/buy the accessories that the manufacturers supply. You can do just as well with third party bits or make your own. A frame covered with translucent material with a light shining through it will give a lovely light and for peanuts.

HTH
Cheers