Which Equipment

[blades]

<p>Hi,<br>

I have been shooting landscape/ street Photography this past year with my Nikon D80, im now wanting to put together a small studio, or a portable studio, that would allow me to shoot portfolio shots for up and coming models as well as family/baby portraits. With this in mind, if u were just starting out, what would you like to get, im thinking of moving to an FX camera in the nesx 12 months all going well. I dont have a budget in mind as i need to get what i need to get, however, it does have to slip past the wife !!.<br>

If anyone in New Zealand could advise that would be helpful as not all products i read about are available in NZ, we run on 220V and it costs an arm and sometimes two legs to get gear shipped, many thanks in advance </p>

[mercedes1]

<p>Hi, I'm a Kiwi living in Oz. Studio lighting can get hidiously expensive unfortunately. Most of the people here would recommend Alien Bee lighting as it's good and fair priced, but they don't make anything in 220-240v 50hz.<br>

If you have hotshoe flashes then you can easily adapt them into off camera strobes. Look at http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ for info on this. The Lighting 101 link on the right is very good.<br>

If you prefer a bit more grunt then a good source for cheap and surprisingly good lighting is an ebay store at http://myworld.ebay.com.au/envisage-au/. They import Chinese clone equipment into Aussie. I use their strobes for location work as they are cheap and surprisingly good, consistent and I don't cry if I drop one. The 600w/s ones are a good power to do most things. Don't get units that have too much power as you can't turn them down enough for a lot of situations. They sometimes put together kits of 2 lights, 2 stands, cords, softboxes, umbrellas, etc for a good price.<br>

The lights are 5500k temperture monoblock type strobes that use the Bowens S-type assessory mount. They have optical and PC cord sync, modeling light plus all the other standard controls and fitout that most lights have.</p>

<p> </p>

[chris_whitcomb1]

<p>Are you staying with Nikon or switching to Canon? I hear Nikon prices in NZ are outrageous compared to Canon. A budge limit would be nice as its not right to put together the "dream team setup" if you can't afford it, oh the temptation we all face when it comes to our gear. I'm sure there are a few little things I'm forgetting but my dream kit would consist of this:</p>

<p>-Nikon D700 w/ a remote release<br /> -Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR or Nikon 135 DC f2.8<br /> -Nikon 14-24 f2.8 or Nikon 20 f2.8<br /> -Nikon 50 1.4G<br /> -Nikon SB900's (at least 1 with a couple of SB800's if you can find them)<br /> -Strobist/OneLight kits: light stands, umbrellas, adapters, gels, soft boxes, a ton of rechargeable "AA" or Nikon/other brand battery packs.<br /> -Alien Bees Cybersyncs (yes, even over the Pocket Wizards)<br /> -Lastolite Tri Flips 8 in 1 reflector set<br /> -Tripod with ball head<br /> -Hoodman 8gb CF cards<br /> -4 Lexar firewire 400 CF card readers</p>

[blades]

<p>Thanks guys Chris, indeed the dream kit, Mercedes good advice you would appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of living in "Gods Own" Many thanks, how much did your set up cost?</p>

[chris_whitcomb1]

<p>Mark - I had a blast putting that together, like I could actually afford it, but it was fun dreaming and spending imaginary money.</p>

[mercedes1]

<p>Of that cheap gear I have 4 600w/s strobes @ ~au$500ea, 6 stands @ au$50ea, 3 softboxes @80ea, 6 umbrellas of various types @ au$24, beauty dish @au$149 and standard reflectors.<br>

I've destroyed one so far. It fell into a puddle. I've never had one breakdown on me over a year and a half of use.</p>

<p>As far as quality goes it is higher than what the price would indicate i find.</p>

[blades]

<p>I might have to have a short break in Oz this year Mercedes and bring some gear home...many thanks for your efforts.<br>

Mark</p>

[les]

<p>"Most of the people here would recommend Alien Bee lighting as it's good and fair priced, but they don't make anything in 220-240v 50hz."<br>

Just for the record - the voltage can be changed to 240V on Alien bees for couple of bucks. You just need to tell them before they ship :)</p>