Small home stuido phurchase plan

[ian_rose]

<p>Ok it’s that time of the year again and this is a generic question .<br>

And looking for ideas for presents.<br>

When building up the equipment for a small home studio for use with family and friends.<br>

What would you experts recommend as minimum equipment and also nice to have equipment.<br>

that can be phurchased at a later time.<br>

Also bear in mind budget constraint total cost not to exceed $1500 (use Adorama catalogue )</p>

<p>Ian R</p>

[jcuknz]

<p>You have the options of going the professional studio way or the professional strobist way.<br>

Your budget is probably about five times what you need if you go the latter strobist way and purchase two or three [ or more] YougNuo 460/560 flash units and wireless triggers. The YN's include an optical trigger built in so for home use you only need one trigger becuase the others will fire in sync with the master. You could also use the camera's on-board flash as your master either directly shining on the subject or else partly masked so it just triggers the YNs or any other units with optical triggers. The YNs have an S2 mode which ignores focusing pre-exposure emmisions from the camera. </p>

[marc_batters]

<p>Ian,<br /> Why severely limit yourself by only dealing with one company like Adorama?<br /> Don't settle for, or accept the mediocre, strive for perfection. Broaden your possibilities.</p>

<p>Take a look at Paul C. Buff's "Busy Bee" kit, $1,308 USD.<br /> http://www.paulcbuff.com/pkg-busybee.php</p>

<p>A three light Calumet/Bowens set-up, exactly $1,500 USD.<br /> http://www.calumetphoto.com/eng/product/calumet_travelite_1500ws_2_head_radio_enabled_kit/ce1310<br /> http://www.calumetphoto.com/eng/product/bowens_gemini_classic_500c_monolight_with_calumet_nova_32_softbox_and_speedring/bw3913k</p>

<p>A kit with Hensel quality from B&H, $1,400 USD, w/free shipping.<br /> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368141-REG/Hensel_7048815E_Integra_Pro_2_Monolight.html</p>

<p>A Novatron kit from B&H, $1,153 USD.<br /> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/730208REG/Novatron_NSML5002SS_M500_2_Monolight_Kit_W_Wheeled.html</p>

<p>A Photogenic kit from B&H, $1,350 USD.<br /> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/770202-REG/Photogenic_907267_Sandy_Puc_Power_of.html</p>

<p>Marc</p>

<p> </p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Couple of thoughts. First, the strobist way lets you learn a lot with a minimal investment, and you can still use the gear on location once you establish your skills. I've seen the YougNuo name pop up lately but in close to 40 years of photography have never heard of them. If you want a low-cost strobe that's the most flash for the money, the Vivitar 285HV has been an industry standard for more than 20 years. All the studio strobe equipment Marc mentions is good -- I have had Novatron for about 15 years and it's probably the most flash for the money when it comes to professional monolights but Paul Buff has given them a good run for the money. Just stay away from any of the $100 "studio" strobes that really aren't much more than a shoemount flash with an AC cord. I'm a little skeptical on kits -- usually they thrown in a lot of accessories that are nice to have but serve more to drive up the price that serve an essential purpose. All you really need at first is a flash unit (studio or shoemount), umbrella or softbox, stand and mounting adaptor. I've recently purchased my first Pocket Wizard radio triggers and love them. But if you're trying to hold costs down, a long PC cord does the job for $20 instead of $300. If you want radio triggers, the Paul Buff Cyber Syncs look good at about $130 for a pair. There are cheaper ones but you get what you pay for.</p>

[pete_s.]

<p>I'd say start with one real strobe and two speedlights and stay away from the kits. It's better to buy what you need as you learn more and find out what you like. With the studio strobe you have access to power and with the speedlights you have portability and battery powered lights.</p>

<p>If you are in the US I'd get one <a href="http://www.paulcbuff.com/e640.php">Einstein strobe</a>.</p>

<p>And I assume you already have some kind of speedlight, Nikon perhaps? Any flash with manual mode and power settings as well as pc sync connector will work. The <strong>Nikon SB24/26/28/800/900</strong> will work perfectly. I'd pick up a used one and use that. I think you should have at least two speedlights.</p>

<p>Then you need stands and for the speedlights you need umbrella adapters and hot shoe mounts as well. I'd go for manfrotto as they are good quality. I use the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/644444-REG/Manfrotto_1004BAC_Alu_Master_3_Riser.html">1004BAC stands</a> for studio strobes and<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/612771-REG/Manfrotto_5001B_5001B_Nano_Black_Light.html"> the 5001</a> for small portable stands or the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/609058-REG/Manfrotto_1052BAC_1052BAC_Alu_Air_Cushioned.html">1052 </a>if portability is not paramount. <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546375-REG/Manfrotto_026_026_Swivel_Umbrella_Adapter.html">Manfrotto 026</a> for umbrella adapters and the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/52772-REG/Stroboframe_300_SHO_Flash_Mount_Adapter.html">Stroboframe</a> shoe mount adapter.</p>

<p>Then I'd get radio triggers so you can trigger the lights. Cables will work but they are not as practical if you want to shoot in different locations. <a href="http://www.pocketwizard.com/">Pocketwizards</a> are the gold standard but <a href="http://www.paulcbuff.com/cybersync.php">cybersyncs</a> seems reliable too. If you have new speedlights and are shooting Nikon or Canon you need the new pocketwizards if you want TTL. I use manual and the classic Pocketwizard Plus 2 units.</p>

<p>For light control I'd start with a couple of cheap umbrellas. I prefer shoot thru umbrellas.</p>

<p>Also if you want to shoot using available light in combination with flash you need to get color correction gels for your strobe and speedlights. I'd get a sheet or two <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/44198-REG/Rosco_RS340711_3407_Filter_RoscoSun.html">Rosco CTO</a> which allows you to shoot on location using the available tungsten light in combinations with strobes.</p>

<p> </p>