Improved Lighting

[sirhc55]

As a few of you will already know I have two forms of photography - the fun type and the earning money type

I have been using a couple of Bowens Trilites for the past four or five years to illuminate my cocoon and finally I lost patience with the jerry built lighting stands I had been using. I must add that my professional photography is 90% product shots - mainly wines and electronics.

My quest was to buy a couple of pukka stands. I checked out the web and finally decided to purchase a couple of Manfrotto light stands for approx $180 each from Vanbar.

I ordered online and was just about to push the remit button when I had second thoughts. I went into eBay and came across the OzPlaza Shop who were offering a system. The system comprised: 2x 110W studio lights (more than enough for product shots), 2x adjustable stands and 4x umbrellas (2 with white reflector and 2 with silver). The whole package was $299, but with postage and insurance it came to $354.00. So I thought, why not!

OzPlaza are located in Melbourne and I purchased last Sunday. On Wednesday the package arrived.

I have to say that I was truly impressed with the quality of the package.

Set the system up with the white reflector umbrellas, adjusted the height of the stands and tested. Everything worked brilliantly. I then decided to place a translucent diffuser at the back of the cocoon and to use my SB800 as well.

The SB800 was set to remote in SU mode and power dialled down to 1/16th output.

The first 110W flash was linked to my D2Hs via a sync cord and the second flash plus the SB800 would be triggered by the first flash. I set the camera to manual f/16 and 1/250th second shutter.

The first two shots are the first experimental shots:




The last shot is a composite (basic) for a client. This shot is only basic as the client’s studio will work the pics to what they require.

[gstark]

Chris,

WHo's the client in the third shot?

Seriously, that sounds like excellent value, and it almost sounds a bit like the setup that Phillipb has, although his was $145 for a single setup with one brolly.

Could you please post a link for the kit, and maybe some pix of the hardware? As a an entry-level system, this seems to be great value, not just for product shots, but perhaps even beyond that realm.

[sirhc55]

Gary - the client is Woolie’s and the link for the setup (which shows the items) is

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-110W-Studio-Flash-Light-Package-Set-Accessories_W0QQitemZ290047788455QQihZ019QQcategoryZ30088QQcmdZViewItem

[Matt. K]

Chris
That little guy selling the icecreams looks kinda weird? Is he old enough to be working?
Oh! On the lights....my take on photographic lighting is this.....the light that comes out of a $10,000 studio light is exactly the same stuff that comes out of a $45 elcheapo flashgun. Its's how you use it that's important. You did good with your purchase.

[big pix]

........ good buy, at that price you could have 2, giving you 4 flash heads....... nice pixs

[phillipb]

That looks much better then my el-cheapo, even has modelling light. That's great value.

[Yi-P]

Oh God, a lighting setup just a little above my budget ($300).... argghhh, should I buy one of these?? I need suggestion/recommendations!!

Im going crazy... need to save, but wanting to spend...

[Mitchell]

Thanks for the heads up Chris - looks great

As a an entry-level system, this seems to be great value, not just for product shots, but perhaps even beyond that realm.

What sort of things were you thinking of in the next realm? What effects do you think we could create with this setup - anything similar to the things we were trying at the portrait day?

[gstark]

Phillip,

That looks much better then my el-cheapo, even has modelling light. That's great value.

That is truly astonishing value. The lightstands are 280cm too, which is even better.

Yip, this one seems to be a no-brainer if you're wanting an inexpensive lighting setup.

And as Bernie suggests, buying two of these setups for a four light system ... ... background stands for $130!

There's a very comprehensive studio setup for under $1K.

[Yi-P]

I think I'll have to plan and save a few more dollars... being sticking to sandwiches for months now, so why not for the next couple of weeks more... hehe


Will a 2x110W system be enough for location and indoor portraits?? I'll find myself doing these more than the macro or product shots maybe. So I may also need a softbox, the 'hanger' light stand, and a background + stand?? That is way over what I will be able to spend apart from the lighting system.

Need some more pointers before making this decision  PS. Chris, can you pls get a shot of the package in their respective bag for taking them around? How portable is this setup??

[Alex]

They also seem to sell a 300W kit including a softbox.

Alex

[sirhc55]

Yip - there is no carry case supplied but the original carton is 1000mm long by 230mm wide by 400mm high. If you could find a carry bag of this dimension I would say the outfit is portable.

[Killakoala]

Very tempting......... a nice setup for a small studio.

[sirhc55]

Very tempting......... a nice setup for a small studio.

Absolutely

[Yi-P]

Chris, do you find these lights enough to light up a small studio for portraits? For full and half body shots...

[sirhc55]

Chris, do you find these lights enough to light up a small studio for portraits? For full and half body shots...

Yip - this is not my kind of photgraphy nor forte. But, I believe that it would certainly be OK for half body but not sure re full body.

[Raskill]

Yip - there is no carry case supplied but the original carton is 1000mm long by 230mm wide by 400mm high. If you could find a carry bag of this dimension I would say the outfit is portable.

You could easily fit that into a nice black duffel type bag, would look professional also.

I've been watching that same setup for a couple of months thinking 'will I, won't I'. Glad someone is happy with it. Might be on the cards as I want a good entry level package to start taking portraits.

Can you maybe post an image of the setup set up?

[sirhc55]

Bloody terrible photo but it does show the setup. The two units on the floor are the Bowens Trilites

[Raskill]

Thanks Chris. Are the stands nice and sturdy? In your opinion is the stuff reasonable quality? Do you think the setup would allow for basic studio/indoor modelling shots?

Sorry for all the questions!

[sirhc55]

Thanks Chris. Are the stands nice and sturdy? In your opinion is the stuff reasonable quality? Do you think the setup would allow for basic studio/indoor modelling shots?

Sorry for all the questions!

Everything is of a quality I did not expect for the price. Obviously made in China but not low quality. The stands are sturdy. Basic studio yes, maybe even more

[wendellt]

your tripod is in on the carpet it looks unstable
do you use a remote to trigger the camera?

[sirhc55]

your tripod is in on the carpet it looks unstable
do you use a remote to trigger the camera?

The tripod is stable Wendell and as to remote triggering - yes and no

[gstark]

Chris ...

I see that you're running the lights back into the brollies and then bouncing the light ... into the light tent.

Have you tried (I know this setup is new) playing with removing the brollies, and just pointing the heads straight at the tent?

Looking at the distances you have in play, that seems to me to perhaps be good enough to just use the diffusion from the tent, and perhaps let you gain another two stops aperture.

[sirhc55]

Chris ...

I see that you're running the lights back into the brollies and then bouncing the light ... into the light tent.

Have you tried (I know this setup is new) playing with removing the brollies, and just pointing the heads straight at the tent?

Looking at the distances you have in play, that seems to me to perhaps be good enough to just use the diffusion from the tent, and perhaps let you gain another two stops aperture.

The problem with wine photography are hotspots. I tried the direct flash into the tent but found the umbrella method gave me a much nicer diffused light. I am also using an SB800 in SU mode for backlight through a circular diffuser. I can get extra stops because I am not using the full output power of the lights. Overall (after much experimentation) I found the setup as shown to work best.

[Reschsmooth]

In terms of bags for this kind of set-up (including the camera tripod), I wonder if a cheap cricket bag would suit - generally good handles to shoulder carry, plenty of pockets, and lots of room inside for stands/tripods, lights, leads, etc. I am not sure how long a standard (or even kids) cricket bag would be, however.

P

[Jenno]

The first 110W flash was linked to my D2Hs via a sync cord and the second flash plus the SB800 would be triggered by the first flash. I set the camera to manual f/16 and 1/250th second shutter.

Dumb question maybe, but how would you achieve this with a D70?

I assume the sync cable that fits into the studio flash would need to attach to the D70 hotshoe somehow in the absence of an external flash socket which I assume Chris's D2H has as standard or do you use the SB800 or onboard flash to trigger the 2 studio flashes

Bit confused

Ray

[sirhc55]

The first 110W flash was linked to my D2Hs via a sync cord and the second flash plus the SB800 would be triggered by the first flash. I set the camera to manual f/16 and 1/250th second shutter.

Dumb question maybe, but how would you achieve this with a D70?

I assume the sync cable that fits into the studio flash would need to attach to the D70 hotshoe somehow in the absence of an external flash socket which I assume Chris's D2H has as standard or do you use the SB800 or onboard flash to trigger the 2 studio flashes

Bit confused

Ray

Ray - there are two methods by which you can use your D70 to trigger the external strobes.

1 - use the D70 in commander mode, either utilising the flash output of the D70 or by placing an exposed piece of trannie film (without any image) over the flash so it emits IR only.

2 - Buy the Nikon AS-15 terminal sync adaptor

[Yi-P]

Im guessing the 'commander' mode which you were talking about is the flash slave mode which triggers the flash??

I remember back in our portrait workshop, we were using the D70 set on manual and dial down to 1/16th power to trigger the flashes, and the power of the built-in flash was too weak to get an exposure at f/8~f/11 @ 1/125th so it can be ignored as exposure flash...

[Jenno]

Thanks Chris