9 replies to this topic

[leighgion]

I’ve been primarily an available light shooter for most of my time doing photography. I had a brief GAS attack years ago when I thought to get into off camera lighting, but it passed and I was back to fast lenses and high ISO.

Recently, largely on account of the musicians I’ve posted about elsewhere in the forums, I find myself back to lighting gear and with the old stash of hardware now thousands of miles away, I have to consider repurchasing.

At the moment, I have two Nikon wireless compatible Speedlights and have been using my tripods as light stands, but they don’t even quite reach my eye level and I’m not a tall guy.

My brief flirtation with light stands and umbrellas was limited to cheap stuff so I’m in interested in other people’s experiences here. As an unpaid, occasional lighting user, am I losing much by going cheap again, or is it worth buying up a bit? I’m mostly considering a couple light stands and umbrellas, but I’ve also eyed cheap soft
boxes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dcbear78]

Go one level up from cheap stuff. Get the stands that have the bigger footprint. That's your best bang-for-buck in my opinion. Plus sandbags are cheap off ebay.

Shoot through or reflective umbrellas are all the same unless getting to Broncolor Para levels. So cheap is just as good here. I'm not a fan of umbrellas though, especially for location use as they are just a big parachute.

I much, much, much prefer foldable softboxes as I am on location most of the time and cheap ones that don't collapse (without pulling them apart) are a PITA! Spending money here is a good investment. Glow Paraprop from Adorama are good. And Cheetahstand have some nice stuff too.

If you don't already have one, get an S Bracket off ebay. My preference is with a Bowen's mount as there are so many modifiers available for it. The S Bracket is by far the best way to bring light stand, light and modifier together. Best $20 you will spend.

[leighgion]

Go one level up from cheap stuff. Get the stands that have the bigger footprint. That's your best bang-for-buck in my opinion. Plus sandbags are cheap off ebay.

Thanks for chiming in! Know you’ve done a good deal of your own lighting.

I appreciate your very specific recommendations. Will try to sus out what counts as one step above the bottom for light stands. I live in Spain, so my shopping options are somewhat more constrained, so I’m mostly depending on what Amazon.es has to offer.

I’m not naturally a big fan of umbrellas either from my limited experience, but the fact is that they fit my minimal budget, seem to produce the quality of light I find myself in need of, and since I’m not shooting outdoors, the wind problem isn’t really an issue for me. So, for now, I am unenthusiastically looking at them.

The concept of the soft box has appeal, but even a moderately better one is pushing my budget and I’m unsure about the cheaper ones Amazon has. They do appear to fold like umbrellas, but since I’m currently depending on Nikon AWS to trigger my flashes, I’m not sure how reliable things will be if I have a soft box in the mix.

Yes, I am also considering cheap radio triggers. Aside from range and reliability, if I bought a pack of three, I’d actually have an additional potential light since I have an SB-15 that’s not doing anything. Not that I’ve really figured out what to do with two lights yet.

Things to consider. Thanks again for the input!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ScottinPollock]

You don't really describe your usage. Indoors, umbrellas are fine if you have lot's of room. If not, you'll appreciate the added control of softboxes. I have a number of cheap ones from Neewer and IMHO their only downside is the lack of additional accessories such as additional diffusion panels and grids. Of course you can DIY a lot of this stuff, and will often get better results if you do.

 

Outdoors, I prefer larger modifiers (octoboxes, large umbrellas, scrims). Yes, they are challenging in wind, but you'll probably want an assistant for outdoor/on site conditions anyway.

[leighgion]

You’re right. My usage is basically these musicians:

The Recas-Ayvazyan Duo - People and Portraits - NikonForums.com

I hate living room performance venues - Critique - NikonForums.com

Make them look good and professional. Friends of my wife.

Thanks for weighing in on the Neewer soft boxes. Those are the cheap ones Amazon sells here too.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[morticiaskeeper]

For indoor use, Ive had no problems with AWS triggering when the speedlights are in cheap soft boxes. Outside has been a bit hit and miss, but I expect I've subconsciously increased the distance apart.

[leighgion]

I've had some trouble with AWS failing to trigger with no modifiers at all, which makes me wary. In the first set of photos linked above, we were in an auditorium surrounded on three sides with black curtains. I had two or three failures to trigger with just one flash and no modifiers if I wasn't careful about line of sight and what direction the sensor on my SB-600 was facing. I should mention I was using Nikon a SG-3IR panel to block my pop up flash's visible light output, so I don't know if that in some way reduced the range/punch of the IR. It's not supposed to, but you never know.

 

It kind of worked in my favor, as one failure to trigger ended up producing an underexposed shot that looked AWESOME once I ran it through Silver eFex to convert to B&W, but I can't depend on that happening all the time. 

[Merco_61]

I usually use Lastolite softboxes, strip lights and stands when I shoot with speedlights. Unlike most of the cheaper kit, the diffuser screens don't change colour temp as they age. Things might have changed for the better since it was some years ago that I tried going really cheap.

 

The stands don't creep in the joints and stand years of use and abuse.

 

Indoors, AWL works remarkably well even if radio triggers are more reliable. Outdoors is another matter as sunlight drowns out the IR control beam.

The SB-600 is much more sensitive to the orientation of the IR window compared to the other, later or better speedlights.

[leighgion]

I usually use Lastolite softboxes, strip lights and stands when I shoot with speedlights.

You’re higher end than is practical for me right now. Long as the new stuff doesn’t explode in then next couple years with light use I will be satisfied. I don’t really foresee field use more than once a month average.

Really good to know about the SB-600. It explains how my new Yongnuo seems much more tolerant of placement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[leighgion]

Well, it took seven months and the birth of my second, but a family member's Christmas cash has bought me a pair of Manfrotto 5001B light stands, a couple cheap shoot-through umbrellas, a mounting clamp and a flash sale-priced dumb slave flash. Time to make my girls look dramatic.