Dabbling with the idea of a cheap home studio - advice please?

[wez130]

I'm debating a cheap home studio for personal family portraits and baby pics at home. What would i need as a bare minimum?

What are the buy it now kits on ebay like? (the 2x180w lamps and 2 umbrella kits like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-180ws-180w-Studio-Flash-Light-Translucent-Umbrella_W0QQitemZ160204947101QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3 860QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?

[Wookie]

be careful, those ebay ones dont include the stands

[Ugs]

The March issue of Digital Photo did a comparison of 2 budget
studio flash setups.

The Interfit EX150 won and was recommended as value for money at around £200.

Website: http://www.interfitphotographic.com/

It comes with 2 stands, 2 flash heads, Brolly, 60cm softbox, 2 power cables, 2 sync cables.

[Anima Templi]

Interfit have been around for years, stood the test of time, and easy to have serviced etc being made in the UK. A great choice.

[fletch5]

wez, a budget would probably help in advising you

[AliB]

Interfit are pretty good, I have the 300w stellar and the big benefit that I found was that they are the same fitting as Bowens, so all the goodies fit straight on. I also have that compatability with the pro studio that I use. :thumbs:

[wez130]

i might wait and stretch to the interfit set.

[shrimperblue]

I went for a budget Portaflash set. about 300 from jessops I think. No complaints at all. Compacts down nicely and comes with great carry case. :)

[andrewc]

Does it have to be flash? You can rig up halogen lights quite easily - disadvantage is they get hot and you need to adjust WB (you do with flash) 500w halogen floods can be bought for £ 5 each from DIY stores and you can easily wire in a dimmer. A 13A plug will run 3000 watts of light.

Machine Mart will sell you twin 500w lamps with a 3 piece lighting stand for £ 25 each.


Just an option if the budget is tight.

[shrimperblue]

lol thats a nice idea im considering for shooting vehicles.....

[andrewc]

the machine mart ones are probably a bit more waterproof for outdoor use - especially if you fit waterproof plugs to the other end.

[inaneredstripe]

500w halogens will kill domestic dimmer switches. you,ll need heavy duty rated ones.if you get the hot lenses wet , they shatter. been there , done that.

[andrewc]

Not found that in my experience - 500W is just over 2 amps so should be ok. Get one rated for 240v / 3 amp + and it should be sufficient.

Agree that the glass will shatter if it gets wet - have to be careful.

[h4rri]

I looked into this recently and there was a review in Digital Photo this month reveiwing cheaper set-ups and showing some good results. Also have a look for the 'Peak Overload' blog as I found this a good resource having recently set-up his own.

He introduced a consideration I hadn't looked at, space. I simply don't have the amount of available space to house a studio and acheive desireable results :|

[inaneredstripe]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/660W-660ws-Studio-Flash-Strobe-Light-SoftBox-Stand-Set_W0QQitemZ150214487740QQihZ005QQcategoryZ3860QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Wookie]

dont forget to include postage in those ebay prices

[John Harding]

Forget halogen lamps for any kind of people photography. Far too hot, real fire risk, not adjustable, difficult to diffuse, uncomfortable for subjects, very long exposures needed as power output is far too low.

Go with flash, avoid Interfit because of reliability problems, avoid Portaflash because of build quality and light quality problems

[hepburn]

morrisphoto do the interfit exd200 kit for £280. Based in chipping Norton. Free delivery. Good bit of kit though no backgrounds, just the lamps, stands, cables, umbrella, soft box, and bag.

[cherryrig]

I just do it myself haha. Use some SB-25's, white sheet and DIY softbox haha

[CraigF]

These babies are what a friend uses now on the building sites.
http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/details.php?cat=Site%20Electrics&product=32597
More expensive than halogen but no heat and although i am not 100% i am sure he mentioned they were Daylight Tubes.

[cherryrig]

Here is my DIY studio haha

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2321236432_3aed96d989.jpg