£250 for lights at home

Snapper73

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I have £250 to spend on some lights for a small home studio to shoot friends & Family etc. Lighting wise I have Nikon's speedlights SB600 & SB800 but was looking for a Softbox & Umbrella for general light. Anyone know whats good and bad to buy. ;)
 
is it a permanent set up or will you be 'tidying it away' all the time?

If its permanent and for home use look at the interfit EX150

or for pack away and portability look at stands and brollys/ezybox softbox for your speedlites :)
 
Another silly question but would I be better of just buying a stand alone Light softbox instead of a flash softbox. Whats the difference.
 
Another silly question but would I be better of just buying a stand alone Light softbox instead of a flash softbox. Whats the difference.
If you mean continuous lights....
It depends what you’re shooting, but as a rule, flash is better for photography.
 
Another silly question but would I be better of just buying a stand alone Light softbox instead of a flash softbox. Whats the difference.

Doesn't matter how you get your light but many beginners make the mistake of thinking continuous light is better because you see what you get but in truth flash will give you more flexibility and better results at a lower cost.
 
I have £250 to spend on some lights for a small home studio to shoot friends & Family etc. Lighting wise I have Nikon's speedlights SB600 & SB800 but was looking for a Softbox & Umbrella for general light. Anyone know whats good and bad to buy. ;)

Forget continuous lights, and I'd advise against speedlights too that are low on power, slow to recycle, and have no modelling light. Studio flash is far better when you have mains power to hand, and you get a bright modelling lamp to work with that replicates the flash illumination. Suggest a Lencarta Smartfash kit - a two-head kit won't push you far over budget.
 
While speedlights are generally lower powered than studiostrobes, lacks the modelling lamp and does take a bit longer to recycle I wouldn't let that put me off using them for portraits. Joel Grimes never uses the modelling lamp, the recycling speed is not that sigficant for hobby use and if not using them alongside bigger guns and for single sitter speedlights are plenty powerfull enough. Id use what you have, get a couple of S-mount adapters modifiers and stands and take it from there.
 
Forget continuous lights, and I'd advise against speedlights too that are low on power, slow to recycle, and have no modelling light. Studio flash is far better when you have mains power to hand, and you get a bright modelling lamp to work with that replicates the flash illumination. Suggest a Lencarta Smartfash kit - a two-head kit won't push you far over budget.

I tried to sell a barely used Lencarta Smartflash kit on here for about the OPs budget, had no takers!! I've still got it, so if the OP ( @Snapper73 ) is interested, post on this thread, and I'll put it back in the classifieds.But have tyou enough posts to see the classifieds yet?

Shipping is the only issue, as its quite big but OP i'm working down in Swindon for a week in mid-March, and have to visit site for a day in a couple of weeks time.
 
While speedlights are generally lower powered than studiostrobes, lacks the modelling lamp and does take a bit longer to recycle I wouldn't let that put me off using them for portraits. Joel Grimes never uses the modelling lamp, the recycling speed is not that sigficant for hobby use and if not using them alongside bigger guns and for single sitter speedlights are plenty powerfull enough. Id use what you have, get a couple of S-mount adapters modifiers and stands and take it from there.
Whilst it’s true that speedlights are perfectly usable if you know what you’re doing, monolights are simply a better tool for the job, particularly when learning.

And given the price difference, it’s really a no brainer. With a Godox 300 costing about the same as a speedlight and bracket, why not just buy the right tool for the job.

I’ve enough speedlight gear to run a studio, but if I’m going to the bother of putting up stands, I’m putting proper lights on top.
 
IMHO, the lack of a modelling lamp is the biggest drawback of speedlights for studio work. When you're new to it, it's pretty much vital and will speed your learning with decent results almost immediately. You'll see the 'quality' of the light, know where the shadows fall, avoid difficult reflections, be able to position reflectors easily and accurately. A bright modelling light, when used quite close, will also close down the iris of the subject's eyes to show the colour rather than a black hole that's the hallmark of most flash portraiture. Head-shot specialists often use high-end continuous lights for this reason, but they're very expensive, big and cumbersome. Another thought, if you're into shallow depth-of-field portraits with say an f/1.4 lens, then most studio heads won't turn down low enough for correct exposure, but a decent modelling light is often enough just by itself (if not ideal ;) ).

Also with speedlights:
- slow recycle times, as they'll mostly be at full power. Expressions are fleeting and change very rapidly. When the moment comes, you need to shoot fast. With young kids, you may only get one chance.
- speedlights have just enough power for solo portraits and couples, but run out of puff for groups.
- on the other hand, speedlights are small and light, and you can put them anywhere. They work well with studio heads for things like backgrounds or hair/accent lights when their downsides can be worked around.

ps Studio heads are not expensive. Good quality ones start at around £100, eg Godox or Lencarta.
 
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ps Studio heads are not expensive. Good quality ones start at around £100, eg Godox or Lencarta.
Godox DE300 £84 on Amazon, a Godox TT600 is about £60, add £10 for a s type bracket and you’re getting close to £10 for faster recycling, 4 times the power and a modelling light.
 
Whilst it’s true that speedlights are perfectly usable if you know what you’re doing, monolights are simply a better tool for the job, particularly when learning.

And given the price difference, it’s really a no brainer. With a Godox 300 costing about the same as a speedlight and bracket, why not just buy the right tool for the job.

I’ve enough speedlight gear to run a studio, but if I’m going to the bother of putting up stands, I’m putting proper lights on top.
Well the OP does have a couple of speedlights so can concentrate on modifiers, hence my ansver.
 
Well the OP does have a couple of speedlights so can concentrate on modifiers, hence my ansver.

Whilst for some of us, speedlights can create a simple pop up studio, they’re not ideal by any stretch.

And seeing as the OP has a budget burning a hole, he might as well make his life easier.
 
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