topic Re: Studio Light suggestions in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 04:47:27 GMT

Creating a small studio in my garage albeit that I am new to flash photography but would like to hear opinions out there for lighting options. I have looked at Adorama TV and watched many of the very good videos they have on studio lighting but would like to hear from you guys in the field as well.

I will be using my new Canon 5d mark 3 and my new lenses 24/105 4.0 and the 70/200 2.8 11

Re: Studio Light suggestions

RobertTheFat — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 11:33:52 GMT

@Captdanno wrote:
Creating a small studio in my garage albeit that I am new to flash photography but would like to hear opinions out there for lighting options. I have looked at Adorama TV and watched many of the very good videos they have on studio lighting but would like to hear from you guys in the field as well.

I will be using my new Canon 5d mark 3 and my new lenses 24/105 4.0 and the 70/200 2.8 11

At least you're well equipped so far. I have all three of those items myself, and I predict you're goinna like them a lot.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

ebiggs1 — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 12:55:37 GMT

You have some good equipment so far so do you want the best in studio lighting? I use AlienBee <-----click here.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 13:44:47 GMT

At least you're well equipped so far. I have all three of those items myself, and I predict you're goinna like them a lot.

Glad to hear that, kinda dove in with recomended gear and other than sticker shock no regrets. As my cousin always says "If your gonna be a bear might as well be a grizzly" I had to laugh at that one although thats coming from someone who has no budget.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:20:12 GMT

Those look like a great way to go, I called their website and they were very helpful in guiding me through there options. Wonder how it compares to Adoramas http://www.adorama.com/FPLFSL360K2.html ?

Re: Studio Light suggestions

ebiggs1 — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:36:31 GMT

Wonder how it compares to Adoramas

They don't.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Skirball — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 16:29:31 GMT

Do you specifically want studio lighting as opposed to strobes? If the answer is yes, then +1 for the ABs.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 17:03:30 GMT

I thought the ABs were strobes?

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Skirball — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 17:06:46 GMT

Sorry, speedlights.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 17:10:42 GMT

not sure I know the difference between speedlights and strobes yet, looking for portrait work with my kids both in a studio and possibly outdoors

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Skirball — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 18:24:09 GMT

Studio lights plug into the wall, speed lights are portable. Each has their advantage:

Studio: more powerful, faster recycling time, most have modeling lights, don't have to worry about batteries

Speedlights: portable, smaller, most allow eTTL (most studio lights do not), most have high speed sync (most studio lights do not), can be used on camera and off

If you're purely going to be staying in a studio the easy choice is studio lights. If you're going to move around a lot I think speedlights are a better choice, but maybe get mobile with studio lights.

Studio lights are more powerful, but I never lack power indoors unless I'm competing with sunlight through large windows. Speedlights are plenty strong enough for portraiture and whatnot. Funny that the place they really lack is outdoor portraiture, but taking studio lights outdoors has it's own share of difficulties. I also find them lacking when doing indoor architectural work and I want to balance my light against big sunny windows. For that I use a studio strobe supplemented with speedlights - but that's a very specific use.

One of the main advantages to speedlights is eTTL and HSS. But I'm a speedlight junkie and I hardly ever use these functions. I prefer to shoot in full manual, though some really like eTTL even in portraiture.

As I said, both have their pros and cons. I admit to being biased towards speedlights, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt. I think speedlights are more flexible, allowing on-camera use, off-camera use on location, and can still hold their own in the studio. Others need high power, or ultra-fast recycling (glamour portraiture), or just hate batteries. To each their own.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Skirball — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 18:25:40 GMT

Oh, I don't know what's on Adorama TV, but I recommend checking out this:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

It's heavily focused on speedlights, but has plenty of good information for lighting in general and some discussions on studio lighting here or there.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 19:15:50 GMT

Great info thanks, time to do more research and figure out what my needs are.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 19:47:48 GMT

Thats a great site, sure seems like a money saver going that route.

@Captdanno wrote:
Great info thanks, time to do more research and figure out what my needs are.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

RobertTheFat — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 16:03:25 GMT

@Captdanno wrote:
not sure I know the difference between speedlights and strobes yet ...

Historically, all electronic flashes have been colloquially referred to as "strobes", a tribute to their role as the light source in a stroboscope (q.v.). It's now fashionable to refer to small, on-camera EFs as speedlights (or "speedlites"), though they were called strobes long before the term "speedlight" was invented. Now it appears that some who call them speedlights tend to reserve the term "strobe" for the larger, less portable EFs that are also referred to as "studio lights". Got it?

As any linguist will tell you, a language is an ever-changing entity. And technical jargon changes the fastest of all.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 15:26:34 GMT

Yep, makes sense to me.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

ebiggs1 — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 12:30:55 GMT

Comparing an on-camera "speedlight" to an AlienBee is like comparing a Rebel to a 1Dx. They are both cameras but that is where it ends!

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:43:51 GMT

I believe that having used a rebel for years, so tell me do you use umbrellas or soft box or both, also are you using the cyber commander or cyber sync transmitter. There product looks great with very good reviews especially the Einstein E640 but that's probably more than I need.

Re: Studio Light suggestions

ebiggs1 — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:53:07 GMT

I like big shoot through umbrella's. You already know I like softboxes!

Re: Studio Light suggestions

Captdanno — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 16:12:52 GMT

Cyber sync or commander?