Help me shop for a studio light + accessories

[Taemobig]

I've done research on lenses and cameras but when it comes to studio lighting and equipment, I have very limited knowledge about them. I only know about the ones my friends uses such as alien bees, profotos, and elinchromes. But when it comes to prices and other brands, I know next to nothing.

I have been given two photoflex starflash 650 which I plan to use as kickers and/or rim hair lights.
Now I have a list of things I need to use for catalog shooting in a relatively small studio.

-A main light
-60 inch to 74 inch octodome
-backdrop support stand
-a heavy duty light stand with boom, preferably with wheels
-a couple of sand bags.

I have a budget of between $1500-2000 for my list. Is it possible? And if you guys have any recommendations, a link would be greatly appreciated so I can buy it asap. Amazon would be better since I have amazon prime.

[wickidwombat]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/674263-REG/Elinchrom_EL_20815KIT_D_Lite_IT_400Ws_2_Light.html

this is a great starting point and well within your budget

for modifiers like octobox etc the elinchroms are expensive so get a bowens to elinchrom adapter
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pro-Adapter-Mount-Ring-interchangeable-mount-Elinchrom-BOWENS-S458-/160778413846?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item256f23e716

then you can buy bowens modifiers but stillhave the super reliable elinchrom lights
something like this might suit
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200cm-80-Octagon-Softbox-Octobox-Grid-Balcar-/230578273000?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35af893ae8
that still leaves some decent cash to get a heavy duty stand and sand bags

[Mt Spokane Photography]

One place to check is the onliine training site creative live.
http://www.creativelive.com/
Their live training events are taught by recognized experts, and afterward, you can purchase the training course for a few dollars.  Look around the web site and the previews, it might be worth your effort to get it right the first time rather than buying equipment unsuited for your type of photography.

[Taemobig]

Thanks! I didn't know adaptors for different modifiers existed, that certainly opens up more options for me.

[Taemobig]

I just checked out creativelive.com, I'm definitely gonna be going there more often. Thanks for pointing me to that website!

[DCM1024]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/674263-REG/Elinchrom_EL_20815KIT_D_Lite_IT_400Ws_2_Light.html

this is a great starting point and well within your budget

for modifiers like octobox etc the elinchroms are expensive so get a bowens to elinchrom adapter
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pro-Adapter-Mount-Ring-interchangeable-mount-Elinchrom-BOWENS-S458-/160778413846?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item256f23e716

then you can buy bowens modifiers but stillhave the super reliable elinchrom lights
something like this might suit
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200cm-80-Octagon-Softbox-Octobox-Grid-Balcar-/230578273000?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35af893ae8
that still leaves some decent cash to get a heavy duty stand and sand bags

+1 I have the Elinchrom D-Lite 4 IT

[pwp]

Before you drop the Visa card on something else, do yourself a favor and visit here:
http://www.paulcbuff.com/index.php

The PCB Einstein lights are selling their socks off, and the modifiers are amazingly priced. About a year ago I switched from a comprehensive Profoto kit to six Einsteins and PCB modifiers. No regrets at all. They're light, powerful, configurable and have passed my 12 month tough test...all my work is on location so the kit gets carted around all over the place multiple times per week. PCB support is legendary. The prices are low because you buy direct from the manufacturer, thus eliminating the middle-man. This is good American hardware.

PW

[wickidwombat]

Before you drop the Visa card on something else, do yourself a favor and visit here:
http://www.paulcbuff.com/index.php

The PCB Einstein lights are selling their socks off, and the modifiers are amazingly priced. About a year ago I switched from a comprehensive Profoto kit to six Einsteins and PCB modifiers. No regrets at all. They're light, powerful, configurable and have passed my 12 month tough test...all my work is on location so the kit gets carted around all over the place multiple times per week. PCB support is legendary. The prices are low because you buy direct from the manufacturer, thus eliminating the middle-man. This is good American hardware.

PW

I looked at them but the prices are a bit silly over hear in oz which made going with elinchroms a much more solid option.

still a good recomendation

I really like the look of the Paul C buff ring flash though it looks pretty awesome for the money if you buy it in the states that is

Another thing i would suggest is stay well away from the cheap monolights from ebay they are not consistant, cant change flash bulbs when they fail and not as reliable.

also i have tested my elinchroms will work up to 1/8000 second using my phottix odin triggers with the skyports they are still limited to xsync of the camera

[pwp]

Before you drop the Visa card on something else, do yourself a favor and visit here:
http://www.paulcbuff.com/index.php
The PCB Einstein lights are selling their socks off, and the modifiers are amazingly priced...

I looked at them but the prices are a bit silly over here in oz which made going with Elinchroms a much more solid option. Still a good recommendation

Really? An Einstein head from PCB Australia only costs $150 more than a 600ex-RT Speedlight! And the modifiers? $139 for an 86 inch Parabolic? $139 for a 22 inch beauty dish?  Yes the Australian prices are higher than the US, but still represent awesome value. And this stuff is proven to hack the daily grind. Elincrom is great value too. But I see little need to spend up on Profoto or Broncolor any more...great rock 'n roll build quality and undeniable street-cred, but I couldn't be happier to have completely transitioned out of Profoto.

PW

[wickidwombat]

Before you drop the Visa card on something else, do yourself a favor and visit here:
http://www.paulcbuff.com/index.php
The PCB Einstein lights are selling their socks off, and the modifiers are amazingly priced...

I looked at them but the prices are a bit silly over here in oz which made going with Elinchroms a much more solid option. Still a good recommendation

Really? An Einstein head from PCB Australia only costs $150 more than a 600ex-RT Speedlight! And the modifiers? $139 for an 86 inch Parabolic? $139 for a 22 inch beauty dish?  Yes the Australian prices are higher than the US, but still represent awesome value. And this stuff is proven to hack the daily grind. Elincrom is great value too. But I see little need to spend up on Profoto or Broncolor any more...great rock 'n roll build quality and undeniable street-cred, but I couldn't be happier to have completely transitioned out of Profoto.

PW

yeah thats still almost double what the 400W elinchrom D-lite 4 IT cost at $800 for the pair which includes stands softboxes and skyport trigger its unbeatable bang for buck

also with the bowens adaptors i mentioned before the chinese brand meking modifiers (available cheaply on ebay) are really good quality for the money, i have a large octobox from them and a couple of large strip lights as well as some smaller stuff, snoots, grids and some large 70cm beauty dishes and they are really good.

agreed with a few rock solid options available now for extremely reasonable prices there is little need to go profoto or broncolor other than status

[Chris Burch]

I use Einsteins and LOVE them, but I have to admit the Elinchrom D-Lite-4 is a nice looking package.  If you're going for only 400W in a strobe (which is generally plenty enough) you should also look at the AlienBees -- much cheaper than the Einsteins and just as reliable.  The Paul Buff accessories are quite nice and well priced, too.

Once nice thing about Elinchrom D-Lite-4 is that they appear to have a screw-in modeling bulb with a regular bulb opening.  That means you can swap out the bulb for an LED of CFL bulb and should be able to run the strobe from a battery with the modeling light on.  That's one thing I can't do with the Einsteins and my mini-Vagabond batteries because the modeling light needs too much power.  This might not be something you would ever use, but for location shoots, that would be a nice option to have.

I recently made a great Amazon find on background stands.  Look up Linco background stands and you should find a few options.  They are shockingly well built for the price (or even double the price for that matter).

For light stands, you have tons of options.  The ones with wheels are generally more expensive, but tend to be designed for larger applications.  You can get add-on wheels to attach to almost any stand though.  Here is one set but you can get them in different sizes depending on your stand:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/272645-REG/Impact_1025_Caster_Set_for_Light.html

I have an Avenger stand like this one and it's rock solid, but rather bulky if you need to transport it.  If you're just using it in studio, this might be perfect.  It's also very easy to weight the legs since they are parallel to the ground.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/67821-REG/Avenger_A5034_A5034_High_Junior_Folding.html

[Drizzt321]

Don't forget to check your local CraigsList! I got a decent 880ws pack + 4 heads w/stands & umbrellas for $400. A pretty old set, but still works perfectly fine.