Studio lighting kit

[Nvision]

Hey everyone I need some input. I have an aviation inspired clothing line and want to get better images up on the website. My plan is to do the studio shoot myself with a white background.
My question is what kind of studio lighting should I go for? I've been looking at the interfit cool-lite 5 continuous lighting. I dont need anything Super fancy but spending $400 I want a good deal. Also note I am new to studio shooting. Thats why I tend to shy away from strobe lighting.
Shooting with a 40d and 24-105 lens.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Colby
www.aeronauticclothing.com

 

[Admin US West]

I have a home made light table that I use for my products. I found and bought phillips 98 CRI fluorescent lamps, and three 4-lamp fixtures.

I have four lamps on either side of the table angled toward the rear about 45 degrees, and a 4 lamp fixture accross the top. I have some translucent white fabric that I put over the light fixture, it has a diffuser, but additional diffusion was needed. This works well for my items.

I have a fixed tripod head mounedt at the front of my table where I mount my camera. I use my 24-105mm L on a 5D MK II. I used to do this using my 40D and 17-55mm which was perfect. The 24-105 was not wide enough for me.

Then, my camera is tethered to my pc next to the table, so I can focus, compose, adjust aperture, shutter speed, etc just the way I want and take the photo remotely.

I've used this for about 5 years now. I don't recall the overall cost, but it was about $400 or slightly less.

 

[Nvision]

Thats a great idea... Yeah the 24-105 on a 40d is a little close. If Canon would just release the damn Mark III I would be using that.

THankS!!

 

[gene_can_sing]

I checked out the interfit and they seem like a good value for the money. I ended up buying Cool Lights which are more expensive for sure.

The thing you have to worry about is green spikes which is very common in cheaper Kino-Flo knock off panel lights like Interfit. If the bulbs don't have a high CRT, they will cast an ugly green tint across what you are lighting. Not sure if Interfit has any of those issues though, since I've never tried one, but yeah... it's a problem with cheaper soft lights.

If you get the Interfit, I would suggest maybe going onto BH and buying a set of authentic Kino Flo bulbs, that way you know you won't get a green spike. Also, cheaper lights with crappy ballasts tend to flicker which is not good.

If you want a very basic kit, I would get 1 Kino Flo style knock off Panel (4 bulbs), 1 bounce and 1 light for a rim / backlight. Maybe a Lowel Pro Light and you can gel it with a daylight gel to match the light temperature of the Kino Flo.

That should be fine for something basic like lighting a person or a product. Of course having an extra light on top of the basic 2 would be good.

Any you will also need some light stands and to hold the bounce. I got some Impact brand light stands from B&H. Great value for the money.