Portable Studio

[Furgus]

My wife has asked if I could get a portable studio for taking baby pictures once he/she is born in Feb. I was almost floored that she would want ME to SPEND money! Anyways, I was wondering if any of you had something, and what you used. I have seen some kits on Adorma.com for around 300-500. Would this be a good starting point? That is about all I want to spend, less would be nice, even if I have to buy things separate. I know I want strobes and not hot lights, figure they would be a little rough in the new born.

Thanks for the help.

EDIT-BTW I have a D50 so I need someway of firing the strobes. Thanks.

 

[YEKCIM]

How about some combination of Nikon strobes, perhaps with diffusers (LightSphere or one of these)? Like you, I have a D50, which does not have built in flash commander. I think you can control one or more SB-800's and/or SB-600's via a shoe mounted SB-800, although I would not have a clue how to do so.

Mrs. YEKCIM has an old Novatron studio strobe kit that she has used successfully with her D200. She uses a Wein SafeSync between the camera and the power pack, though, due to potentially disastrous trigger voltage issues. She also bought a Nikon AS-15 shoe-to-sync adapter for use with my D50's, which she uses to back up her D200.

You could also fire the flash(es) wirelessly, but I don't have any experience there. You might look around the DPReview forums for some more info on this topic.

~YEKCIM

 

[DVC Jen]

If you aren't opposed to ebay that may be a great place to find what you want and save some money. I just check the sellers ratings before I ever bid on anything. I have gotten some fantastic deals.

Good luck and please let us know what you decide on.

 

[Furgus]

Well that was kind of what I was looking here for. I have ZERO experience in studio setup, but I know some of you guys do. So I was looking for a good place to start.

Yekcim, the Sb-800 and some extra sb-600's I think would fall way over my price limit but if that is the best way then I will do it. I just think it would be too much cash right now. I do plan on getting a 600 here in the near future, but if I spend a little extra, then I can get the commander built in with the 800....

Thanks for the replies.

 

[KrazyPete]

If you don't already read Strobist, I would recommend that you check that out first. There's a lot of flexibility in just a couple of speedlights. I have an SB-600 that I fire wirelessly with CLS. This is my go everywhere portable lighting setup. I'm hoping to pick up another SB-600 next week. CLS isn't an option on the D50 but the good news is you can pick up cheaper used speedlights and fire them with sync cables or optical triggers and still come out under your budget. All of those options are explained very well on the Strobist site.

Personally, I like hot lights for learning. They are much cheaper than strobes. When you are setting them up you know the light you see on the subject is the light you will see in the exposure. If you have them in tight on your subject the warmth may be a problem. If you back them up and use a large diffuser then, not so much. I have a cheap 3 light Britek setup that I use all the time. I've never had a model complain. It's just a pain having to wait 20 minutes for them to cool down before I can pack them up.

If you have your heart set on studio strobes I would be looking at the Alien Bees. You'd have to open the wallet a bit more than you were planning to though.

 

[Gdad]

I recently picked up a pair of Impact Light Stands with Convertible Umbrellas, bracket holders and SB-600's from B&H for about $500- as Ed mentioned though with a D50 you will need an SB-800 to control them with. I was very pleased with the results- with TTL metering it is a pretty fool-proof set-up. (Which I need BTW )

 

[MICKEY88]

for a very inexpensive option strobe wise check this out...

http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/531661023.htm

 

[tinksdad]

Check out this link to Midwest Photo. They work with Dave Hobby to provide "strobists" with good quality, lower cost lighting setups that should be want you want.

Good stuff from Midwest Photo

 

[Furgus]

Thanks for the links guys. Looks like Amex decided to up my credit limit......might be getting something very very soon