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Archive 2015 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!

  
 
tonyhburns
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p.5 #1 · p.5 #1 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


FWIW, I ended up going with a similar setup as the one of the options you describe for yourself after playing around with a single Einstein and 32"x40" softbox for several months and deciding to take the plunge on a full kit. I've just gotten all my grip stuff in over the weekend, and my additional three Einsteins are coming tomorrow! Here's what I ended up with:


  1. 4x Einstein E640
  2. 1x Cyber Commander
  3. 1x Cyber Transmitter
  4. 4x Cyber Transceiver
  5. 1x 32" x 40" softbox with grid
  6. 2x 24" x 36" softbox with grid
  7. 1x 10" x 36" stripbox with grid
  8. 2x 7" reflector with grid set
  9. 2x 8.5" reflector with grid set
  10. 4x Matthews C-Stand w/Grip Arm
  11. 3x Avenger E650 straight pin with collar (for mounting lights on grip heads)
  12. 1x Avenger D600 mini boom
  13. 1x Avenger E700 drop down pin
  14. 2x Manfrotto 032B autopole
  15. 5x Manfrotto 035 super clamp
  16. 1x Manfrotto 039 u-hooks
  17. 1x Manfrotto 2983 crossbar
  18. 1x Manfrotto 244 variable friction magic arm with camera bracket
  19. 2x Manfrotto 237HD heavy duty flex arm
  20. 3x Manfrotto 175 spring clamp
  21. 2x Manfrotto 042 extension arm
  22. 1x Manfrotto 156BLB kit stand (for low backlight or angling a light straight up underneath a surface to make a light table)
  23. 1x Manfrotto mini backlight stand (for even lower mounting of a light)
  24. 2x Rosco #211 neutral density filter (3 stops), #210 (2 stops), #209 (1 stop) so I can get the Einsteins really close for macro
  25. 1x Savage Translum 54"x18'
  26. 1x Rosco #3008 48"x25' roll for creating DIY diffusion panels
  27. 1x Savage Black 53"x36'
  28. 1x Savage White 53"x36'


Figured I'd describe my whole list since I originally started with just the lighting gear to buy and eventually decided to just round out my entire studio setup.



Feb 17, 2016 at 08:02 PM
rico
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p.5 #2 · p.5 #2 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


A few acres of diffusion material never goes wrong. Are you going to make your own frames, or buy them premade?


Feb 17, 2016 at 08:23 PM
tonyhburns
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p.5 #3 · p.5 #3 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


rico wrote:
A few acres of diffusion material never goes wrong. Are you going to make your own frames, or buy them premade?


I plan on either making them out of canvas stretcher frames or PVC, those pre-made aluminum frames are so damn expensive!



Feb 17, 2016 at 09:56 PM
johngress
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p.5 #4 · p.5 #4 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


Gregg Heckler wrote:
The color temperature of a modeling lamp and mixing strobes with Speedlights is a minor issue. You should be taking a custom white balance anyway or using a Color Checker if color is critical. A strobes shot to shot color temperature consistency is much more important and things like durability, modifier quality and selection, flash duration, etc.

If you have a medium budget, Elinchrom is the way to go for all of the above. I'd get the BRXI 500's to start. Or a couple of Profoto D1's if you've can spend a little more. With these two systems you can
...Show more

Exactly! Shot to shot is most important.

I recently bought a new softbox and noticed when using both baffles it was quite warm, so I tested the color balance of all of my modifiers and found that none of them had a green / magenta shift, but they did rage from no effect on color balance to -1300K (warmer).

Also my light are consistent shot to shot, but depending on the power setting, my Profoto D1s are 5850-5400k and my Acutes are 5400-5250k.

Then I started to analyze shoots I did in the past and found that I was shooting with modifiers that were 600-700k apart all of the time and I never noticed a color shift within the frames.

Here's a full blog post I wrote with the color temp results for 15 modifiers:

http://johngress.com/photographers-care-about-modifier-color-temperatures-portraits/



Jan 18, 2017 at 08:19 PM
Jeff
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p.5 #5 · p.5 #5 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


Since someone revived my thread from the dead, I might as well comment on this last post, above.

Boy, is (medium) TransLum not neutral! It casts such a warm hue to the images, it really became challenging to work with without also using it for fill light(s).

I'm now done with the bulk of this project, so I'll try and post some setup images in the near future of the studio and gear this thread was about, in action.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped guide me through the process of designing a product studio and acquiring the gear required. It was an interesting and robust process, and some of the products required me to get pretty inventive to solve some of the unique lighting problems I encountered.

I'll get back with a few images when I have a chance...

Cheers!

-Jeff



Jan 19, 2017 at 02:37 PM
Michael White
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p.5 #6 · p.5 #6 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


I have a skyline frame I bought used with a diffusion material then I bought a black white material for it then made a pvc frame so I could use both. Works well for the small and medium size frames I'm not sure it would work for the large frame unless you reinforced the tubing somehow.


Jan 20, 2017 at 01:08 PM
mitch91175
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p.5 #7 · p.5 #7 · Full Studio Lighting setup - Need Help!


NFlux wrote:
1. Profoto is double the price of the Einsteins, not quadruple. Profoto is, in my opinion, well worth it. The only caveat is that Profoto is not the best if you ever need to freeze movement, such as a water splash or ballet dancer. Profoto modeling lights are brighter than Paul C Buff and can be used continuously without overheating. Can't speak for Buff lights in that regard, as I have heard anecdotes that they overheat. Maybe they don't.

2. With the exception of Broncolor's large parabolics, I feel Profoto modifiers are the best on the market. The only nice
...Show more

I agree 1000% on what NFlux mentioned about the PCB system versus the Profoto system. I wish I had just spent the extra $$ upfront and gone directly to the Profoto system. Does Profoto cost more, absolutely. If you can gradually build your studio lighting, I definitely suggest just breaking down and getting the Profoto system. I am by no means an expert on this subject and will take you through a ton of technical aspects of each system, but this is what we experienced with PCB vs Profoto:

1. You will absolutely love the simplicity and ease of use of the Profoto system overall. Really, really simple to setup and start shooting. With PCB, it will take a little longer (not a lot longer).
2. The mounting system on the Profoto is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY better than the PCB mount. I hated when we had to mount anything large to the PCB system.
3. The Profoto system we haven't experienced any overheating at all, with the PCB we did at times but not all the time.
4. The Profoto air remotes are soo much easier to use (the only thing that I do not like is you cannot see the power level of the strobes from the remote). The PCB cyber commander while works great is cumbersome to navigation and cheaply made (ours broke and would not stand straight because of the cheap plastic).
5. Both have good resell value but Profoto wins hear by a wide margin.
6. Easier to fine Profoto than PCB when needed.
7. PCB has an extruded bulb while Profoto is recessed (not a huge concern).
8. I like the color temperature of the Profoto over the PCB. PCB is warmer while Profoto is a little cooler.

I know it may seem like I am a Profoto advocate, but I am not. I just have had both systems and would choose Profoto 9 out of 10 times over the PCB now that I have used both.



Jan 22, 2017 at 10:21 AM
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