Need some advice on a studio lighting kit

Continuous lights are the wrong tool for the job. You can make them work to a point, but the real answer is to use strobes. It doesn't have to be expensive either ... see http://strobist.blogspot.com

Uh oh. You are going to be very disappointed. You need MANY thousands of watts continuous to do what one little flash can do in 1/1000 second.

Two 1000 watt lamps is 2000 watts total on the subject. If your camera exposure were 1 second, then this could be rated 2000 watt-seconds of power. But 1 second shutter is totally unacceptable for most pictures. Suppose you instead use 1/100 second. This 1/100 second shutter means that camera cannot see the light from the lamp over the full one second. You use only 1/100 of it, which is now 2000/100 = 20 watt-seconds, which is an extremely puny rating.

Bottom line, you would hope and pray you might be able to shoot at 1/60 second at f/4 at ISO 400 with the lights up very close. Heat will be fearsome, everyone in the room sweats. It is 17 amps load on your 20 amp house circuit, so don't turn on anything else. Not good.

In contrast, a small studio light (flash) would be 160 watt-seconds, which would allow working at f/11 at fastest sync shutter speed, say 1/250 second. Its actual flash duration that stops action would be more like 1/1000 second. This is a huge, gigantic, unimaginable difference. No heat. Usable vs unusable. You want flash.

I just ran a quick check metering and testing one AlienBees B400 light , rated 160 watt-seconds (this is a small size flash). The modeling light in mine is a 150 watt halogen household lamp.

Without softbox or umbrella, direct flash from only just the regular 80 degree reflector, at ten feet, the flash easily does f/11 at full power. This is using ISO 200, which is what my camera does. At any shutter speed, this flash duration is probably near 1/2000 second (if t.1 ... this one is rated 1/6400 second at t.5). Plus, its white balance is fantastic.

Using the 150 watt halogen modeling light alone (continuous, same ten feet, same reflector) meters and tests f/11 at 4 second exposure (ISO 200 again). That is four seconds, not 1/4 second. This is 10 stops less than a 1/250 sync shutter, but of course, the actual flash duration is much shorter than even that. This difference is astronomical in this context. 10 stops is 2^10 power which is 1024x difference, so based on this comparison, 150w x 1024 = 154,000 watts of tungsten power would be required to equal f/11 at 1/250 second (from this one little flash unit). We couldn't attempt to equal it of course, we would try to make do with a little less. :)

2000 watts is 2000/150 = 13.3x times more power than my bulb. Call it 16 times to make math easy. 16x is 4 stops more, so using it should now be 1/4 second. Instead of f/11, call it f/4, which is 3 more stops, or 1/30 second. Ten feet is pretty far, call it half distance, or 5 feet. That is 2 more stops, or 1/125 second now. But put the softbox or umbrella on it and lose a couple of stops again. Step up ISO speed to 4x to compensate again. Debatable if it is usable at f/4 and 1/60 second, but it does not begin to compare to f/11 and 1/1000 flash speed. And the 2000 watts of heat will make everyone in room sweat, like a portable room heater.

There is an extremely good reason flash is used for this. Flash works, continuous just doesnt. So just use flash. Difference is essentially unimaginable. Flash is extremely usable.

Even using a camera speedlight flash will be a huge improvement (you can put them in umbrellas). My Nikon SB-800 (at 24 mm zoom) in the same umbrella above meters only one stop down from the 160 watt-second AlienBees B400 light (both at full manual power). Very usable. Continuous is not really usable, and is a giant pain.

This package is way overpriced for hot lights. For not too much more, you can get a decent package with Alien Bees.

You won't be able to use these, or many other studio lights for weddings, for that you need battery operated on-camera flash.

For portraits, hot lights make people uncomfortable and sweaty, not an ideal situation for great portraiture.

<Chas>

Wayne....I think you didn't read the part about me being a beginner. You totally lost me on your response. Thanks though :).

Charles....this package has backdrops and a backdrop stand included, which is something I need, so that is part of the extra cost. AND they actually advertise them as being cool light with a fan to keep them cool. Does that still mean they will be hot?

I am afraid of going flash because I have read that it is not for beginners and I am not even sure if my camera has the attachement to get the strobes to fire. Is there a flash lighting for dummies? LOL Everything I have read just leads me to think that flash would be too difficult for me at first......

"could be rated 2000 watt-seconds of power" - of course Watt-seconds is a measure of energy not power.

...but you get the drift, will equivalent continuous lighting you could certainly "burn down" your house.

>>of course Watt-seconds is a measure of energy not power.

OK, but that is how flash specs use it.

The real problem is that watt-seconds measures input electrical power, and NOT output light power (yes, I did understood your comment). The flash is easily 4x more efficient as tungsten bulbs, so that is 2 stops more output power right there. :)

>I think you didn't read the part about me being a beginner.

Sorry Heather, I hoped at least the overall idea would come through.

Frankly, there is no concept there that you dont need to know.

Continuous would in fact be easier in only one way, in that your cameras light meter can work automatically same as outdoors. With flash, yes, you need a flash meter, and may have to learn a few new things, and must pay attention to a few details. It is called photography. :)

Bottom line, the continuous lights will be inadequate light power, will be excessive electrical power, and will be like running at 2000 watt room heater in the room. Will be a giant pain. I cannot imagine you trying to use them more than two or three times before buying flash.

I know this wont help either, but back in the old days, before electronic flash, such continuous schemes were used, as there wasn't much choice. Normally used with bare reflectors instead of losing the light to umbrellas. The secret to being able to use continuous lights like that was to wire up a foot switch, which normally puts the two lights in series, dropping voltage to 1/2 and power to 1/4, to avoid burning up the room. Then when the shutter is to be pressed, step on foot switch changing lights to be wired in parallel, for full power, for a very short time.

>>>>I am afraid of going flash because I have read that it is not for beginners and I am not even sure if my camera has the attachement to get the strobes to fire. Is there a flash lighting for dummies? LOL Everything I have read just leads me to think that flash would be too difficult for me at first......

I am sorry, I didnt really know how to answer this part, but thought I should come back and try.

I am assuming you have an adjustable camera that allows external flash. What camera is it? If it is an automatic point&shoot, then maybe continuous is the only answer, but it is still a very poor answer. In that case, you may need another camera too.

First go to your public library, they will have many books on beginning photography. However flash or studio is not often their strong point, but it is the beginning level you seek. Amazon.com has many too. And your community college surely has short adult night courses. And you probably have some friend that knows a thing or two, invite them over to sit down and talk and explain some things. They would likely be flattered if you warn them up front. :)

Flash is easy, however it is manual exposure. You will have to learn enough basic photography to understand f/stops. Maybe with todays automatic photography, maybe it is like parallel parking when learning to drive, but it is easy and we really need to know.

Many cameras dont have a PC connector to connect a flash, so you buy something like this to provide one (assuming camera has a hotshoe): (link)

I use this one instead: http://www.adorama.com/NKAS15.html?searchinfo=nikon%20as-15&item_no=2 because it has the locking clamp to keep it from sliding offcenter and stop working. I think it is easily the best one, but any of them should work.

With flash, you set your camera to Manual exposure. You set your shutter speed to its specified maximum sync speed, often in the 1/200 or 1/250 second range today. Your camera manual will specify this in its flash section, under "using external flash".

You use a flash meter to individually meter your lights, to set them to the power level you want them to be. I use this one: (link) which is low end and inexpensive, but more than enough. Regular light meters measure continuous light, like the sun or tungstens, but a flash meter measures the flash intensity. You test firs the flash, meter it with the flash meter, and set the camera aperture accordingly.

This manual metering mode is full control by you. This is NOT a negative, it is the the huge plus. You can simply make everything be like you want them to be. You can meter individual lights, to set them how you want them. Then you use the flash meter to meter the total result, and set your camera aperture accordingly, say f/8.

Here are some good articles for beginners: http://alienbees.com/beginnerbee.html

These AlienBees lights are probably the cheapest ones you want to consider. Certainly the cheapest I was willing to consider. These are inexpensive lights, you can pay many times more. Yet these are really excellent and well worth the money, with great support. You can easily find jillions of users on internet using them and very pleased with them. I have them and think they are great.

There are many cheaper ones on Ebay, but those are mostly total unknowns, no descriptions, no brand name you ever heard of, no warranty, no return address, no support, no nothing. Just some cheap stuff, no clue what it is. Seems just a bad plan in general. You want the lights to be good enough electronics for repeatably consistent exposure, and reliable in operation for a long life. And should you ever need a new flash tube or even a new modeling light, you want them to be user replaceable, and you want to be able to find a replacement, at a decent price.

Some cameras like the Nikon DSLR have a remote flash capability where the camera can measure the external flash, but it is not quite the same concept. It does not meter individual lights and does not offer much control. But many do use it, and this may be what you want. Frankly, my Nikon does this, and I have the lights, but it seems much harder to me than manual operation. Not harder to use exactly, but harder to get what I want.

Heather: You never said what kind of photography you do. If it is weddings or events you should use a strobe (flash). If studio & portrait you may choose between strobes and tungsten. Strobes are easier overall and not hard to use. Personally I never use flash anymore. The quality of light I get from tungsten is better. Also, despite modeling lights to show you what you will get with a flash, you still only get a rough idea. With tungsten you see exactly. I prefer the Lowell DP 1000 watt light with barn doors and diffuser. If you want it softer you can bounce it off a reflector or shoot through a diffuser screen (these options may be added later). Yo DO have to use slower shutter speeds with tungsten, so make sure you are ready for that.--Bruce