I am leaning toward a low end studio light kit, primarily for
flexibility with my other cameras. I have a couple of other digital
cameras, and I'm always trying out something new.
1. What models/kits would you recommend? I have seen Novatron
mentioned a lot. Also, there seem to be a lot of the Britek kits on
ebay for a reasonable price.
There are as many lights and light kits as there are models of cars, and recommending a light/kit is much like recommending a car. There are a lot of good lights/cars, any of which will have particular differences that may delight one person while dismaying the next. You really need to do research into how to USE studio lights. When I bought my studio lights, I chose monolights because I was doing a lot of wedding photography and wanted to be able to use my studio lights in a portable fashion. I thought the monolights would be the best for both studio and location work. However, I was wrong. The monolights (Paul Buff's White Lightning 1800 and 1200) are so large, heavy and cumbersome that I no longer use them for "location" photography. They would be great for a set up that doesn't have to be torn down after each session. But there are not manageable for hauling to churches and recptions.
2. Would a two light kit be enough to start with? I mainly want to
use for occasional kid and family photos. I plan to do my Christmas
cards this year with my D30 and a good light kit.
Anything you do that begins with getting the light away the hotshoe, i.e., away form the axis of the lens, will improve your pictures. Merely holding the flash away from the camera helps, but, of course, you can't do that with the D30 because there is no cable (that I know of) that will connect to the hotshoe and Canon flash and still maintain all the functions.
Thus, ONE studio light, 45 degress to one side of the subject, with a reflector on the other side, will be even better. (A hand held piece of poster board will work for a reflector.) TWO studio lights, one at 45 degress and the other near the camera, or on the other side of the subject will usually be even better. However, I've seen one light pictures that were beautiful. It's just that it's usually easier to do with two lights.
Additonal lights, beyond two, allows you to light portions of the image that may otherwise be darker than desired. For example, the background of the subject will be much darker than the subject due to light "fall off" as the distance increases from the flash. Often times the subjects head, hair and shoulders fades away into the dark background because there is no light on them. A third light, shining on the subject's head and shoulders from the sujects back, i.e., aimed somewhat towards the camera from behind the subject, solves this problem.
3. I have read there is some potential issue with the D30 PC sync
port and some of these lighting kits. Is this an issue? Have folks
used a D30 with the Novatron or Britek kits? Also if I have 3
lights, how do I connect all 3 to the camera?
Yes the PC sync port is a potential problem, depending upon what the trigger voltage of the flash is. In my case, the White Lightning unit's trigger voltage is less than 6V, as recommended by Canon, but the voltage of my Quantum Radio units and Photogenic system are way above the recommended 6V. Thus, I plug my one White Lightning into the D30's PC port and let the slaves of the other units fire the rest of my lights.
If you have a multilight system set up and all the units are turned on, any flash will trigger all units via slave flash triggers built into the all the units. Thus, all you need do is have one unit attached via the D30's PC sync jack and when it fires, all the units fire via their slave units.
4. What other methods can be used to trigger these light kits? Do
they have slave flash triggering. I've seen several radio trigger
units, but of course that adds more cost.
Other folks have more knowledge about using the D30's hotshoe flash to trigger studio units, so they can help you more in that regard. However, as I mentioned above, radio units are not necessarily a panacea, since the radio trigger voltage may be too high, as is the case with my Quantum Radio units.
In summary, anything you do which phycically separates the flash from the camera will most likely improve the aesthetics of your images. Even if it's just one flash unit!
Kind regards, Calvin
Thanks again for all the help.
Greg W
Typically, you have a choice of a two or three light kit and the
kits include light stands for each light, umbrellas and a carrying
case. Several companies make these type kits, but Novatron is one
of the more popular, inexpensive ones. You can check out there
products at their web site. I don't have their equipment, but know
some folks who do, and they are pleased with it.
Personally, I use some Paul Buff and Photogenic lights , but don't
think their expense is necessary to give you successful results
with what you said you wanted to do.
Someone mentioned earlier that you will need a light meter. More
specifically, you will need a Flash Meter. All light meters do not
have the capability to measure electronic flashes. So be sure when
you buy your meter that is has a FLASH metering function or it will
be useless in your studio setting.
Best wishes, Calvin Wilson
Had my D30 for about a month now and really love it. I am now
starting to look at flash options. I have a Canon 380Ex which works
fine for a single dedicated flash. I was wanting some options and
opinions on what I should get. I also want to setup a small home
studio for taking my Christmas photos and such. I've searched and
read many threads here on flash and studio lighting. I've spent so
much on the D30 and lens, I don't really want to spend another
fortune on flash, which I don't use so often.
I was kind of leaning toward the Sigma EF500 Super. Should I
purchase a couple and get some umbrellas and light stands? How well
would this work for a so called home studio. I am not so
knowledgeable on home studio setups. I am not sure what kind of
umbrellas or softboxes I would need. Can I attach the flashes to
some of my tripods? How do the umbrellas attach? Sorry for all the
questions, but I have found the advice here invaluable over the
years.
Thanks in advance....
Greg W.
