Beginner Strobe Set

[cpt_spud]

Hi all, I'm a sports photographer who is wanting to venture into the portrait space to offer my teams something better than just using phones for player portraits.

Currently I've done a shoot using my SB700, but it didn't really cut it and I'm looking to upgrade my set and would be keen for some advice on whether I should go for a couple of speedlights and use them for off camera, or go for proper Godox strobes.

Also not sure on the number needed - at the moment I'm thinking just 2 would be enough.

I do have an offer to grab 4 Godox AD200s secondhand for about $950 Australian, but not sure if that's a good deal or if I should just grab some higher power ones.

 

[mattspace]

I do have an offer to grab 4 Godox AD200s secondhand for about $950 Australian, but not sure if that's a good deal or if I should just grab some higher power ones.

I bought an Elinchrom D-Lite RX4 kit in 2013, also in Australia. The set with 2 lights and a bunch of accessories is still available for under $1200. The RX4 lights are still in manufacture, reasonably priced if you want to expand the system, and even after 10 years in storage will come right up with all their settings and fire like they'd been used yesterday.

If you're moving into shooting with lights a really important thing people forget about is metering, you need to start thinking about building the lighting up with a flash meter to get it right, THEN bring the camera in.

The Elnchrom kit speaks Skyport, and all the transmitters / receivers are built in to the lights directly. You can get light meters that speak Skyport natively (the Gossen one I have isn't made any more, but Sekonic have Skyport-speaking models). Critically, what that lets you do is fire the lights from the meter to measure the light, and more importantly, adjust the lights from the meter, so you're not walking back and forth all around your studio (with the cumulative tripping hazard that represents). If you don't have an assistant to adjust your lights while you stay in the same place with the meter it's a HUGE quality of life improvement.

 

[Macro guy]

Hi all, I'm a sports photographer who is wanting to venture into the portrait space to offer my teams something better than just using phones for player portraits.

Currently I've done a shoot using my SB700, but it didn't really cut it and I'm looking to upgrade my set and would be keen for some advice on whether I should go for a couple of speedlights and use them for off camera, or go for proper Godox strobes.

Also not sure on the number needed - at the moment I'm thinking just 2 would be enough.

I do have an offer to grab 4 Godox AD200s secondhand for about $950 Australian, but not sure if that's a good deal or if I should just grab some higher power ones.

I think that a pair of Godox ad200 is a great starting point. They're powerful, light and versatile. Even if you decide to get more powerful strobes later on, you will always find use for the ad200s. 4 of them for AU$950 sounds like a steal.

 

[cpt_spud]

Hi all, I'm a sports photographer who is wanting to venture into the portrait space to offer my teams something better than just using phones for player portraits.

Currently I've done a shoot using my SB700, but it didn't really cut it and I'm looking to upgrade my set and would be keen for some advice on whether I should go for a couple of speedlights and use them for off camera, or go for proper Godox strobes.

Also not sure on the number needed - at the moment I'm thinking just 2 would be enough.

I do have an offer to grab 4 Godox AD200s secondhand for about $950 Australian, but not sure if that's a good deal or if I should just grab some higher power ones.

I think that a pair of Godox ad200 is a great starting point. They're powerful, light and versatile. Even if you decide to get more powerful strobes later on, you will always find use for the ad200s. 4 of them for AU$950 sounds like a steal.

Yeah that was my thinking, they're small, portable and offer a heap of opportunities cause of the size. Was more just concerned of the power output and whether I'm better off going for the bigger lights, but have seen the cost and it'll be nearly double

 

[rsn]

Godox has a two studio light kit I own that is decent, each 300 watt - $500 in Canada:

Godox SK300II 2.4G 2 Light Kit (UM/SB) | Henry's

www.henrys.com

 

[cpt_spud]

Godox has a two studio light kit I own that is decent, each 300 watt - $500 in Canada:

https://www.henrys.com/godox-sk300i...tlj0wnyEShA_rsfq8Ub5EjGYuzR9GgKBoCIiQQAvD_BwE

I did see those, but am chasing ones with removable batteries actually as I'd want to be able to have them portable.

 

[Macro guy]

Hi all, I'm a sports photographer who is wanting to venture into the portrait space to offer my teams something better than just using phones for player portraits.

Currently I've done a shoot using my SB700, but it didn't really cut it and I'm looking to upgrade my set and would be keen for some advice on whether I should go for a couple of speedlights and use them for off camera, or go for proper Godox strobes.

Also not sure on the number needed - at the moment I'm thinking just 2 would be enough.

I do have an offer to grab 4 Godox AD200s secondhand for about $950 Australian, but not sure if that's a good deal or if I should just grab some higher power ones.

I think that a pair of Godox ad200 is a great starting point. They're powerful, light and versatile. Even if you decide to get more powerful strobes later on, you will always find use for the ad200s. 4 of them for AU$950 sounds like a steal.

Yeah that was my thinking, they're small, portable and offer a heap of opportunities cause of the size. Was more just concerned of the power output and whether I'm better off going for the bigger lights, but have seen the cost and it'll be nearly double

Don't worry about power if you're going to use it as a fill outdoors or as a main indoors

 

[psartman]

One overlooked aspect when choosing flashes is the modeling lamps. This Interfit Badger 2-light 250 WS rechargeable kit is a very reasonable, with 15 watt (I think equivalent to around 90 watt tungsten) LED model lights. Modeling lights won't be of much use outdoors, but they will be a big help in learning about about flash placement and use when working inside, lessons you can apply to outdoor work. (Don't know if it's available in Australia).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...2502k1_badger_unleashed_2_light_backpack.html