as topic says.... what brand/model which is not too expensive, but reliable. let say i got rm3k budget. studio is for mainly for portrait/group photography.

does anybody here have a studio? can share your setup and budget?

Budget RM3k per studio strobe or for the entire studio setup?

If at RM3k for setup then cannot go for the quality brands such as Broncolor or Bowens.

I don't have a studio but I have two china made strobes and a softbox. You can check out DigiColor at Jalan Ipoh for more info as they carry a lot of China made strobes.

u can try sinalite...at kings photo...
not actually high end...and not bad also...=)
but i think for 4k+ u can get elinchrom set...
2 head2 + stand + umbrealla + case...
check out kings photo...they have a lot of studio thingies...
eng tong oso has...
and digicolor...as mavik suggested...=)

3k for strobes only, or probably with stands.

are china made strobes reliable? i'm afraid if they will burn my studio later

besides strobes, sinalite also produce 3rd party flash rite? but where are they from? they seemed to be affordable.

i've checked kings photo website. due to my location... probably will email them about their stuffs first.

elinchrom strobe set looks interesting though.

Well if you are thinking of heavy usage, then get a reputable German brand (RM3k per strobe light). But with that the cost of the repairs and service is rather expensive. If you want to get branded ones, I would recommend Singapore as they are cheaper (but you need to smuggle it in).

I am using China ones and they seem to be pretty reliable at the moment

Now I'm looking an Elinchrom stuffs.

The D-lite 2/4 To Go set seems interesting. Do you think that 2x200Ws strobe is enough for a group photo of about 10~15 people?

option 1: 2x200Ws set
option 2: 2x400Ws set
option 3: 2x200Ws set + another 200Ws
option 4: 2x200W set + external flash, ie: Sony F56AM

bro..
thats enough if used in studio...
D-lite do look interesting...=)
u dun plan to take ur strobe outside and do crosslighting with the sun rite?
if no...that d-lite is good...i plan to take one too...but i m doing outdoor...
the battery pack itself is more than 7k...
so...i keep quiet looo...
been eyeing the elinchrom sets too...ranger rx to be specific...
do tell us which set u gget later ya?

lol @ battery pack, it sure does look very expensive.

i think the set would probably more for indoor usage. for simple outdoor setup i might just use my wireless flash setup

For big groups of around 10-15 people, I would suggest getting either 300W and above. Even in a studio environment.

Getting extra Watts wont kill rite? Besides, the output power can be controlled manually.

Yup, better to get more watts and then reduce the power output than to get strobes with small watts and you trying to maximize the output.

thank god i asked here. other forum didn't give me the kind of reply that i wanted

J-One camera @ Amcorp Mall. look for Jason. u can get used studio equipment there..

I've given quote for D-Lite 4 to Go Set from Regnumworld for about RM3200 per set. Not bad.

wow that's a good start.. next is finding a hot model.. hehe

Can tumpang a bit. What's the real purpose for flags?

I wanted to make a mini portable studio for taking food products, does using flag really important if I use a flash, softbox, reflector on an outdoor/indoor setup?

actually around RM 1.5 - 1.7k can get you low-end lighting la.

all fit into 1 bag. comes with color filters and such.

your RM 3k includes allocation background?

anyway go DigiColor la. oh wait, are you still in Miri? or you in KL? if you're in KL then let us know la if you donno how to get to DigiColor or need company.

another place you can get from is DirectPhoto, they sell also.

As far as I know, flag is something like diffuser, but it's black to absorb light, so that you can 'shape' the light as you wish. If you use barn doors, you can only make the light spread bigger or smaller and in the same time it affects the intensity of the light. With a flag you can retain the intensity based on your setting, and the flag will just cut the light spread from your workspace.

For example, you can use flag to avoid light from spilling to the background.


The price I quoted for was for Elinchrom. I know there are cheaper China made options... but as far as I'm concerned, based on feedbacks and reviews this particular set seems to receive very good response and quite popular too.

The kit includes a set of two 400Ws strobes with stands and softboxes, carrying bags, cables, etc. They're monolights and has optical slave capability.

Then I'll probably add a wireless RF trigger that fits on the hotshoe instead of PCsync...so that the system can be used for low end DSLR without PCsync port.

For the time being I'm just looking around to prepare my budget.

What kind of material is often used for backdrops (cloth type backdrop)? What about seamless papers, are they durable or do they break easily?

hot model can be searched anytime.

If I am not wrong, you may not need to use the wireless triggers to trigger the strobes as what I do is that I use my SB-800 to trigger my two strobes.

yup thats a good price indeed...for an elinchrom set...
juz for ur info bro...
i got a quote from engtong...
china brand of coz...
a travel set = 1 powerpack + 2 Lights + 2 stands + 2 umbrellas + carry case...
2k only...
the lights are 600W...thats wat they told me...=)

a few possibilities with my a100:
1. flash attached on-top of camera - strobes will be triggered perfectly, but the flash will affect the result
2. flash used in wireless mode - the flash will still need to be triggered from the body by rising the pop-up flash. eventually this will cause a series of pre-flashes, which will trigger strobes much earlier.

i will have 2 solutions:
1. RF transmitter unit - easiest solution
2. get an a700 body - the pop-up flash has manual power setting which will not send out pre-flashes, which will solve possibility #2 above.

RF transmitter....=)
the easiest...and cheapest....
but sometimes...
not the most reliable...=)

oh wait. only 2 strobes? seriously, you need 400watter ah?



yeah. i use hot-shoe trigger.

plug that receiving end into 1 of the strobes and that's it.



no idea. i tried cloth hanging on a wall (ok more like Window) for really cheap setup, hehe. cloth from Kamdar.

there are various backgrounds, such as portable / foldable types. then of course there's the studio type.

Same goes for Nikon's flashes as well.

To counter that, you need to set your flash to manual mode and set it to the lowest power. If you are shooting portrait, your built-in flash can act as a good catch light for the model's eyes.

Else if you are using an external flash, simple, just set to manual mode, put at the lowest setting and bounce it off the wall. When shooting with strobes, your settings will be like ISO 100 and f/8-f/11 at shutter speed 1/125. Definitely can't see the effect of your flash if you set it to 1/128 power.

group photo i guess


hmm... bounce on the wall

bring up for justice and future reference

So, may I know what studio light have you all bought? I am confused with all the brand.

Here are my options:
1. Elinchrom D-Lite
2. JinHui VS-300
3. F&V Pro 600