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we can have some lighting equipment review, so far there's only been softbox and umbrella, I try to find lighting equipment on B&H and being a newbie myself.. there's just too much to many different brand and types to go through. I've always purchase my lens though this site's recommendation(and through the link as well so Brian gets paid for his hard work) and so far i haven't beendisappointed.
Ultima16888:
Not sure what part of the country you live in, are you by chance located near a Calumet Photo? I live in the Chicago area so one is close by, they are a large photo retailer. They often have their own branded gear, for example - some of their higher end lights appear to be Bowen's gear rebranded. Some of their light meters may be Gosen's rebranded.
I mention this because if you live near one, head on down. They market studio gear as much as hard camera gear. They do tend to push their own branded stuff a bit - they have tons of softboxes and modifiers which are nice for the coin. But it's not junk and they usually have it set up in the store to demo. At least the two stores in the Chicago area do.
Look on the strobist group discussion threads on flickr. There's always someone asking about different lighting equipment, and tons of people replying to give their opinions on the products they have. Else, start a discussion here discussing the gear you have, and others will chime in with what works for them.
Right now, I've got 3 Vivitar 285HV flashes, 1 Canon 580EX, 4 Westcott 43" umbrellas, 4 lightstands, 5 umbrella swivels, 4 Cactus V2s receivers, 2 Cactus V2s triggers, 2 Wein Optical Peanut slaves, color correcting gels, 1 homemade snoot, and tent stakes and sandbags to hold it all in place.
For portable lighstands, I highly recommend the LP606 from mpex.com.
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1 Vivitar 285HV, camera left, 1/16 power, shot into a white Westcott umbrella with a 1/4 CTO gel and triggered via Cactus V2s. Lighting equipment held up by an LP606 lightstand.
thanx, both, i'll look into bothsuggestions. I don't live close to where you mention, but I'll check to see if they have store here.
Thanks for the suggestion - time is the biggest issue for getting these reviews done, but I am always open to suggestions.
FWIW - I am currently using Elinchrom Digital Style RX lights in my studio. They work very well and the softboxes are reasonably priced. I use Pocket Wizards to fire them remotely.
I am grateful for your support!
PocketWizards are great, but quite expensive. In about 2 months (or so the company says), the new RadioPopper units will come out. The RadioPopper JrXs will have basically the same functionality as the PocketWizards (plus a couple of nice features), for alot less money. I think they'll be the best wireless option for the money in the near future. If you want ETTL flash control, their new PX system (available soon) will be perfect, however, much more expensive (at about $250 a unit).