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Lighting Solutions for A7/ A7r

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I figured I'd post this here instead of the lighting forum for faster responses but what is everyone using for a studio/ outdoor portrait setup? What are some recommendations for someone starting from scratch that work well with the A7/A7r. What accessories and hidden costs should I expect to encounter/buy to get the most out of a studio lighting setup?

I don't mind going more expensive as I don't want to have to "trash everything" to upgrade to something that actually just works. I looked at and read a few reviews of the Profoto D1 Air kits and the Elinchrom ELC Pro HD. Do most people recommend the 250W, 500W, or 1000W versions? Is a 2 light or 3 light setup preferred? Both systems seem great from a reviewer standpoint. Anyone here with experience with either? Pros? Cons?

Just asking questions as I've only really done natural light portraits as that's what I've been asked for but I kind of want to learn to do the studio type stuff as well.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I pretty much had them all but still my favorites and very reasonable priced and small are Dynalites. I have a 1600 watt pack with 3 heads and the modeling lamps are 300 watts. Its a pack and head system. The Profoto D1 500 watt kits are nice as well. More money but tons of accessories. Elinchrom makes some really nice stuff as well. You need to decide if your primarily going to in the studio or outside as battery units would be a better choice for outside work and you need a good amount of power as well if your using sunlight as well. A lot of this depends on your needs so if you where more specfic what you intentions are it be a little easier to guide you and budget. Lighting can be expensive but I do try to avoid the cheap stuff. Buying lighting is more long term than it is buying cameras.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I pretty much had them all but still my favorites and very reasonable priced and small are Dynalites. I have a 1600 watt pack with 3 heads and the modeling lamps are 300 watts. Its a pack and head system. The Profoto D1 500 watt kits are nice as well. More money but tons of accessories. Elinchrom makes some really nice stuff as well. You need to decide if your primarily going to in the studio or outside as battery units would be a better choice for outside work and you need a good amount of power as well if your using sunlight as well. A lot of this depends on your needs so if you where more specfic what you intentions are it be a little easier to guide you and budget. Lighting can be expensive but I do try to avoid the cheap stuff. Buying lighting is more long term than it is buying cameras.
Agreed and understood and I suspect it would probably be 80% indoor v. 20% outdoor for now. I don't mind spending some money since it is a long term investment and want to buy the best setup I can reasonably afford. I don't mind saving up for what I may really need as well but within reason. I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount for truly marginal performance but I will spend the extra coin for things like built in wireless v. potentially having sync cables running everywhere.

I know from home theater equipment experience that cabling can get extremely expensive fast for longer lengths if you're not shopping around or making your own cables.

I know the A7 can sync to 1/250 and the A7r does 1/160... Is that absolutely firm or are there ways around that?
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
The A7r at 1/200 you will see some shading so yes 1/160 is correct.

Since your in S Cal. It might be worth a trip to Samys to look around. They have pretty much everything. I always when in NY go visit B&H just to go see the lighting gear on display. Actually be there next week. Dangerous place for the wallet.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I was in NorCal and Texas before that (as I'm originally from Texas.) I still go back to both periodically but I'm primarily in North Carolina these days when stateside. I have not been to B&H and I don't think I want to. Online access and the B&H app on my phone are more than enough temptation.

I may checkout Southeastern Camera locally. I think they have/ sell most things Profoto. Don't necessarily have any brand loyalty at this point as I'm starting it all from scratch. Just want something that just works.
 

JMaher

New member
It all depends what you want out of your lights. Like anything else in photography there is a law of diminishing returns. Elinchrom make very nice lights and Alien Bees are the mainstay of many a good basic and very inexpensive studio. I have recently been using Godox lights on location. They are relatively inexpensive and have independent lithium power packs that last for an incredible number of pops. They also are remote controllable from on camera. You can buy them as Godox or from Cheetah Stand or Adorama under their own brand names. A great thread on these are available at:
A New Bare Bulb Flash Arrives - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Jim
 

ZoranC

New member
Like JMaher said, there is more than one way to approach lighting and it all depends on you. My current requirements on lighting are that it has to be very small / portable (I don't have tons of space to work with and I go places) and that I can use it with any system (I have started as solely Nikon user but now it's a mixture of gear).

Portability is why I went with speedlight based lighting. Once Godox bare bulb flash became available I went for it (I got them from CheetahStand) because it gave me an option of power in speedlight format and I am very happy with my CL-360 CheetahLights. This week my V850 CheetahLights are supposed to arrive and that should complete my setup giving me complete flexibility and ability to control everything from single transmitter.

If you decide to go this route I can't recommend enough getting them from CheetahStand.com. Not only is customer service incredible but you would be able to get a range of modifiers at same place at the same time very inexpensively. For example, check out their 33" collapsible beauty dishes.
 
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