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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Lights, Camera... Well, just lights this time
Cody Buckalew, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Red Wing | MN | USA | Posted: 7:57 PM on 03.26.08 |
->> Hey all,
I am looking to buy some lighting gear on a limited budget. Something studio-esque but portable enough to do on location portraits. What I have been looking at are kits (since I will need pretty much the whole setup) from a company called Amvona. The lights themselves are called Dynaphos. I have been searching around to find reviews, comments, etc... but I am having a hard time finding anything except what is on the Amvona site.
I have talked with some folks who say their softboxes are a good deal, but were unsure about the actual lights. Right now the kits look to be a steal for the price they have listed. But, as the adage goes, "If its too good to be true, it probably is!"
Has anyone had any experience with these lights or this company? Any feedback or anything would be helpful?
Thanks... |
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Brian Ray, Photographer, Assistant
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Steamboat Springs | CO | United States | Posted: 8:17 PM on 03.26.08 |
->> if price and reliability are your priorities...in that order...then buy Alien Bees. there is no better light made FOR THE PRICE. also, Paul C. Buff's customer service is second to none, at any price.
to answer your original question, i've never heard of or used Amvona lights. i also don't think i've ever seen a light that cheap, even on eBay.
hope it helps.
brian ray |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Not Listed | MA | United States | Posted: 8:41 PM on 03.26.08 |
| ->> I'll second what Brian is saying about the AB's. Tiny portable reliable and at a good price. I got hooked on the wireless remotes for adjusting outputs and balancing multi light setups without having to drop monos down to my level or climb step ladders to bump settings. Also the the speedrings, remotes, etc are all interchangeable with the White Lightening monos. |
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Mark Deckard, Photographer
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Findlay | OH | USA | Posted: 8:42 PM on 03.26.08 |
->> Cody,
If you have old flashes that have pc sockets that you are not using, you could just buy pocket wizards and light stands and probably save yourself some money. My own location lighting kit consists of five nikon speedlights, three of which were pulled from retirement. You might even be able to find used flashes pretty cheap on ebay. I haven't come upon a situation yet where I needed more flash power than the small flashes could provide. These are also easily portable, I just carry all I need in a second bag, also pulled out of retirement. Check out Strobist http://strobist.blogspot.com/ and read the lighting 101 archive to see how to put together and use a small flash lighting kit. If you are on a limited budget this may be the way to go. |
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Dave Prelosky, Photographer
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Lower Burrell | Pa | US | Posted: 10:21 PM on 03.26.08 |
->> Cody,
As always this is an opinion, but you might consider buying a few NEW Vivitar 285's for about $80 each, tilters for about $15 each, stands at whatever your budget will allow, a few e-bay radio slaves for about $30 per xmit/receive pair, and go to work.
This kind of kit won't ever be a be all, end all solution but it will work and won't break the bank.
The Vivitar's have partial power adjustments - just like Nikon and Canon speedlights, the PovertyWizard radios will work in their own limited range, and you can update gear as funds become available - particularly the radios.
As no one has mentioned it yet, if you're not familiar, check out both strobist.blogspot.com. and joemcnally.com/blog
You will be a smarter photographer for doing so. |
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Cody Buckalew, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Red Wing | MN | USA | Posted: 12:55 PM on 03.27.08 |
| ->> Thanks Jason, That's exactly what I was looking for! |
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Jon Buder, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Aztec | NM | USA | Posted: 10:56 PM on 03.27.08 |
->> Hey Cody -
I would go with the battery flashes for all-around on location portrait stuff, but they get to be a pain since you need to shoot them on pretty high power a lot of the time so they take a while to recharge, etc. Especially when you don't have fresh batteries in them - if you have new ones in one flash but half-used ones in another, the second one won't be ready if you're looking at the first for the ready light and it'll screw up your lighting for the shot.
I'm in the process of accumulating a set of White Lightning strobes, those seem to be a good choice because they recycle fast when you have them plugged in to the wall, so you can use them to light indoor sports well, but also because the battery pack for them has a really good reputation and it's reasonably priced compared to some other brands ($300). They have a hole right on the bottom to slide an umbrella in, so you don't have to mess around with brackets to put modifiers on battery flashes, and a tripod socket so you can make use of any spare tripods you have sitting around instead of needing a light stand. And the 1/4 inch sync port on mine happens to be what my radio slave recievers plug into.
Speaking of the ebay slaves... they're great when they work, but I was about to throw them in the trash at the Ben Brown invitational the other week during SSA. There must have been a bunch of radio interference in that place, because I couldn't get any of the recievers to pick up the signal from the transmitter on any channel. They work great in the gyms and rodeo arena I've used them in, as well as random other places. I wouldn't want to take the chance at a big event though, so I guess pocket wizards or something similar are a neccesity. |
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