Strobes & Studio Lighting

Xmas 2005 Doggies

Why studio strobes? So it looks like I didn't use any lights! bigger.

DEAL: $499 for a complete three-light 600 Ws strobe kit.

DEAL: $529 for a complete three-light 900 Ws strobe kit.

DEAL: $699 for a complete three-light 1,200 Ws strobe kit.

All of these 600 Ws (200 Ws × 3), 900 Ws (300Ws × 3) and 1,200 Ws (400 Ws x 3) kits have more than enough power for tabletop product shots. I've used a 500 Ws (total) kit for all my work for over 20 years, including the portraits above. The first two kits cost about the same and you can vary the power with all of these, so you may as well get the 900 Ws version. All of these new-for-2023 kits has LED modeling lights.

DEAL: $949 for a complete three-light 1,800 Ws (600 Ws × 3) strobe kit.

This kit offers even more power for working at longer distances or with larger groups of people. This older set uses hotter 150W halogen modeling lights, but I'll bet you you can swap-in household LED bulbs just as I did into my 1990s-era Novatrons.

You can buy all the power you want, but for tabletop and headshot use I find 500 Ws (total) to be perfect, so any of these kits is more than enough power for any household use.

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How to Use Strobes and Lighting

Product Photography

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Introduction

This page is about choosing among strobes and hot lights and how to get them. I have a different page on How to Use Strobes and Lighting, and also a page on Product Photography.

For still photos, forget florescent, LED or any other sort of continuous lighting. They are a bad idea for still photography since you have to worry about longer exposures, higher ISOs or big apertures. The only reason I talk about hot lights is because the results look so good and mostly because they are dirt cheap.

Continuous LED, fluorescent and hot lights are for video. For still photography, strobes are the way to go because they're much brighter and stop action and camera shake for sharper pictures. Continuous lights would need to be abotu ten times brighter than direct sunlight to work as well for stil photography as strobes.

I use a second-hand set of Novatron portable studio strobes (How to Win at eBay) I bought from a friend in 2001. I still use them every day today in 2023; it's the best $550 I've ever spent. They give much better light and are much easier to use than regular camera flashes. They also work with every brand and type of camera.

You can buy a complete set of new studio strobes for the same price as buying one good on-camera flash. If you're cheap like me there are plenty of these for sale used. They don't go obsolete like digital cameras.

There are more brands of professional lighting than there are cameras. I just happened to luck into a set of Novatrons, which is exactly what you want if you're new to this. I've never grown out of them, although I got mine because my friend loved them so much he got much more expensive permanently installed lighting when he converted his garage to a studio.

Novatrons come as complete sets with two, three or four lights with stands, umbrellas and all the cords. I prefer three lights. All this fits into their portable case. You can take everything with you by grabbing one case.

 

Strobes versus Flashes

The terms are interchangeable. Most photographers use "flash" to refer to small battery operated flashes and "strobes" to refer to the large units plugged in the wall for power.

 

Why Lighting?

Lighting is the most important technical part of photography. Outdoors you're at God's mercy, but indoors you have to make your own.

You need lots of lights to make photos look like they were made with no lights at all!

That's why movie sets are loaded with lights, scaffolding and generator trucks. Cameras pick up much more contrast than our eyes, so lots of special lighting is used to make it look natural. It makes little sense to most people, but just think how movies look like there aren't any artificial lights while you know there are lights all over.

 

Nikon D780

Nikon D780 and Noct-NIKKOR 58mm f/1.2 AI-s shot with my Novatrons and my Nikon D3. bigger.

 

Why not Nikon, Sony or Canon's Latest Multiple Flash Setup?

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

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I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

Are you kidding? It costs too much, is too complex to figure out and gives too little low-quality light.

1.) I can't figure out how to set up multiple Canon or Nikon flashes. Good luck figuring out channels and wireless sync or complex dedicated cords. It's easier than it used to be, but it's still something you have to figure out.

2.) They go obsolete every two years. Spend $1,500 on a dedicated bunch of battery powered flashes and in two years it probably won't work with the newest cameras.

3.) Even if you get three battery flashes to work together, how are you going to put them where you want? You still need to mess with stands and more adaptors to get the flashes on the stands.

4.) Quality of light. You almost never point the light at the subject. You almost always soften it with an umbrella or soft box. Not only do you have to figure out how mount battery powered flashes on stands, you also need to figure out how to mount all the light modifiers on those stands.

Regardless of cost, I find it easier to place Novatron strobes on their included stands and umbrellas than having to jock-strap battery powered units to stands and then tape umbrellas to them. To each their own; clearly the battery units are great for small size and travel.

5.) Power. Battery powered flashes have about one-tenth the power of studio strobes which plug in the wall. Battery flashes have a tough time making enough light to be used with the mandatory light modifiers like umbrellas. With the Novatrons I'm always shooting at f/11 at decent distances with umbrellas and ISO 50 film or f/22 in my studio shooting products at ISO 200, and the Novatrons recycle faster than the battery flashes.

A battery-powered flash is similar to a 50 W/s flash head, thus my small Novatron system is as bright as a dozen SB-700s. Don't worry about getting a 3,200 W/s system unless you're shooting an 8 × 10" film camera for concert hall interiors at f/64 on ISO 50 film. The least expensive 240 W/s systems are fine if you're on a budget.

6.) Cost. Canon and Nikon will love it if you go spend $1,500 just to get three flashes and all the special dedicated commanders. You can spend that same money on a much better and easier professional system. It's easy to find used pro systems. It's next to impossible to wrangle all the dedicated cords and flashes you'd need at the same time used for the battery powered flashes.

Nikon, Canon and other camera makers promote their expensive but puny battery powered flashes for multi-flash use because that's all they have to sell you. It's a good idea for them, but not for you or I.

 

Where to Get What

I have a 500 W/s (Watt-second) Novatron system which is all the power I need; I can turn it down to 250 W/s for faster recycling.

I bought it used from a friend in 2001, and still use it every day in 2020. That's the advantage of buying American quality rather than Made-in-China, but Novatron's out of business.

If you want to buy new I'd get this complete three-light 600 Ws strobe kit and be done, but I prefer my American Novatron strobes and would rather get them used today, but I'm more hands-on than most people.

 

Monoblocks or Power Packs?

I prefer Novatrons and their single, central power pack. You put the heavy power pack to the side, plug it into the wall, and then you plug the flash heads and your sync into the power pack. It's easy.

More complex systems use independent flashes. Each of these monoblock strobes have to be plugged into the wall and synchronized. Too much work for me!

The inexpensive Novatrons control light ratios at the heads, not at the pack. As you vary the setting on any head the overall exposure stays the same, which I prefer. More expensive and complex powerpack and monoblock systems allow setting each light's power individually, which means your exposure changes, too.

The Novatrons distribute the same total power for each shot to all the flashes regardless of how each head is set. The switches on each head control how that power is spread around.

 

What's a Modeling Light?

Strobes only go off in bursts. You can't see the lighting unless you use a digital camera or Polaroid film.

Modeling lights are regular light bulbs in each head. They usually vary in intensity as you change the strobes' power settings.

Presuming it's dark in your your studio you can see the lighting effects without making a picture. it also means you can see what you're doing.

My Novatrons all have modeling lights and I suggest them.

 

Brands

I just happened to luck into a set of used Novatrons (How to Win at eBay).

If you have more cash there are many more expensive European-made strobes like Profoto and Elinchrom. Also look at American Norman and Speedotron.

Godox is an extremely popular Chinese brand and much less expensive than the others.

My Novatrons work better today than when I bought them used 15 years ago. That's quality — but Novatron isnt' sold new anymore. The key to pro gear is that you don't have to throw it away and replace it every few years under daily use.

 

What About Hot Lights?

I prefer strobes.

Hot lights are ordinary tungsten lights, but LEDs have taken over to do the same thing. They are extra bright and extra hot compared to home lighting. They are also extra inexpensive!

They work fine and cost next to nothing. Even better, you can go to the home improvement store and build your own out of work lights, complete with stands. Be careful making umbrellas and diffusers since these 500 Watt lights get hot and will burn down your house if you're not careful.

If you have the cash feel free to buy professional quality hot lights like Lowell or Arri, but pro hot lights are for movies. I prefer strobes for stills.

 

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16 Apr 2023, 05 Apr 2020, 2005 (D70 & D200 era)