2 AF540FGZ's versus 2 head studio kit

I am considering buying a 2 head studio kit for childrens portraits. I already own a single AF540FGZ which I use on a K10D. Would another AF540FGZ with flash stands and umbrella's give me comparable results to a £400 2 head studio kit?

No.

Three reasons:

1 The studio kit should be much more powerful, which gives greater flexibility for positioning, and allows for more even illumination

2 The studio kit should recharge much more quickly.

3 It will be easier to attach interesting equipment such as barn doors, big soft-boxes, etc.

On the other hand, the 540s are much more portable, which would be a consideration if you travel a lot.

G

Another point of consideration for me would be the use of a modelling light. So I would choose the studio kit.

Roger.

Good point.

Of course, studio lights will take up rather more space, if that is a consideration.

G

how do you connect a studio outfit to theK110D - I have a Bowens Bolite outfit

Johnny I am in Banbridge - I have a K110D and an old studio oufit from Bowens - is the anyway I can use these together

Hi John,

I eventually bought a pair of Elinchrom D-Lite 4's so their trigger voltage is suitable for modern digital cameras. You could try a radio transmitter/receiver and cut out the voltage worry. See link below. They certainly look good value.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hot-Shoe-Flash-Wireless-Radio-Remote-Trigger-Studio_W0QQitem...

if you don't fancy radio triggers there is a hotshoe adaptor that protects against hight voltages called Wein Safe Sync. See link below.

http://www.theflashcentre.com/wein-safe-sync-hotshoe-to-hotshoe-i358.html

Good luck

John

D-Lite 4's here as well. Love 'em.
I've been using a 540 and 360 for a while, but they tend to be a little bit dim in some situations where the lights may need to be several feet back and shooting through an umbrella or soft box.

I picked up an tiny, old, dumb hot shoe flash (with safe trigger voltage) for 50 cents from a garage sale and use that as a strobe trigger. It is too small to add significant light to the scene. With that I don't have to worry about pre-flash PTTL "stuff", cables, or other extra equipment, etc...

Anyway, bare bulb, the D-lite 4'a seem to be about two stops brighter than the 540 according to my light meter at 10 feet. But through a soft box, I get as much as a 4 stop difference. Perhaps my technique is flawed, but for me it makes quite a difference. (I've see amazing stuff on sites like Strobist.com, so perhaps its just me...)

If I need F8 or higher, the 540s just don't seem to do it.
I tend to do more animal photos. Very short DOF, slower shutter speeds, and six second recharge rates just don't do well for much of the time.

For small, closer work or with f4-5.6 the 540s will likely be fine.
Although for children, you might look into something with faster recharge rate than the AF540FGZ's six second rate (I've had as little as 5 seconds with new batteries but after about 20 shots, mine drops to seven seconds -- others have had better results, but I'm just sayin...
The D-Lite 4's generally recharge in under 2 seconds at full power, which I don't always need. So I'm getting 1 second or less in many situations.

This is a phot I've taken with my D-Lite 4's. I think they're great and love the quality of light they produce. What do you all think?

http://homepage.mac.com/johnnyrice/PentaxPhotos/PhotoAlbum26.html

I like the picture a lot.

How much did you pay for the kit you used?

Where did you purchase it?

I'm currently looking for a full set - including backgrounds and so....

Can't speak for the light, since I don't really have enough experience. It's very even and shadow-free, and does a superb job of isolating the subject from the background, which is presumably intentional.

The photo itself is cute, but somewhat over post-processed for my taste.