Studio lighting

[Jediboy]

Hi,

I'm looking at buying some studio lighting and starting to try my hand in this area. Its mainly for home use to take photos of the kids so I don't really need anything fancy. There are some kits on ebay that look quite good and sensibly priced.

My question is this - what wattage is best??? They range from 36W up to over 2000W.
Well, thats the first question - its a bit of a minefield to me and will no doubt be another steep learning curve.

Many thanks,

Chris

[Stargate 01]

Hi Chris, as far as I know anything around the 250-400w mark should be fine for getting you started. I've read somewhere that the Interfit mk2 model is half decent and you can pick it up for around £200 or so....
It's a good starting point and gives you a guide of what you'll need and it also comes with a booklet and dvd as far as I know..

[Cathus]

I got my first kit from Ebay via Hong Kong, a full set up with 2 lights, 2 softboxes, 2 umbrellas, 2 stands and leads lights were 150W - it's basically the same as the Interfit starter kit for around £230 but I think mine cost around £150. If you don't want to import then the Interfit kit is a good starter package

Something like that will be all you need as a starter in your front room at home. I since upgraded to Elinchrom and use the generic lights as lights 3 & 4 if required.

I also bought a background stand kit from eBay which came with black & white muslin sheets, I don't use the sheets, I bought some white vinyl from a company that makes HGV trailer covers and saved myself about £150 on the same stuff supplied by Lastolite. (I think I paid £45 for 3M by 8M incl delivery from Scotland)

[Jediboy]

Thanks for your quick replies guys. There is some good looking kits on eBay and for me probably a good place to start without busting the bank.
The kits generally come with a couple of stands, umbrella's, softboxes, lamps and one I'm looking at comes with barn door and gels.

Thanks again,

Chris