Consumption and Real Estate
What do you think about Smith-Victor Lighting kits? For one moving from Freelance to a studio?
Question : What do you think about Smith-Victor Lighting kits? For one moving from Freelance to a studio?
moving kits
Best answer:
Answer by slavetothelens
It’s crap. I could elaborate, but trust me. They are for absolute novices, made VERY cheaply. They burn standard photofloods generally, which burn out ridiculously quickly..You’ll spend a TON on bulbs. If you aren’t up for strobes yet, and on a REALLY tight budget, use halogen worklights, with 1/4 blue gels to bring the color temp to tungsten. They are dimmable, Come in 500w 750w 1000w, etc and bulbs are cheap. Get creative. When I first moved into a studio i used them forever, often simply bounced into whitecards…They are made for jobsites, so they’re built tough. If you have a bit more to spend, look on ebay.. search for Lowel Omni, or tota, or dp. They have standard spuds and a ton of accessories available. But smith victor? NONONONO… please, no. You’ll get so sick of them. they heat up terribly, and they aren’t even that inexpensive. Hope this helps.
I used the heck out of some Smith-Victor lights when a student and they were just fine. Yes they do get hot and that is one reason tungsten lights are sometimes called “hot” lights.
For years I have used those construction lights for lighting table tops and interiors, but when shooting people I use a single Lowel Tota-Light 750 Watt Tungsten Flood Light on a stand. I comes with barndoors, so you can adjust the lighting as it falls on the subject.
Studio lighting is a completely different situation. Most studios I rent have at least four studio strobe lights available and various backgrounds. Studio strobe kits can cost from $ 3,000 and up when you add all the accessories.
I hope this has been of some help.