Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi All i'm new to studio lighting i'm setting up a new studio, i need some advice on lighting. I will also be doing a few outdoor shoots.

Current Space available for studio is about 700 Square feet. Approximately 25x30 feet.

I'm Currently Thinking about getting 3 AB800's and 1 AB1600, cyber commander system and some PLM Umbrellas.

Am I thinking along the right lines, what advice can you guys give here.

I'm currently shooting with a d200 and will be upgrading to d700 or newer by the end of the year.


Thanks in advance

I would recommend 2 silver PLMs with the diffusion fabric. That will give you softbox quality light for your studio.

Also, I would highly recommend Einsteins with the use of a Cyber Commander. You can control many more aspects and they are more versatile lights. They can be powered down very low and while retaining consistency. They have excellent action stopping power(fast flash duration) as well. I was going to to get B1600/B800 as well but quickly realized how good the Einsteins are. They kick butt!

Thanks for the tips I was considering the Einsteins but didn't want to push my budget too much.

Would I be able to pull off a studio of my size with maybe 1 or 2 Einsteins ?until I can move up

You can do a whole lot with 2 lights. 4-5 lights is ideal so you can have rim/kicker/hair lights and background lights. Maybe just get Einsteins in place of any B1600s you may get and go forward with B800s. The Einsteins are slightly more than the B1600's but they are one of the most advanced lights out there. You'll never regret getting them.

I agree--rather than buy 4 ABs, I'd get 2-3 Einsteins. If you have speedlights, you can get some CSRB receivers, trigger them in the mix with 2 Einsteins for kickers, hair, or background stuff until you add more Einsteins later.

I think the silver plms with covers is a good idea, too. Note however, that there are new versions of the silver (soft silver) coming out later this year.

The 86 silver with a white cover is a HUGE softbox and a nice light.

I also find that I use gridded items a lot (strip box with egg-crate grid, softbox with egg-crate grid, beauty dish with grid). If I could only have PLMs and one other modifier, it would be either the stripbox with grid or the beauty dish with grid.

I strongly agree that Einsteins are the way to go. Paired with Cyber Commander you'll have a super-nice setup.

Number of lights you'll ultimately need will have more to do with your intended subject(s) and preferred lighting style than studio size. I'm sure you could light 100 people with two Einsteins, just as you could light a single individual with 4-5 lights or more.

Because the Einstein is capable of such low output, you can blend it with ambient light - effectively giving you two "lights" - and make great pictures with a single strobe.

It'd be easier to get comfortable with studio lighting with one light +/- a reflector or two lights rather than four. But if you have the cash I'd get four Einsteins and get the bigger multi-light discount.

Lastly, with a big, diffused PLM close to the subject as a main light, you get a lot of fill as well due to the size of the source. I'm also excited to see the new soft-silver ones they're releasing soon.

Great thanks for the advice thus far.
So i'm thinking about starting with 2 Einsteins I also have a SB600 I can use for now, until I can add more Einsteins.

Additionally should I go the way of Pocket Wizard or Cyber Commander?
I know the Pocket wizards are a bit more expensive for the Power MC2 modules, Is there any justification in this price compared to the CSXCV?


Again tanks for all your help thus far...

DEFINITELY go with the Cyber Commander and CSXCV for your Einsteins. They were made just for each other and is much cheaper than the Pocket Wizards. I just got my Cyber Commander and it is awesome! It does things that 99% of other studios cannot do. State of the art.