Smith Victor KT900 Kit

[planters49]

Hello,

I want to get some continuous studio lights for portrait/glamour shots of my wife. I don't have much to spend right now. Because of my limited budget I've taken an interest in the Smith Victor KT900 kit from bhphotovideo.com. Here is a link to bhphotovideo.com's webpage: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...#goto_itemInfo

I like the kit because it doesn't cost much plus it comes with three lights and umbrellas.

Also I'm using a canon drebel camera.

I have two questions that hopefully somebody can answer:

1. Will this kit provide enough light for head and shoulder pictures and also full length pictures?

2. Are the lights that come with the kit basically the same thing as clamp on work lights that I can buy from Wal-Mart?

Thanks in advance

[PeterP]

1: Yes lots of light.

2: No, this kit uses photo-flood bulbs, Photo-flood bulbs are blue in color and balanced for film use. I still have some old Sylvania photo-flood bulbs and the box says they have a 4 hour bulb life after which the color starts to drift.

IMHO: you would be better off picking a halogen kit, this uses the same type of bulbs you find in work lights at homedopot :-) Homedeopt worklights aremuch cheaper :-) you just need to add reflectors.

Or picking a Compact Florescent kit, no heat!.
Your digital camera can handle the color temperatures automatically.

PeterP wrote:

1: Yes lots of light.

2: No, this kit uses photo-flood bulbs, Photo-flood bulbs are blue in color and balanced for film use. I still have some old Sylvania photo-flood bulbs and the box says they have a 4 hour bulb life after which the color starts to drift.

IMHO: you would be better off picking a halogen kit, this uses the same type of bulbs you find in work lights at homedopot :-) Homedeopt worklights are much cheaper :-) you just need to add reflectors.

Or picking a Compact Florescent kit, no heat!.
Your digital camera can handle the color temperatures automatically.

I agree...mainly because that's what I did to start off. Get a cheaper set of Smith Victor stands with umbrellas & add or subtract light using $9.00 Home Depot clamp reflectors & Halogen bulbs. You will learn more in 3 months than some people ever do with strobes.

[planters49]

Thanks for the information. If buy some reflector clamp on lights from Home Depot or walmart, will they provide enough light? And I guess what yall are trying to tell me is that I should use those halogen type screw in bulbs? One more question also, how do you attach the lights to a store bought light stand like the Smith Victor light stands?

Thanks

planters49 wrote:

Thanks for the information. If buy some reflector clamp on lights from Home Depot or walmart, will they provide enough light? And I guess what yall are trying to tell me is that I should use those halogen type screw in bulbs? One more question also, how do you attach the lights to a store bought light stand like the Smith Victor light stands?

Thanks

They will provide enough light if you put good halogen bulbs in them. They attach to the stands with a spring loaded clamp that comes with the reflector.

[wwinn]

A Good place to learn more about compact florescent kits is at www.sell-it-on-the-net.com.

They also have a portrait kit using quartz halogen bulbs by Smith Victor:

http://sell-it-on-the-net.com/online...studio_kit.htm

[planters49]

Ok, so I bought a light at walmart today just to see what kind of light it would put out. I got the biggest one they had, a 10 inch reflector and I bought one of those light bulbs that look like a white twisted pipe.The bulb says it is a 32 watt, but the same asa 150 wattnormal bulb. It also puts out 2600 lumens.I tried out the light in a dark room and it seems to put out a lot of light, but I'm not sure if it will be brightenough.

Should I look for a light with a bigger reflector or a bigger light bulb?I want to soften the light also, sowill this setup work with an umbrella?

Thanks again

planters49 wrote:

Ok, so I bought a light at walmart today just to see what kind of light it would put out. I got the biggest one they had, a 10 inch reflector and I bought one of those light bulbs that look like a white twisted pipe. The bulb says it is a 32 watt, but the same as a 150 watt normal bulb. It also puts out 2600 lumens. I tried out the light in a dark room and it seems to put out a lot of light, but I'm not sure if it will be bright enough.

Should I look for a light with a bigger reflector or a bigger light bulb? I want to soften the light also, so will this setup work with an umbrella?

Thanks again

Actually, a 5 inch reflector works better with an umbrella than a 10 inch. Also, my folks bought some of those twisted pipe bulbs and their light output is horrible. What you want is a bulb like shown here:
http://www.bulbs.com/products/produc...inventory=8880

Lowes & Home Depot carry them. Try one of these right after the twisted pipe bulb...you'll see a huge difference!

[planters49]

Thanks Kalypso

I'll go get one of those bulbs tomorrow and try it out.

[planters49]

Well, i got one of those light bulbs, got home and turns out I got a bad bulb, so I'll have to take it back tomorrow and get another one. In the mean time, what color umbrella is best? White or silver. Also what size is a good size?