Lastolite Hilite

PaulieC

so the time has come for me to get one of these lads (it's my birthday soon..either one of these or a gigapan :pac:). I am wondering if a couple of Canon 430Ex flashes will be enough to light the background sufficiently (along with a 580EXII for main light) or do I have to splash out on a set of studio strobes too ?
Usage will be occasional, it's just that I have a background system already with black and white backgrounds and I rarely have the space to use them to their full size. This always results in creased backgrounds which are really difficult to light evenly.

TIA

Dodgykeeper

Try before you buy!

I have the biggest version 8 x 4 and you can you borrow if you want!

PaulieC

Dodgykeeper wrote: »

Try before you buy!

I have the biggest version 8 x 4 and you can you borrow if you want!

Thanks Fergus, I might take you up on that. 8' might be a bit big for my house, which is about 200 years old :rolleyes:. I think the ceilings might be about 7'6" at the most. I'll check this evening...

Borderfox

I got the size down from that and I havent had any problems fitting it in anywhere, you can get away with some 430ex's but for a more even light thats more adjustable studio lights are the way to go.

PaulieC

yeah, I was thinking that not getting 'big' flashes was only putting off the inevitable. Would this set be good enough ?

Borderfox

Yeah grand set

Carrigman

The Hilite is great but be warned....getting it back in it's bag takes some getting used to (plus a lot of swearing).

Regards,

John

quilmore

I agree with the swearing! same here

flash guns won't cut it, I believe the flash source is too small (bulb) or something

you may need 3 flashes for that
I bought a light kit with stands, 2 lights and 2 brollies for €200 incl delivery
lights are 180w but I have to keep them to minimum because hilite doesn't need that much

the key is not to have a very bright light so you won't get spots
the softer the light the better

saying that, I've managed to get some decent head shots with one flash gun too
but it's a bit fiddly because you need to "hide" the light spot behind the subject

if in dublin, contact me for a visit to my place and I'll show you what I mean (but be aware of the swearing when closing it...)

for prices, check DML and amazon.co.uk

quilmore

cambo_gueno wrote: »

yeah, I was thinking that not getting 'big' flashes was only putting off the inevitable. Would this set be good enough ?

you could buy 2 of them and keep some spare money
http://allegro.pl/item635344978_zestaw_oswietleniowy_2x180_ws_plynna_regulacja.html

get someone from poland (I had to do that...) to buy it and pay for it for you, they deliver to ireland

PaulieC

thanks guys. I generally try not to try things like this out before I buy them. Sounds stupid, but it lessens the novelty of getting something and figuring out how to use it etc. It's like getting a copy of a CD off someone listening to it for a while and then buying the original...(not that I would ever do that )

Plus, I love swearing...

Are a pair of 200W flashes enough to get the pure white background?

Borderfox

I use one 400w in the hi-lite and never have any trouble balancing the light, more gear means more stuff to cart around.

Ps get the carry handles double stitched as they tend to go when you carry the train in the bag..

PaulieC

Borderfox wrote: »

I use one 400w in the hi-lite and never have any trouble balancing the light, more gear means more stuff to cart around.

surely you'd need a light at front to light the train too ? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to get a load of stuff I don't need or won't use, just want to make sure I get enough...

Borderfox

One light at the front and one light in the hi-lite, went out to do a job in Newbridge last Monday and had that setup for head/shoulders/full length and shot jpeg with a bit of adjustment in levels on the full length shots and got everything done and dusted (including packing/unpacking) in 1 hour 30 minutes.

The main reason for the hi-lite is to have a studio in a restricted space with people back right up to the background

PaulieC

Borderfox wrote: »

The main reason for the hi-lite is to have a studio in a restricted space with people back right up to the background

Indeed, that's why I want one. I do quite a lot of portraits and stuff in people's houses and the current setup I have is just too big for most domestic rooms.

...off to tell the missus what she's getting him for his birthday...

ovidius

I got my HiLite yesterday and was expecting a lot of swearing when trying to fold it but..surprise..it is actually very easy. I used one elinchrom dlite 4 to lit the box..and one for the subject. Setting up the whole shebang took me less then 4min.

I found that it works also great as a soft box...a huge soft

PaulieC

I got my hilite yesterday and....I love it!!! It does what it says on the tin and more. I even got some passable shots using only a 580EXII bounced off the ceiling as I had to wait for my neighbour to come home to collect the big flashes off them.

After I watched the video on youtube a few times, I was able to fold it inless than a minute, with virtually no swearing or sweating. Looking forward to trying it out properly over the weekend

oshead

Nice one. Congrats on the new purchase. Looking forward to seeing the results.