Author: David Hobby

Because big lights and small lights each bring a different set of considerations to the party, I am splitting my recommendations into speedlights and “studio lights.” (Although I hate that term.)

For speedlights, you have to decide if you wanna drive stick or automatic—AKA manual or TTL. I live in manual mode, which means I sacrifice some convenience for reliability and repeatability. It also means I can pay about a third as much for each of my flashes.

If you live by TTL, you will die by TTL. Or, at least your wallet will die a small, unnecessary death every time you need to purchase a flash.
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For manual speedlights, I wholeheartedly recommend the LumoPro LP180, about which I go into far more detail here. It’s built like a tank, syncs four different ways, has a fluid and intuitive user interface, a built-in light-stand socket, a built-in gel holder and has a two-year manufacturer’s warranty. No other speedlight comes close to claiming all of those useful features.

That it costs about a third as much as you would pay for an OEM branded flagship TTL flash is icing on the cake. If you can commit to shooting manually, this is your flash.

If you need TTL (and remember, this is the gear acquisition equivalent of joining the TTL mafia) I would consider eschewing the OEM flagship TTL flashes. They can run north of $500USD, which is just nuts.

The Phottix Mitros comes in Nikon and Canon variants and sells for about $300USD—with twice the warranty length. It does pretty much all the fancy stuff most of the OEM flashes do including the optical TTL triggering of other TTL units, be they other Mitros units or OEM units.

I will say that for the lesser price you will give up some ease of user interface. But this may well be that I was used to the OEM flash user interface and that of the Mitros is pretty radically different.

Finally, for some people the flagship OEM flashes will be just fine. For instance, if your name is Bill Gates they are a perfect choice for you.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are a ton of flashes constantly hitting the market from the far east, from a variety of pop-up brands. Some of the brands are recognizable because they bought the rights to use familiar but now bankrupt brands that were formerly trustworthy. They have spotty track records for quality. Factory warranties are short to nonexistent.

Many who read this will be tempted to go that route because of prices that are almost too good to be true. If that’s you, by all means knock yourself out. Some people need to be stung in the wallet to remember a lesson or bit of advice. I know I did when I was young. Good luck with that!
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As far as big lights go, there is a completely different set of variables to consider. Big lights are system-oriented, and you would do well to choose wisely in what will likely be a long-term relationship.

I spent a lot of time and money auditioning big lights over the past 25 years. I am really happy where I am now, and would have loved to make this good of a choice from the get-go. I wrote about researching and choosing big lights a couple years ago and at the time settled on a Profoto/Paul Buff hybrid choice.

I loved Profoto’s light mods and quality of light, but they were very expensive. And the battery options insanely so. So instead of battery versions of my Profotos, I went with Profoto plug-ins and a full Paul Buff Einstein setup for portable, battery-powered big lights. Sounds crazy, but for the price of just two AcuteB battery generators you can outfit yourself like an Einstein King.

So for the last couple of years I have had two full systems in my gear closet: Profoto plug-ins and Einstein 640s with portable battery packs. (But they also plug in.) And even though the Profotos are far more expensive, rugged and “professional” (whatever) I found myself again and agin choosing the Einsteins to use.

That’s because inexpensive or not, they are simply amazing flashes. And they come with a 2-year warranty (sensing a trend here?) and legendary factory service. Further, Paul Buff has finally taken some time to develop the modifier system that a good flash deserves. The reflectors and accessories are well-designed—and wonderfully inexpensive.

The caveat here is, this is pretty much a US-based choice/suggestion. One of the main reasons Paul Buff lights are so inexpensive is that he only sells direct, and mostly in the US. There are a couple of dealers outside the US but that starts to erode the value proposition pretty quickly.

So, to beginners looking for a great light at an amazing price in the US, I would suggest you strongly consider Einsteins. Not the similarly shaped and even cheaper AlienBees, however. They look similar, but are not in the same league as the Einsteins. Save your money and go Einstein. It is not that much more.

If you are outside of the US, I am sorry that this choice will be either not available or not nearly as good a value to you. So I would suggest that you look at other reputable flash brands (Bowens, Elinchrom, Hensel, Profoto, etc.) and choose the brand that works best for your needs and your wallet. This advice also holds for people for whom the Einsteins aren’t a good fit.

Again, I would suggest avoiding the temptation of the super-cheap mystery brands from the far east. Personal experience. But if you need some personal experience of your own to dissuade you in the future, by all means go right ahead.

Next: Triggers

If you date your cameras, you marry your lenses. That’s because, unlike digital cameras, a well-chosen lens can serve you for a very long time.

I still have one lens that I bought thirty two years ago. And I bought it used. I doubt that will be the case with any of my digital cameras, ever.

In the past, I was a lens speed freak and was willing to spend great sums of money to have very fast glass. I now realize that lust was misplaced. If I had it to do over again (and I do, and have) I would lean more on reasonably fast primes and here’s why.

Moderately fast primes are (much) lighter, (much) cheaper and often just as sharp (or sharper) than their speedy siblings. For Nikon shooters, the Nikon 28, 50 and 85 f/1.8 trio of lenses are great examples of this. They weigh next to nothing in my bag and offer great performance. Also, I have moved away from primarily using fast zooms. Rather than a fast 24-70/2.8, I’d now opt for a trio of fast-ish primes and a decent, slower zoom to back them up.

This way, you get a stop (plus) faster at each focal length, backups throughout the 24-70mm range and you lose the most daunting aspect of the speed zoom: an expensive single point of failure.

In general, remember this when it comes to ultra-fast DSLR lenses: you pay through the nose for them when you buy them. And then you pay again, in weight, every time you lug them around. Remember that cameras have amazing high-ISO performance these days. And they are just going to get better as we go.

As for my Fuji lenses, it is pretty hard to go wrong with their primes (although I’m not a huge fan of the 60mm macro…) But the others are small, gorgeous and fast. I love the built-in 23mm (35 equiv.) of the X100s. It’s sharp wide open and it has beautiful flare when you point it right into the sun as seen above. It’s my most-used lens. Which is a good thing, given that it’s welded to X100s.

Painted Hall, Greenwich, UK with Fuji 14mm/2.8

Along with that, the 35/1.4 (50mm equiv., seen at top on left) and 14/2.8 (21mm equiv., on right) are my go-to lenses on the interchangeable lens Fuji bodies. If I am shooting tight headshots, maybe the 56/1.2 in the middle.

As a backup for the lot, I like the 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 kit zoom (not shown). Which, although not a speed lens, is great optically and has stabilization.

Actor Ben Lurye, with Fuji 18-55 f/2.8-4

Good performance from a kit lens (the zoom that often comes packaged with a camera) is not a given, as many of them are crap. If you are using a kit zoom as your main lens, know that it will be be sharpest near the middle of the aperture scale—let’s say around f/8. In fact, most lenses are great at f/8.

If you like to hang out close to wide open, grab a (used, if necessary) prime at your most-used focal length. You’ll be a happy camper—and have a backup if needed.
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What to buy? And when? That should be driven by what/how you shoot.

Here’s my thinking on lens progression, driven by how I shoot. Most of the time I am going to go out with a single, prime lens. I like the size, the weight, the speed and sharpness. Actually, I also like the discipline of having a single focal length. It helps me to see better.

With a new system I’d build out my wide/normal/short-tele primes, then get a decent wide- to short-tele zoom as a backup or for times when I would want one-lens variability. Only then do I start going for more exotic lengths if needed.

The reason is simple: most of my work will be done with the bread-and-butter focal lengths of moderate wide to short tele. So I want good quality, speed and backup in those lengths before I start to get crazy with a superwide or whatever.

You can easily try out a lens for no risk. Buy a good example used, from someone with a good return policy. If the lens is a dog, return it immediately. If it is good enough to where you want to keep it and play, you can always resell the used lens for about what you paid for it within a year or two.

So, very little risk. (In fact, if I was going to need to rent a lens for more than a week I’d do it this way. Your rental would be practically free.

And obviously, if you love a lens and decide to marry it and keep it forever that’s best possible case.

NEXT: Lights