Advice for buying lights

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying some studio lights after having had enough of the restrictions of hiring and borrowing gear. I'm after some advice and direction as to what might be around as my experience is relatively limited.

Most of my experience with lights has been using Profoto monoblocks, but I'm interested in getting some other ideas also.

I'm looking for a kit that has enough power to not just be restricted to portrait work, and can be readily used away from a studio. I'm also after something with decent after sales service and parts availability. Not having to rely on mains power would also be a plus, but not essential, though upgrade capability to this would be good.

Oh, and of course I'm looking to get as much as I can for as cheap as I can (though cheap, as opposed to cheap and nasty! I'm prepared to spend money if need be).

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks in advance.

I think you'll find AlienBees are extremely popular right now. I have 3 myself and have no complaints about them.

Tim

You may want to investigate Qflashes from Quantum Instruments. They are battery powered and also have AC adapters. They are powerful and can be used with most cameras in TTL, Auto and manual. You can see them at www.qtm.com

Thanks for the info guys,

I ended up getting a pretty good deal on a Profoto monoblock kit with 2 heads. I've used it a bit already and am really happy with it.