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No Photographer Needs to Spend Over $650 to Make Great Photos

Chris Gampat
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09/19/2020
4 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Yongnuo 560 ex ii flash samples (2 of 2)

With the budget lighting we found, Flashes and Constant Lights can do a whole lot for your photography.

We get it; lots of you probably don’t need new lenses or cameras. Instead, you should look at lighting: it allows you to play with photography in a different way. So, we found a bunch of great deals for you. Some of these we’ve reviewed before too!

Constant Lights

LitraTorch

In our review we state:

“This thing is solid. In fact, the LitraTorch 2.0 has a significant advantage over pretty much any flash at the same price point when it comes to building quality. Not only is it smaller, but it’s made of all metal.”

Buy Now: Pick one up for around $89.

Fositan LED Panel

“Retailing at US $149.99, the Fositan FL-1×2 costs 1/8 the price of Westcott’s Flex LED of the same size (MSRP US$1,199), but its also much less powerful than Westcott’s offering at roughly 1/3 the light output,”

Buy Now: Price varies.

Flashes

Godox Thinklite TT685S TTL

As far as affordable speedlights go, the Godox Thinklite TT685 is hard to beat. We found this powerful flash very reliable when we reviewed it. We were impressed with its ability to automatically switch to HSS (High-Speed Sync), its overall build quality, and its consistent output. Pair this flash with an optional X1 wireless trigger and you can use it as an off-camera flash too.

Buy now Canon: $114

Buy now Nikon: $114

Buy now Fujifilm: $110

Buy now Sony: $114

Studio Strobes

ORLIT RoveLight RT 610 TTL Monolight

Flash Photography

The ORLIT RoveLight 610 is a rechargeable moonlight we quickly became fans of when we reviewed it. This light is easy to use, powerful, and the battery will last for roughly 450 shots at full power. For the price, this is one heck of a monolight.

Buy now: $399

Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro TTL Rechargeable Monolight

Like the Orlit RoveLight above, the Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro TTL / Godox AD400 Pro is a rechargeable moonlight that can be taken to any location. We were impressed with the XPLOR 400 Pro TTL during our review period thanks to the solid output, ease of use, battery life, and fast recycle times. This light is compatible with Godox R2 wireless transmitters and can work in conjunction with any other R2 ready Godox/Flashpoint light.

Buy now: $649

Interfit Honey Badger Unleashed

off-camera lighting

The most affordable moonlight on our list at under $300, the Interfit Honey Badger 320, is an absolute bargain! This bang for your buck moonlight features TTL, 320ws of power, and a great modeling lamp. If you’re looking to get into studio-based, off-camera flash photography, you owe it to yourself to check this bad boy out.

Buy now: $267.97

Flashpoint eVOLV 200 TTL Pocket Flash

Flash Photography

Another great strobe (one of my personal favorites) is the Flashpoint eVOLV 200 / Godox AD200. This powerful little flash has the same output as three regular speedlites, which makes it incredibly versatile. This rechargeable light is great to take with you on shoots if you are tight on space, or if you are working by yourself. It’s powerful at 200ws, it features TTL and HSS, it has fast recycle times, and the battery won’t let you down either.

Buy now: $269

Light Shaping Tools

The Rogue Flashbenders V3

Flash Photography

We have been fans of the Rogue Flashbenders for some time. The third version of this modifier is better than ever. Designed to be used with speedlights, the Rogue Flashbender V3 attaches to the base of your flash with velcro, then you simply bend and twist the modifier into shape so that you can direct the light where you want it. Simple in design and simple to use, these modifiers are a must-have for photographers who use speedlights that sit in the hot shoe of their camera.

Buy now small: $39.95

Buy now large: $44.95

Westcott Rapid Box Octa Mini

Flash Photography

If you plan of picking up a rechargeable moonlight to take with you on location, you’re going to need a modifier to go with it. The Westcott Rapid Box Octa Mini is just about the perfect companion for your light. It is small at about 20-inches in diameter, but don’t let its small size fool you: you can still produce some nice soft light. The Octa Mini is easy to manage, and it is built very well. This modifier is a firm favorite with many photographers for good reason.

Buy now: $149

ANGLER Parasail Parabolic Umbrella

Flash Photography

The Angler Parabolic Parasail is another favorite of ours thanks to its design and versatility. This is modifier can be used as a shoot-through umbrella or as a reflector thanks to the removable cover. It can be positioned either horizontally to give you gorgeous wrap-around lighting, or vertically so that you can create light with dramatic fall off. We loved how compact the umbrella is, the quality of light, and the variety of sizes available.

Buy now: $49.50

Questions to Ask Yourself

A while ago, we wrote a guide on how to buy a flash. We invite you to check it out. But here are the essential questions to ask yourself

  • How much do I want to spend?
  • Do I really need TTL transmission or can I afford to mess around?
  • If I can afford to mess around, do I have the knowledge to know how to make adjustments so I can save time?
  • What type of content am I shooting?
  • How much battery power do I need?
  • Do I need to be plugged into a wall?
  • How often am I traveling with my kit?
  • Will I need to overpower the sun or ambient lighting?
  • Do I need radio capabilities or can it shoot with no issues on the hot shoe?
  • How tech savvy am I to be able to understand an interface?
  • What camera system do I have?
  • What about my lenses?
  • What types of light modifier will I need?
  • Can I use this light to make my subjects look good?
  • Can I use it to achieve my creative vision?
  • Do I need light stands?
  • Do I need sand bags?
  • How will this look to my client if I use this? Is my work good enough to make them not care?
  • Am I ready to have sharper images?
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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