lightstands

i'm going to be looking for some light stands for my 2-3 yongnuo speed lights and possibly a magmod 24 octo dome.
is there anything i should avoid or defiantly get? ie poor construction or great features.
i've had no exp in light stands, i would like to avoid any rickety stuff thats too cheap for its own good.

any recommendations ?
i will check out any youtube reviews etc also but i thought i'd ask for your opinions too.
the two for the speed lights on their own shouldn't need to ne too beefy though i probably have a few additions to the lights like gel boxes
the one for the proposed octo soft dome thing might need to be a bit sturdier.
Laura

 

Caladina, it all comes down to what suits you and the conditions you will be shooting in.
For my personal use, being stuck on a crappy pension, I am very limited for funds.
I volunteer at a OP shop, so a lot of useful things and gear come in that I purchase and convert for use.
My first suggestion is hang around the opportunity shops, get to know the people there and see what comes in.
For example, item one that come in was a medical item, one or those stands on wheels that they hang bags of fluid on and are hooked up to a patient, I cut the top bar off and connect the flash unit on it with a cheap bracket I got off of Ebay. You could fit other units on it to set light going into different directions.
Not as useful outside but brilliant inside as it is easy to move around especially with three or four flash units and umbrellas.
Next it is those cheap plastic tripods, again there are heaps of them coming into Vinnies so other OP shops should be the same or buy them new,
if you find it a bit windy outside and they look like blowing over, hang a weight on it to stabilize such as a camera bag or put some sand in a plastic bag and use that. or raid the wife's garden and pinch some soil and put that in it.
Now if you are getting serious about using flash, then you will need to look at light modifiers, such as umbrellas and light diffuses, if you are doing it on the cheap, there is tons of stuff to be found around the home, curtain material, plastic, etc.
All the best with it and most of all have fun, regards Craig S.

 

thanks for the reply as a former panel beater and paint sprayer i also have the option of altering or making stands to suit,

 

I it is good to see another tradesman on the forum, I am a Fitter and Turner by trade myself, a few medical issues now see me on a crappy pension.
Still we make do with what we have.

 

Are you after portability, or are they going to stay in one place? I've had good experience with t Neewer branded C-Stand, think it was on offer on Amazon for £100 with the big boom arm (big advantage is how sturdy it is), I'd also consider looking at some of the Manfrotto friction arms (thomann.de seem to have some of the better pricing). More on the video side of things, but there's a tonne of useful odds and sodds like cardellini clamps that can be used to mount lights about anywhere - so the same would apply to mounting speedlites too. . .

 

i'll keep it in mind but i have only had one experience with neewer brand and that was a set of extension tubes that fell apart due to piss poor quality of the plastic bodies so i kinda automatically dismiss anything with neewer name to it.
as for location it will be a bit of both, moving around and static, i do like the C stand type of ones with multiple options etc.

 

Check out Pixapro - at least they're based in the UK. Though been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the C-Stand (though some of their other products are gash).