Best budget studio lights: 8 tested

Best budget studio lights: 8 tested

Elinchrom D-Lite 4it Studio To Go Two Head Kit - £550

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

There's plenty of power on hand from this kit's two 400Ws heads, which have a GN of 64. As with the cheaper Elinchrom D-Lite it 2/4 Two Head Umbrella Kit, it's easy to set up even if you've never used studio flash. There's a good handbook, plus a video DVD guide that demonstrates lighting techniques for getting great results.

As well as two full-power heads, this kit includes a pair of excellent-quality 66cm softboxes, rather than the brollies supplied in the cheaper Elinchrom kit. Both kits include full wireless radio triggering and auto power dumping, plus auto-sensing cooling fans in the heads. Plus, unlike some of Elinchrom's previous softbox-based kits, this includes a reflector. It's handy when you want to use bare-bulb lighting for a harder light source, or for illuminating a background with one of the heads.

The softboxes are quick and easy to put together and deliver a lovely soft lighting effect, and they're more directional and controllable than brollies. The bayonet attachment is reassuringly rugged, and the whole kit feels like it's really built to last. Our only slight complaint is that Elinchrom uses a non-standard 7mm brolly shaft, so you have to buy own-brand brollies if you want to extend your kit. Even so, the price of a pair of 83cm silver and translucent brollies is quite reasonable, at £25.

Performance

Best budget studio lights: 8 tested

Shooting through a translucent brolly positioned 2m from a target, we got an aperture range of f/4.5-16 in our tests. Impressively, the 1/10th stop push-button power controls were entirely accurate throughout testing.

As with the other Elinchrom kit, which features one of the same flash heads, power output was remarkably consistent throughout a long series of shots and colour temperature didn't change at all throughout the power range.

Latest in DSLRs
Nikon Df DSLR camera on a wooden surface by large window, with dusk light
Forget Fujifilm, I've retested 2013's Nikon Df DSLR and it's the ultimate retro camera for these 6 reasons
Monochrome image of a distant wind farm alongside a Canon DSLR camera in the hand with black background
You don't really need a new camera – a $200,000 photo prize was just won with this old Canon DSLR
Photographer holding the Nikon D800 DSLR camera up to their eye while leaning on a tree trunk surrounded by bluebells
I used my DSLR for the first time in years since switching to mirrorless – here are four things I learned
Two cameras sitting next to each other on a wooden table
If DSLR cameras are dead, why are they still so popular? Here are 5 reasons
Prouct photo of the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome with a 16-50mm f/2.8 attached
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome review: one love
Canon EOS 4000D with 18-55mm lens attached on red background beside a lowest ever price text
This Canon beginner DSLR is so cheap right now it might even tempt you away from mirrorless
Latest in Best
Some of the best mobile controllers on a colorful background.
The best mobile controllers 2025: upgrade your portable play
Best controllers for Monster Hunter Wilds featuring Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
The best controllers for Monster Hunter Wilds: the gamepads most suited for the game’s tricky control scheme
Best password manager for families
Best password manager for families of 2025
A woman taking a selfie on a camel in Morocco.
Best eSIMs for Morocco for 2025
DJI Mic 2 with windshield
The best wireless mic for 2025: top wearable microphones for content creators
Lead image for TechRadar's guide to the best Fujifilm cameras, featuring the X-T5
Best Fujifilm camera 2025: top mirrorless and compact cameras, retro and otherwise