Use the search term "CowboyStudio Strobist Kit" at Amazon.com. There will be several options for Light Stand Kits. These kits includes the stand, umbrella, and everything you need to mount your hotshoe flash. They cost around $30.99 ea. I bought 2. As you will see below I wanted 3 flashes but I only ordered 2 stands. That because I planned to use the 3rd flash with an old tripod I have.
The Flashes
Ok on to flashes. But first a story and some lessons learned. When I bought my flashes I was unsure of exactly what I needed at first. At the time my only requirements included: Variable Flash Power (Manual), Zoom, PC Cord connection and I new I wanted 3 of them. 3 Lights would give me the most versatile lighting setup (Key, Background or effect, and Hair). Based off of these requirements I ended up with a bowen flash specifically for my camera which had a built in slave function. This flash works well in TTL mode on my camera, however I'm not using TTL so the extra cost ($129.00) is a bit wasted. It did have zoom, and adjustable power levels though and the slave was a bonus, so this flash is still quite usable off camera.
The next flash I ordered was a Vivitar 285HV ($89.95). I am perfectly happy with this flash, Manual power adjustment, PC cord adapter, etc. However there are a couple of downfalls with this flash. It will only adjust to a minimum of 1/16 power (same as my bowen) and I'm finding that I really need to go less than that. The head does elevate from 0 to 90 deg but does not rotate left and right. Also the size of the flash head itself finds me shopping for gels, omni-bounce, etc... Specifically for that flash.
Determined to find the right combination I started my search with a few new requirements. Manual Power Adjustment to a min of 1/64th power, PC jack, zoom, fully adjustable rotating head, a somewhat normal head size, and now an even lower price since my budget was starting to thin quickly. This search brought me to a "Yong Nuo YN460". This flash seemed to have it all for a very cheap price. So cheap in fact $39.99 on Ebay that I was skeptical but tried it anyhow. What a surprise it works great! Manual power adjustment to a minimum of 1/64th power, PC Sync, rotating head, and affordable. Downfalls? Well the biggest downfalls that I found were only in other user testimonies not one I experienced. It seems as if the Quality Control for the YN460 is not really up to snuff so you could get a flash that works perfect or you could get one that is not consistent at lower power levels (below 1/16th). Upon further review the YN460 MK II "seems" to have added a few features (most notably 1/2 stop adjustments) as well as fixed some of the QA issues. The YN460 MK II is going for $59.99 at the time of this writing.
It would be amiss of me to not mention the LumoPro 120. This flash was built specifically for the strobist. It has it all and is currently selling for $129.00. This is likely the route I would have gone if my starting budget was a bit bigger.
The Transmitters
No strobist kit would be complete without some sort of way to trigger the flashes. There are several ways to do this. Slave Flashes, PC Cords, and Radio Transmitters which is the way I chose to go. There are several different brands with the Pocket Wizard topping the list. However as you guessed the Pocket Wizards are out of the normal persons price range. So I sat down and thought a bit about my requirements for a flash triggering system. I knew I wanted wireless, and a range of at least 30-40 feet. I ended up with the "PT-04 CN III" from Ebay and they are selling for $49.95 at the time of this writing. This triggering kit included the transmitter, and 3 receivers (for all 3 of my flashes), 4 channels, PC jacks, hotshoe, screw holes for tripod mount, and an added bonus of 3 flash stands for the floor or table, etc... The units say they will work up to 30 meters (98 feet) but I have the most consistent results up to 70 feet. Overall they meet my requirements and I have been happy with them. I have heard that there is a Version 3 of these transmitters with an antennae built in now but have not had any experience with them.
The Hindsight Tally
Now comes my list of how I would have done things if I knew then what I know now.
Cowboy Studio Light Stand Kit: $30.99
Rosco Stobist Flash Gels (These do not correctly fit the Vivitar 285): $9.95.
YN460 MK II Flash: $59.99
Ebay Radio Triggers: $49.95
Grand Total: $150.88
What!! I thought you said budget studio? Actually I am talking just that. Remember you don't have to buy everything at once. There are alot of things you can do with just 1 flash and you can just piece the other stuff together along the way. Its also notable that many of the Nikon, Olympus, Canon flashes sell for more than $300+ by themselves. Thats an entire studio for less than 1 flash. The 1 thing I would recommend is that you figure out how many flashes you want in the end (3 for me) and just order the wireless transmitter with enough receivers to accommodate. You can always order additional receivers but once you tack on the shipping for each receiver you end up spending more in the long run.
The MeanTime
The stuff listed above does take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to receive. So while the impatience is setting in you can can always pop over to diyphotography.com and check out some of the flash adapters, backgrounds, etc... You will absolutely want to make yourself a couple of snoots, grid spots, etc... to use when your stuff arrives. This is the time to start gathering the materials you will need to make this type of stuff. An absolute must is to run thru the Strobits 101/102 for a bit of foundation. This should keep you busy until your stuff arrives.
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