I know a lot of filmmakers will say it's not worth it to own lights. Unless you're a streamer or something who's shooting all the time, just rent 'em when you need 'em. That makes sense to me if we're talking about high end lights for thousands of bucks. But do you think it's worth investing in a bare bones kit of more affordable lights just to have on hand? Even if they only get used a few times a year?

I'm a micro-budget filmmaker. My own self-financed personal projects have had budgets ranging from $15,000 on the high end to $150 on the low end. On past films I've rented lights, borrowed lights from friends, or even just used clamp lights and china balls for those truly dirt cheap productions.

Right now I'm planning to shoot a few pickups for a short I'm making: simple closeup shots. For $150 on Sharegrid I could get a kit with 3 Aputures for one day. Or for $300-600 I could assemble my own kit of 3 cheaper but still decent slightly used LEDs.

(Right now I'm considering getting a 2 panel GVM 896S kit either a Godox VL150, Godox SL150, Godox LA150, GVM G200D, or GVM G100W – which would all come out to around $500, including stands and a soft box for the spot)

My thinking is: after 4 uses, these will basically have paid for themselves versus renting. Sure, they'll be more limited in their application, but I can always rent better, more powerful lights when needed, while having these on hand for simpler setups, pickup shots, test shoots, or just messing around.

What do you think?