Reddit mentions of Fovitec - 2-Light 3200W Fluorescent Lighting Kit for Photo & Video with 24"x36" Softboxes, stands, & Carry Bag

That's not too shabby actually. I've never worked with a kit using energy efficient bulbs, only higher wattage equipment, but I can't imagine for inside use, especially a normal apartment, being too unwieldy.

From working in the photo studios in the universities I've been in, I would suggest using soft boxes rather than bounce systems though. The bounce systems are going to have a bit more light pollution coming from the exposed bulbs themselves where the boxes will contain the light and only let out the glow from the white screens. A little easier to control and direct. But at the end of the day it really comes down to your budget and what you're comfortable fussing around with!

Here are two that are a bit pricier but give an idea of what I'm talking about.

Number One
and
Number Two

For my videos, and nearly all of my photo work, I use natural and found light. I've done studio work and taught myself how to work with flashes and off camera lights but I always come back to natural lighting. In the videos on my channel I've been using the window in our "dining area." I think it's about 5ftx6ft maybe. I'm probably over exaggerating it but it's a godsend and a was a nice surprise when we looked a the place but I'm getting off track. The reason I shoot with natural light, window light specifically, is I can more often get a hold of some solid chiaroscuro when aiming for lighting situations inspired by Dutch Still Life Painting from the 17th Century. I'm not falling in to full shadows but more taking inspiration.

That direction is really what's most important though. It's not necessarily about what I'm using to get a certain lighting scenario so much as having a clear idea of what kind of light and look I want, and then making it happen to the best of my abilities. The same can go for when you're looking at equipment to purchase, what's going to best suit the look you're wanting? Casey Neistat uses a lot of full frontal lighting to give that "fashion" look occasionally in his studio, a lot of makeup artists on Youtube seem to either be sitting right in front of a window or using a softbox behind their camera to get a bright, full coverage, lighting scenario with fairly natural color to aid their content.

So this reply turned into WAY more than I meant to. I hope I didn't ramble too far off track.

Okay so here's the deal - f/2.8 will get you a full additional stop of light, which while significant, probably isn't enough to solve the problem on its own - and then you're working even harder to keep anything in focus.

While that lens would be a totally nice upgrade, for this particular use, I think it would be MUCH more cost effective for you to spend a few hundred dollars on some continuous lighting fixtures with softboxes (perhaps like this) and keep using the lens you've already got.

You don't need to get that specific setup, but it's a decently low cost way to get started, and for a couple hundred USD you get a pair of light fixtures with some ability to adjust power up/down to help with your exposure.

Good luck!

I used a Nikon D7000, with a 35mm f1.8 Lens (about $199). For a background, I used a roll of white paper from Utrecht (about $20). Lighting was from two $169/pair soft boxes from Amazon.com positioned low and close on either side. I shot from a tripod angled directly above.

However if you have cool neighbors, you can get similar results shooting in a tablecloth outside on a cloudy day. Here are some examples shot outside:

• https://imgur.com/a/qAJ7o
  
  
  
  As a bonus, the soft boxes make awesome work bench lights.