 BetterPhoto Member |
strobe lighting i am considering buying some equipment on a limited budget i would like some opinions on whether the following scenario would be a good step: a reality check is needed here please: i have opportunity to purchase an old dynalite 804 system that has been reliable but is showing definite signs of wear but an excellent price with 3 heads and a 400/400 power pack. as I have extra funds to further improve my purchase I would like to take a step towards buying a complete monolight system by purchasing a single brand new visatec 600 wsec monolight. head as well. Am thinking that the main light will fire by radio trigger to visatec and then this in turn will fire my dynalite (peanut) slave. The kelvin temp difference of the 2 units can be corrected by a gel filter (?) This type of system will give me a full lighting system and will allow me a back up if any head doesnt function and it will also provide me with extra lights for a situation that will need some extra lighting. can anyone provide a little input here? this is my first strobe light system. thanks
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Mark Feldstein |
Well Deb, Dynalite is quite reputable and what you mentioned is basically a portrait pack. My initial thought is what accessories or light modifiers, if any, it's going to have and how available Dynalite parts and light modifiers are these days, like reflectors, barndoors, scrims, etc. My own preference for monolights is Bowens (not the Calumet knock-offs by Bowens). Instead of going with 600 w/s light, I'd certainly drop the extra bucks on a 1000 w/s Bowens with a UV coated tube and use that as your main with a ring and softbox. Why? Because it's better to have a lot more horsepower available if you need to work at higher f-stops, especially with slower speed ISOs in both color and b&w (50-100 range). A hotter main will probably lessen or eliminate the need to color correct your other lights as long as the tubes are close to daylight temperature. I've also found the Bowens are extremely reliable, compact and versatile. Their website is "http://www.bowensinternational.com". You can probably get some good clean used Bowens lights at some very reasonable prices. B&H in New York often has them available in sets and even kits at great prices. BTW, the Bowens have built-in infrared slaves but you can also use them with a plug-in radio slave, like the Quantum. They can also be ratio'd. And as for your peanut slave, they're ok, but I'm not sure how well they'll handle the trigger circuit voltage in larger packs, including the Dynalite. Take it light.
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