Lee |
What Studio Lights? I am inerested in buying a strobe lighting kit of maybe 2 lights or so. I have read about lighting kits and how to use them, but don't know how to select a good brand and intensity I need. I would like to eventually take portraits and make a little money on the side. any info would be appreciated.
|
|
|
||
Maynard McKillen |
Dear Lee: I had the chance to use an Alienbees B800 monolight a few months back. Although the brand name is kind of funky, the unit is powerful, lightweight, and the power output is adjustable from full to 1/32nd power using a sliding lever. This makes it easy to fine tune the output to match a specific f/stop you want to use, and is handy when you want to use several lights and ratio their output. A pair of B800s or a B800 and a B400 might form the core of a lighting setup. (See www.alienbees.com) If you want to look at a powerpack system, one where several flash heads attach to a pack that sits on the floor, you might consider Dynalite or Novatron systems. I mention all three of these brands because I know they are lightweight, and thus fairly portable, I've used all of them and found them reliable, and they each seem to offer a good combination of price and power. Perhaps other contributors will offer testimonials about these and the many comparable products from other major manufacturers. I checked ebay while researching studio strobe systems and found far too many obscure brands at very low prices. The monolight systems and powerpack systems were alike in one way: they were low power units barely adequate, in some cases just inadequate, for anything other than tabletop photography of rather small objects. Check national photographic retailers like B&H and Calumet for the brands they sell, which should begin to give you some idea which brand names have proven themselves.
|
|
|
||
John A. Lind |
I just bought a new set of monolights. Three alternatives I considered in addition to the Alien Bees: (a) Photogenic PowerLight 1250[DR] (b) White Lightning X1600 (the newest X-Series) (c) Hensel Integra 500 All the above is just one man's opinion of these lights. Sort out what's most important for you which may not be the same as my criteria. IOW, don't select the Hensel lights just because I did. -- John
|
|
|
||
Josh Hudson |
I have been using lots of gear over the past few years. Lord knows I have bought just about everything and sold it just as fast. I have also done the "ask the experts" route. The best response was B&H whose answer to the purchase of any monolight that costs under $750 is that "it is a horrible flash and if you are a professional you couldn't possibly do your work with it." So I am going to give the budget-minded photographer and run down on what I have learned. Some real answers on why you do or don't want some of the flashes out there. First, let us look at what you need to consider for a flash. POWER, RECYCLE TIME, MODELING LAMP, BUILD, COMPATIBILITY, RELIABILITY. I would add in CONSISTENCY in color tempurature and power output, but that variable in the sub-$300 flashes are so close to each other, that it is hardly worth mentioning. ALIEN BEES FLASHPOINT But if you are moving the flashes about and aren't into rapid shootings, you really should look into these strobes. PATERSON INTERFIT COLORFLASH AND STELLAR The INTERFIT COLOR FLASH is not the same flash as the STELLAR. First, the COLORFLASH is a totally different design. The attachments are proprietary to Paterson, whil ethe STELLAR are actually built off the bowens flash design. The COLORFLASH is also a much poorer design. It has a 4-f/stop variable range, 60 watt modeling light and although it has an average recycle time of 1.4 seconds listed, it is actually more like 3 seconds at full power. But most of all, the flashes are as sturdy as JTLs, which isn't at all. The store I checked them out at, kept talking about how they kept popping and smoking on clients. (Not an endorsement). Meanwhile, the Stellar lights are exactly the opposite. Metal instead of plastic. Rubberized case. The 300 ws flash is the same as the 160ws Alien Bee with a comperable recycle time (well 1 second versus 1/2 second). The 150watt modeling light is halogen instead of the other modeling lamps which are incandescent (which means more lumens). Unlike the other strobes, they have a optical AND an IR slave built in. JTL MOBILIGHT 300 Ok. On the surface, all fo the JTL lights look like the best deal going. Not only are they AC/DC so you can use a battery system, but they are inexpensive, and portable. But that is where the good times end. IF I thought the Paterson COLORFLASH was highly breakable, the JTLs threaten to explode if you look at them too hard. They also have an incredibly slow recycle time, but who cares when chances are the first time your flash touches the ground it will explode like a Ford Pinto.
But for what it is worth, my assesment seems to fall down to Alien Bees being good flashes with good reps, but the best value goes to the Paterson Stellar lights.
|
|
|
||
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |