Ready to buy studio lights, but...

[ldelacruz]

James,
I think the difference to a serious Pro would be consistency in light output and color balance, build quality and settings.

Here is a thread I posted a while back because my AB's were not constant. I fixed it by listening to Captain Tom and keeping them above 1/2 power and below 3/4.
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...-go-again.html

[Tom]

Originally Posted by doctahjones

just curious, what do -you- base that statement off of? the quality of the build? longevitiy before replacement parts/blubs are needed?

i guess so far in my eyes alot of the non-ebay lights seem like lexus/infinity/bmw/merc/etc. maybe alienbees are an acura and elinchrom is a lexus?

From shooting both.

I actually paid less for my Elinchrom setup than a similar Bees setup would cost.

To date, my color has been very consistent - even at high and low power.

I think Scott's analysis is best. VW vs a C-class Merc.


The color consistency is a big deal.
Being able to upgrade without selling the light modifiers is a big deal to me. What if you wanted to move up to a D3 or a 1D, but you had to buy all new lenses to do so. That would suck ass. I think of that as the same thing. Build quality on the Elinchrom modifiers vs PCB modifiers.

Other advantages of the Elinchroms are digitally adjusted, while the Bees have a slider. It is incredibly nice to be able to dial in a 1/10th stop adjustment rather than guess on the slider. Quick and accurate.

Also, the Elinchroms are 400w/s compared to the 320 w/s Bees.



The lights I use daily are:
Elinchrom D-Lite 4 (3x)
2x Canon 580 EX II
2x Canon 550 EX
2x Calumet 750 w/s
1x Calumet 375 w/s
3x head Dynolite 1000 w/s

I like the light the best with the Dynolite and the Elinchrom. But I hate dealing with the pack and head system of the dynolite. I much prefer the monoblocks.

The negatives of the Elinchroms are that the modifiers are more expensive, and the modeling bulb is 100 watts (150 watts on the Bees).

If I had $2k to spend on lights, no way I go with the Bees.

[doctahjones]

Originally Posted by srwatters

I'm going by the Ken Rockwall school of equipment review. I am me. Just believe.

But seriously. I have put several years use on Alien Bee, Norman, and Hensel lights. I feel confident in my opinion that the Alien Bee lights are not as accurate in power and color temperature across their operating range. My Hensel lights are. My Norman ML-600R was. Every Elinchrom Style RX monolight I've seen has been. Believe me or not. That's up to you, but if you don't, go do the comparison yourself.

Does it matter to you if your exposure is off 1/3 to 1/2 a stop when that perfect expression comes up? Shooting for a catalog where the blue item needs to be exactly that blue and the background color needs to be consistent across many different pages? Then maybe you should consider gear built to tighter tolerances with more and better features like remote power control built in, high output modeling lamps, built in radio triggers, more consistent optical slaves, precise digital output control, etc.

ok, so what i'm getting from you, is tighter tollerances in all aspects of how it operations (color temp, power output, etc). that's the kind of answer i was looking for, thanks scott

[doctahjones]

Originally Posted by ldelacruz

James,
I think the difference to a serious Pro would be consistency in light output and color balance, build quality and settings.

yup, that's what i was looking for.

[ldelacruz]

They are coming out with a new digital consistent light. The Einstein but they are $463 each.

[doctahjones]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

From shooting both.

The color consistency is a big deal.
Being able to upgrade without selling the light modifiers is a big deal to me. What if you wanted to move up to a D3 or a 1D, but you had to buy all new lenses to do so. That would suck ass. I think of that as the same thing. Build quality on the Elinchrom modifiers vs PCB modifiers.

ok, so color consistency and upgradeability (is that even a word? heh). cool, thanks.

[klynam]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

If I had $2k to spend on lights, no way I go with the Bees.

I'm not disagreeing w/ TC, just saying I did have $2K and went with a big package purchase of pre-owned AB equipment from a reputable seller. That netted me well over $3K worth of equipment - and a TON more flexibility - than $2K would have bought in new AB equipment or any other brand. I've had two minor issues come up with this decision, and AB fixed one of them at no cost to me - even though I didn't buy the equipment new from them. (It was just a little thing, but that kind of customer service speaks volumes these days.)

Were I to do it all again...
with $2K to spend...
and I wanted new equipment...
and total quality was more important than raw value...
I would probably not choose AB...

But right now in life, I'm glad I did.

[PeteQ]

Had my AB's for six years. I can't kill them. From dusty horse arenas, to location commercial shoots to wedding venues and engagement shoots week in and week out they have done a great job and have never let me down and have made me tens of thousands of dollars. If they ever do give up the ghost I will have to think long an hard before spending 5X the cost to replace them with a similar "top of the line" set up.

I guess I could sell them now and get a Profoto or Bron kit... Nah, they have been too good to me!

[Tom]

Originally Posted by doctahjones

ok, so color consistency and upgradeability (is that even a word? heh). cool, thanks.

Well, that would be it if you didn't consider:
Better light modifiers for Elinchrom
400 w/s vs 320 w/s of the AB800
Digital 1/10th stop adjustments vs slider for AB

Kylnam:
Likewise, I got a great deal on my Elinchroms (yay for open boxes at B&H):
$199 for the 27" beauty dish
$569 for the 2-light kit (2 softboxes/2stands)
$215 for the 53" octobox
$239 for the 400 w/s head
$229 for the Deep throat octobox

Bees can't touch that.

[titan307]

Does it matter to you if your exposure is off 1/3 to 1/2 a stop when that perfect expression comes up? Shooting for a catalog where the blue item needs to be exactly that blue and the background color needs to be consistent across many different pages? Then maybe you should consider gear built to tighter tolerances with more and better features like remote power control built in, high output modeling lamps, built in radio triggers, more consistent optical slaves, precise digital output control, etc.[/QUOTE]

Arent you just going to tweek it in photoshop anyway. So why not just correct color variations while your at it.

I have had the white lightning for over 12yrs and now the AB's for about 5 and have never had a problem with any of them, have replaced the strobe twice once was my fault. i use the AB's when on location outside simply because of weight, get the 1600 and u should have more than enough power for the sun. I also have the vagabond II battery pack and with two lights running full power easily 600 shots. The pack also has cables to charge from cig lighter or straight from car battery and you can hang it on the lights for ballast in higher winds.

As bad as i hate to say it, but alot of people truly believe if you dont pay an arm and a leg for things, they are not as good as something you mortgaged the house for.

AB's,white lightning and zeus have a wireless transmitter that you can adjust all you lights from the camera, you dont have to go to each light and adjust, the Cybercommander

White Lightning: Professional Photographic Flash Units and Accessories.

White Lightning: Professional Photographic Flash Units and Accessories (white lightning)

AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment (Alien Bees)

AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment (remotes)

But its up to you. Do your research and decide for yourself what best suits your needs and style.

Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge

[Tom]

Arent you just going to tweek it in photoshop anyway. So why not just correct color variations while your at it.

Cause it is a big bloody pain in the ass to have to change the white balance on every pic in a series because your light suck.

As bad as i hate to say it, but alot of people truly believe if you dont pay an arm and a leg for things, they are not as good as something you mortgaged the house for.

I've shot with all the big names, and I know from experience that they are quality and worth the money. If I had the cash, I would dish out for profoto all day.

[srwatters]

If it's good enough for you, by all means use it. But i will tell you with 100% confidence that it isn't good enough for me.

[PeteQ]

LOL Love these discussions...

[Dobick]

I personally use and own alienbees (2x800 and 2x400 with a whole bunch of different modifiers.) If I had to spend my money again right now, I am not sure that I would not be buying the two light kit from hensel (2x500 ws monolights with stands, umbrellas, and a softbox thrown in) for 1350. That is a lot of light for the price

[dminton]

Originally Posted by srwatters

Here's my opinion and take it for what you paid for it...

Alien Bees are like a Volkswagon. They will get you there and built with German toughness albeit not the tightest tolerances.

Elinchrom D-Lite4 are like a C class Mercedes. Yes they are a Mercedes, but they aren't quite like the E or S class.

Elinchrom Style RX are the S class Mercedes. Solid powerful and built to last.

Hensels are the BMW

Broncolor are the Rolls Royce.

Scott you forgot a big one!




Speedotron are the Peterbilt 359.


That or a Mack dumptruck