Alien Bees in NZ? How to get them?

[hqracer]

Hi All

Was wondering how you go about getting Alien Bees in NZ as they dont ship internationally it seems. Are there other equivilent products we can get locally?

Thanks
Aidan

[K.J]

Yeah, I'd like to know too, guess you could get someone in the states to ship them for you but it may cost a bit!

[Inspired Photography]

I don't use ABs, but apparently they are not shipping internationally unless you have ordered with them before...

Possibly contact someone who is in NZ that owns some (eg Tim, maybe Wazza).

Rob

[weka2000]

Tim can still get them as he is an existing customer. Your other choices are from a local camera shop but they will be expensive. I got all mune from trademe from a local guy.

Shipping down to Wellington will be a pain. Unless they can send direct from China.

[coreypolis]

honestly, why bother going through the hassle, theres nothing special or grat about them. You could get a much better system used for the same price and not have to worry about future orders or servicing with them.

They're more e-cool that an actual good product. They're the rebel of the lighting world, tehy do the job and have a low price point, but thats it

[Inspired Photography]

honestly, why bother going through the hassle, theres nothing special or grat about them. You could get a much better system used for the same price and not have to worry about future orders or servicing with them.

They're more e-cool that an actual good product. They're the rebel of the lighting world, tehy do the job and have a low price point, but thats it

Corey, you do make an excellent point.

While i haven't even seen an AB in real life, I don't know if i would ever purchase one myself. I love my Elinchrom gear. Those guys over in Switzerland have been making lights forever, and do an AWESOME job of it. They cost a little more (not a whole lot more for entry stuff), but work hard all day every day.

With that said, there are alot of people on here who are happy with them.

Rob

[Thomas_K]

Got this in an e-mail from AlienBees last week:
New International Sales Policy

Paul C. Buff, Inc. accepts orders and payment from, and ships to, customers located in the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico), Canada (including the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories and Nanuvut) and the following US territories: American Samoa, Micronesia, Guam, the Midway Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are also pleased to accept orders from U.S. Military Personnel in Foreign Service, using APO and FPO shipping. Our Absolute Satisfaction Guarantee and Warranty service is extended to all customers in these areas as long as shipping and financial transactions are between our offices and addresses in the named service area.

We will additionally do our best to accommodate the needs of international customers (outside of the areas named above) by offering our products to them with the following international sales policies:

Due to increased costs and complexities in international sales, all international orders will include a 10% International Surcharge. This surcharge will be applied to each international order, equaling 10% of the order subtotal, applicable to orders placed by both previous and new international customers. The minimum surcharge is $25.00.

For international orders, the 60-Day Absolute Satisfaction Guarantee will not be offered. The Factory Warranty will be upheld, but shipping any products to and from our offices for either warranty or non-warranty repair will be the obligation of the customer.

Payments will be accepted in the form of wire transactions only and all payments for International Orders must be made in U.S. Dollars (USD). Please contact us for instructions on wire transfers.

When placing an order be sure to get your Bees in 220v if necessary, the cost is $10.00 extra per Bee.

[Longwatcher]

honestly, why bother going through the hassle, theres nothing special or grat about them. You could get a much better system used for the same price and not have to worry about future orders or servicing with them.

They're more e-cool that an actual good product. They're the rebel of the lighting world, tehy do the job and have a low price point, but thats it

Well I use them and I think they are quite good, but there are better and Rob has the only ones I want more than my ABs and that is Elinchroms, but they are considerably more expensive.

I can understand the issue of not wanting them because there are other lights that will do the job as well and have more sources for replacements. Also given the possibiliy of hassles if you do happen to have a defective light I can fully understand not getting them if you are out of regular shipping area.

However,

- ABs have great and friendly customer service - rare to find these days and should be supported.
- They have cool colors, which while they may not be practical, still are very cool looking.
- They are relatively light for what they do, this makes them a great travel strobe.
- In conjunction with the radio remotes, you can fully control everything but the on/off switch wirelessly. That is rather unique even for the high end lights.
- Most lights in the same price range don't give you the same control over the lights.

Obviously I am a fan of Alien Bees, but they work well for the price and I can't afford the next step up, which for me would be Elinchoms. Most importantly, I know no one that owns Alien Bees that has been dissatified with the lights.

Just my opinion,

[taygull]

Well I use them and I think they are quite good, but there are better and Rob has the only ones I want more than my ABs and that is Elinchroms, but they are considerably more expensive.

I can understand the issue of not wanting them because there are other lights that will do the job as well and have more sources for replacements. Also given the possibility of hassles if you do happen to have a defective light I can fully understand not getting them if you are out of regular shipping area.

However,

- ABs have great and friendly customer service - rare to find these days and should be supported.
- They have cool colors, which while they may not be practical, still are very cool looking.
- They are relatively light for what they do, this makes them a great travel strobe.
- In conjunction with the radio remotes, you can fully control everything but the on/off switch wirelessly. That is rather unique even for the high end lights.
- Most lights in the same price range don't give you the same control over the lights.

Obviously I am a fan of Alien Bees, but they work well for the price and I can't afford the next step up, which for me would be Elinchoms. Most importantly, I know no one that owns Alien Bees that has been dissatisfied with the lights.

Just my opinion,

Hey Longwatcher,

I don't mean to hijack the thread but I've got a couple questions on the Bees. I'm looking at buying a used set that includes on B1600 and one B400. I need a system that I can take on location about 85% of the time. The cost of the used set is cheaper than going with the off strobe setup by me adding a 580EX and wireless.

What challenges would there be in making the B1600 and the B400 work together? Most of my location shots will be during the day.

Also can I go with any type of remote power system or to get power remotely will only the AB system work?

Thanks!

Email works for me if you don't want to hijack this thread but I would think it would be good for others to understand the flexibility of the system.

[JMHPhotography]

I use JTL lights, and I am quite happy with them. I've also heard good things about Interfit Stellars, and SP Excaliburs. I went with JTL's because I was able to get a good deal on a set from a local camera shop. B&H does not carry them, but Adorama (http://www.adorama.com) does as well as jtl-lighting.com (http://www.jtl-lighting.com) and Denny Manufacturing (http://www.dennymfg.com). I just bought my accesories(barndoors, honeycomb, and gels) at Adorma though. They actually have an extensive array of stuff that makes lighting really nice... including their own radio trigger system.

[coreypolis]

- ABs have great and friendly customer service - rare to find these days and should be supported.

thats great, except they won't really support something on the other side of the world, and therees no point to shipping that expensive of an item.

- They have cool colors, which while they may not be practical, still are very cool looking.
you have to be kidding me

- They are relatively light for what they do, this makes them a great travel strobe.

a normal strobe head with a powersupply is still much lighter than mutiple monoblocks.

- In conjunction with the radio remotes, you can fully control everything but the on/off switch wirelessly. That is rather unique even for the high end lights.

theres a lot of other options like having the poewr supply in front of the camera that will do this as well

- Most lights in the same price range don't give you the same control over the lights.
yes, yes they will :)
[/quote]
they aren't awful, but there are a lot more practical solutions for everyone, and especially for the OP.

[Wilt]

Has someone overlooked the facts about U.S. voltage vs. NZ voltage????

From Alien Bee web site: power requirements: 120 Vac, 50-60 HZ, 8 amps

[Thomas_K]

Has someone overlooked the facts about U.S. voltage vs. NZ voltage????

From Alien Bee web site: power requirements: 120 Vac, 50-60 HZ, 8 amps
When placing an order be sure to get your Bees in 220v if necessary, the cost is $10.00 extra per Bee.
The Bees will with this option run on 220-240v power. This should cover NZ.

[K.J]

I think the main reason Aidan was asking is because they do seem a lot cheaper then most brands, I know every photographer over here that I've worked with uses Bowens or Broncolor set ups and I don't know about the rest of you but they're WELL out of my price range!:(
If anyone has any suggestions on where to buy a cheap set up [say for portraits] in NZ [preferably Auckland] I'd love to here it! :D

[weka2000]

I think the main reason Aidan was asking is because they do seem a lot cheaper then most brands, I know every photographer over here that I've worked with uses Bowens or Broncolor set ups and I don't know about the rest of you but they're WELL out of my price range!:(
If anyone has any suggestions on where to buy a cheap set up [say for portraits] in NZ [preferably Auckland] I'd love to here it! :D
'
On trade me look for "the importer" or John Charmers under flash/light section I have delt with both guys for lighting stuff

[Longwatcher]

Maybe I have played with old stobe and power supply systems, but two AB's weigh about the same as a two strobe pack/head system (actually less then the ones I have gotten to use before). and I only need to get the AB to the nearest power, not a central power, easier on the cable placement. And the cable thing also applies for controlling the lights wirelessly.

And I did say the other colors might not be practical. Although I do know someone with Pink ABs and someone else with green ABs. I have yellow and black myself - the yellow matches my vehicle (although not the reason I got them).

And most other lights (at least that Iam aware of) only have 4 stops of range, while the ABs have 5-stops. But I will admit I have not significantly researched lights in the past year other then comparing ABs against Elinchroms and ProPhoto.

Finally I did not say they were the best option for the OP, only that they are good lights for the price.

I am probably sounding like I am trying to sell ABs, but it probably more of the fact that I see too much bashing of perfectly good stuff that just happens to be popular, without people that do the bashing actually having used the product. I will state that I have heard something may not be as good, but unless I have actually used it I tend not to bash anything. I will point out what appears to be the differences though between two products. In the case of ABs, as mentioned no one I know that OWNS them has ever had serious complaints with them. Same can't be said for JTL or Smith-Victor lights which I also own. They also produce some good lights I am told, but the non-AB lights I have, have serious problems. I have no serious problems with ABs.

Okay I am done ranting. feel fre to ignore.

To the OP, I do agree with coreypolis though that because of ABs shipping policy ABs are probably not the best choice for you at this time. But they are good strobes.

[hqracer]

KJ - Thanks for getting this back on track. Im interested in suppliers and getting hold of lights here - not an argument over whether alien bees are the best.

Weka - I have looked at both those for the last few weeks and was unsure if they were good quality? I preferred the johnchalmer ones as they "looked" better and the specs seemed better.

What wattage should I be going for - trying to do home studio portrait type stuff. I see he does 150's 300's & 600's.

[K.J]

KJ - Thanks for getting this back on track. Im interested in suppliers and getting hold of lights here - not an argument over whether alien bees are the best.

Weka - I have looked at both those for the last few weeks and was unsure if they were good quality? I preferred the johnchalmer ones as they "looked" better and the specs seemed better.

What wattage should I be going for - trying to do home studio portrait type stuff. I see he does 150's 300's & 600's.

:lol: No probs. Check out apix.co.nz too.

Thanks weka for the suggestions - I also had a look at tm and tried to do a bit of research into the brands being sold but didn't come up with much.

Good question about the wattage - I was about to ask the same thing :)

[tim]

I can still get them. Someone on page1 posted an email that suggested you could still get them internationally, but there's a surcharge. I'd consider ordering them for people who live in Wellington.

A better option might be the Excalibur lights, linked from this FAQ (http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=113639) I wrote. No problems with shipping from B&H AFAIK, it's just expensive if you buy light stands from them.