Novatron 240 - 2 light Kit with 240D Power Pack

[PhotoJourno]

I just got it. (http://www.novatron.com/ns/product.php).

It came with the main light, and a second one which can be regulated.
The power Supply (Pack, I think you studio junkies call it ;) ), is the new 240D, not sure if the first generation stunk or what (That supply also has a regulator -by means of potenciometer- to go from min to max output).

This is my first set of strobes, I do mostly press and do not have a permanent studio set up, but people keep coming to me asking to take their portraits, so I decided to invest a minimum amount of money and give it a go. So its use will be semi-portable, with background, and for the sole purpose of portraits (say govt officials, families, individuals). I assume I will be doing two or three sessions a month.

Alienbee is still the premier -according to most- source for lighting, however I went with Novatron. I am a noob when it comes down to Studio and Strobe photography.

While I do some tests, and take some portraits to start posting, can any of you fellow POTNers post your comments on this rig if you own / owned one?...

The store owner that sold it to me was a good acquaintance, and has never steered me wrong before. Is this a good enough lighting kit?... It did pass my first test, which was conducted in a small room, and both the feature of modeling lights and strobe flash connected via sync cable, provided extremely bright photos without the hassle of solid white lightbulbs.

I know there is better and bigger out there, I guess I am interested in what other Novatron owners have to say.

Cheers,

[Wilt]

Back in my starting days with studio lighting, when White Lightning and Alien Bee was not established, Novatron was my first venture into studio lights. The products seem to be well made for the amateur market. My first 'beef' was that the 100w modelling light was not strong enough for me to visualize the results of the light placement, when the room was bright. For example, a living room with picture window and sun outside. If you expect only to do portraits in somewhat darkened room conditions, it would be fine. (AB, with 150w modelling light, is not a huge improvement in that regard.)

[LA Flash]

I've owned several Novatron sets through the years. Only problem I've ever had was attaching snoots & barndoors. The lights work great and really hold up to a lot of abuse. The great thing about packs & head oufits, you can use lighter weight stands. Monolights are great especially in a studio set up but go on the road and get ready to pack arounds heavy weight stands to hold them up. I went to the local Home Depot and bought brighter 150w modeling light bulbs with no problems. Have fun with your lights and get ready to start buying more. There's always more to buy, hairlights, background lights, kicker lights....

[T.Hogan]

Great start-up kit. I own a set of M800 and they are great. Now, you need a softbox. You can pick-up a fairly inexpensive one from a company called 2DreamMaker.
http://stores.ebay.com/2DreamMaker
I believe it might be owned by Bogen/ Quantum batteries. Have fun Travis

[PhotoJourno]

Great comments so far... T.Hogan, thanks for the tip on the soft boxes, and LA Flash, thanks for the info on the modeling light. Looks like a nice place to start. I just wanted to hear from those who do studio or own the equipment and use it, such as yourselves.
I appreciate it.

[Wilt]

Be careful about swapping the modelling light bulb until you find out what the unit is RATED to support without burning up the unit and causing your house to burn down! Ever notice household light fixtures have a max wattage rating that can be sustained?!?!?!

[Dante King]

I dont have this exact novatron set. I do own novaron lights and can say that they are very nice. Can you post some examples of how these are working for you.?

[FlashZebra]

I just got it. (http://www.novatron.com/ns/product.php).

It came with the main light, and a second one which can be regulated.
The power Supply (Pack, I think you studio junkies call it ;) ), is the new 240D, not sure if the first generation stunk or what (That supply also has a regulator -by means of potenciometer- to go from min to max output).

This is my first set of strobes, I do mostly press and do not have a permanent studio set up, but people keep coming to me asking to take their portraits, so I decided to invest a minimum amount of money and give it a go. So its use will be semi-portable, with background, and for the sole purpose of portraits (say govt officials, families, individuals). I assume I will be doing two or three sessions a month.

Alienbee is still the premier -according to most- source for lighting, however I went with Novatron. I am a noob when it comes down to Studio and Strobe photography.

While I do some tests, and take some portraits to start posting, can any of you fellow POTNers post your comments on this rig if you own / owned one?...

The store owner that sold it to me was a good acquaintance, and has never steered me wrong before. Is this a good enough lighting kit?... It did pass my first test, which was conducted in a small room, and both the feature of modeling lights and strobe flash connected via sync cable, provided extremely bright photos without the hassle of solid white lightbulbs.

I know there is better and bigger out there, I guess I am interested in what other Novatron owners have to say.

Cheers,
This is a nice set and it will serve you well.

It has just enough power for good quality portraits. The D in the model name indicates the sync voltage is less than 6 Volts and safe to use on almost any digital camera. The "first generation" of this pack did not stink, but it did have a sync Voltage of about 10 Volts. A version of this pack has been availabe for at least 30 years.

With the monolights all the rage, many overlook grand used studio flash bargains on units that use a power pack and flash heads.

Monolights have there upsides and downsides, so do flash head/powerpack sets.

One note of caution, never plug or unplug a flash head until you turn the power off and wait for about 5 seconds (so the pack can discharge).

I wrangle and do simple repair to mostly Novatron and Speedotron gear at my local camera club. Not adhering to the advice above is the #1 cause of serious damage to the flash gear. You cannot trifle with the 800 VDC that powers the flash tube.

Enjoy! Lon

[FlashZebra]

Great comments so far... T.Hogan, thanks for the tip on the soft boxes, and LA Flash, thanks for the info on the modeling light. Looks like a nice place to start. I just wanted to hear from those who do studio or own the equipment and use it, such as yourselves.
I appreciate it.
If you want to use a softbox with a Novatron set, avoid using it on the plastic based flash heads as most likely came with your set.

Look for an older Novatron metal "bare bulb" flash head that has a removable reflector. You can just remove the reflector and attach the proper speeding and softbox.

There is an available adapter that you can use on your plastic kit heads. If you go that route, do not attach a softbox larger that 2 foot X 2 foot. The plastic head just cannot take the weight (as attched by the available softbox adapter). Using the metal "bare bulb" head and the proper speedring will allow you to use a much larger softbox.

Novatron is currently making one metal flash head, but it is very expensive.

I made a couple of Novatron bare bulb flash head "clones" for use with very lage softboxes for my local camera club (4 feet X 6 feet softboxes).

Enjoy! Lon