Studio Strobes

[shafiq]

Hi All,

I am looking into buying a pair of Studio Strobes for use in home studio. I may at some point want to use them outside for shooting models so ac/dc operation would be a nicety. However, I have no immediate plans for the latter.

Can you kind folks recommend a suitable setup. I have seen PhotoGenic StudioMaxII 2x320ws Kit with stand and Umbrella's etc for approx $579 or $669 for the ac/dc version. The battery for the ac/dc version is approx another $350.

Then there are the AlienBees lights...they seem more powerful (watts per second) and are less expensive. At least the comparible AC versions.

What do you the forum members thing is the best setup for someone who wants to hang on to the lights for a while and not just use them as stepping stones from beginner to advanced. And oh another question. What is the practical significance of watts per second when usign a strobe. Is it purely a distance thing from the subject?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Shafiq

[defordphoto]

I have begun researching this and it looks like the Alien Bees are the best bang for the buck. Yes, there are better and more expensive solutions, but for the average studio they seem to be the best way to go. They have three models: The 400, 800 and 1600. Then of course you'd need to get brollies and soft boxes and all that other stuff, but you can setup a fairly professional studio for $1500 or less.

[DaveG]

shafiq wrote:
Hi All,

I am looking into buying a pair of Studio Strobes for use in home studio. I may at some point want to use them outside for shooting models so ac/dc operation would be a nicety. However, I have no immediate plans for the latter.

Can you kind folks recommend a suitable setup. I have seen PhotoGenic StudioMaxII 2x320ws Kit with stand and Umbrella's etc for approx $579 or $669 for the ac/dc version. The battery for the ac/dc version is approx another $350.

Then there are the AlienBees lights...they seem more powerful (watts per second) and are less expensive. At least the comparible AC versions.

What do you the forum members thing is the best setup for someone who wants to hang on to the lights for a while and not just use them as stepping stones from beginner to advanced. And oh another question. What is the practical significance of watts per second when usign a strobe. Is it purely a distance thing from the subject?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Shafiq

My thought would be to get something like the Alien Bees and not to be overly concerend with the outside stuff. Most outside modeling photography is done with reflectors. Big reflectors but reflectors. That way you can use high shutterspeeds to freeze the movements of the models, and if they aren't moving why are they outside? I like to light outside portraits the same way, short of fill flashing with a Metz type flash at a wedding.

Watt Second ratings are just measurements of power. There's a lot of bull**** too, in regards as to what a watt second really is. But the more you have the greater the light output. Yet on some days 200WS is too much and on other's 4800 isn't enough; so don't get too carried away with power specs.

For portraits and such you don't need a lot of power. I generally don't want to use more than f5.6 for portraits to ensure that the background is out of focus. You could fix any of this "too much focus" problem in Photoshop but if you can do it in the field it'll save you a lot of time later.

Power is really important if you are planning one doing big group shots. You'll want to keep the ISO as low as you can, but if you've got more than three rows you are going to want at least f8. That's when a pair of 1000WS strobes come into their own.

If you get the Alien Bees you can choose to use either softboxes or umbrellas. Each has it's own advantages but it's nice to be able to choose. Good light stands, the kind that almost certainly DON'T come with any of these inexpensive strobe kits, make life a lot easier and Manfroto/Bogen make excellent ones.

The stands that will come with a kit can be viewed as a starter set but I think that I'd get the kit that way in any case. You can always find something to do with extra light stands and let's make sure that these strobes don't get used like that exercise bycycle over there in the corner, before you spend a lot more.

[Vegas Poboy]

Alien Bees is a good overall bargian, from all the research I've done in the past two months there price is hard to beat. I've spoken with several of my instructors about lighting & they all say that there is a lot better out there but Alien Bees is great to start with. I have no intentions on becoming a full time photographer and they all understood that, I just wanted a decent set for in home use. If you ever want more you can always upgrade as you make more money. From my understanding White Lightning makes Aliens so if you want a little more you could look @ their website. My purchase most likely will not happen until June or so due to I have full studio access. But I would like to here how well they work once you get them. I prefer High Key & Low Key lighting the most.
Good Luck

[Longwatcher]

I just bought a set of Alien Bees (2xAB800, 2xAB1600) Busy bee kit (a bot more then you are aiming for.

A couple of notes.
1. For locations, you can get the vagabond, which will allow you to take about 400 shots before hooking up to car battery/outlet. (providing you don't run the modeling lights at the same time)

2. The biggest difference between White Lightings and ABs is WL have a 6 f-stop range, ABs only have a 5 f-stop range. The actual range should be compared as some other companies report a 6-stop range when it is really the same 5 stops of the ABs (so watch out for this one). WLs also have one light model that is more powerful.

3. I am very happy with my ABs so far and you can build it a light at a time and then get the vagabond when you need it for locations. The AB kits are even a bit more of a bargain.

4. Don't go for most powerful, Unless you have a very large studio, the AB400 and 800s will do you well. I have my AB1600 at about 1/8th and 1/16 power settings. I am very glad I did not get all four as AB1600 as I need the lower minimum power of the AB800s for back and hair lights.

5. The one potential negative of getting ABs is there is only one source location and all repairs have to go back to there, but they are very customer friendly and helpful.

In summary, I highly recommend the ABs at this time. (biased by only having them about a month so far)

[Saturn]

Hello:

I've also been researching the Alien Bees & White Lightening units. I've not shot with either, so my comment is based only on heresay.

I've been told that the color temperature of these units at different power settings fluctuates. With digital (or transparency film), this is a big problem as you will get noticeable color shifting, especially in your whites. A lot of wedding shooters I know use the White Lightning units without a problem, but they're also shooting color neg film. I shoot about 95% digital and this color shift would be a pain to workaround with each file during conversions.

Again, I don't know how prevalent this problem is. The units are great for the price, if they provide consistent color.

Thanks.

[Longwatcher]

Hello:

I've also been researching the Alien Bees & White Lightening units. I've not shot with either, so my comment is based only on heresay.

I've been told that the color temperature of these units at different power settings fluctuates. With digital (or transparency film), this is a big problem as you will get noticeable color shifting, especially in your whites. A lot of wedding shooters I know use the White Lightning units without a problem, but they're also shooting color neg film. I shoot about 95% digital and this color shift would be a pain to workaround with each file during conversions.

Again, I don't know how prevalent this problem is. The units are great for the price, if they provide consistent color.

Thanks.

Based on my two sessions of about 1300 and 700 images taken,

The first session with radio remotes there was very consistent lighting in color and intensity. I suspect I would get similar results from coord syncing all the lights to the camera, but would need to try. [This is based on every single picture having exactly the same WB and Bright/contrast corrections being needed]

In the second session using one sync cord and stobe slaveing the rest, the color was fairly consistent, but the intesity varied. I do not know why this was yet. The other differences between the two was the speed I took pictures - the second went much faster, with me hitting the buffer limit on at least four occasions, so I suspect I may not have been giving the lights the time to charge to full. With a second difference being I had the modeling lights off. But color seemed very consistent between shots after correcting for camera changes. [This is based on a couple of attempts at stiching some shots together and only needing to use brightness/contrast controls to get them to match.]

So while I can't yet confirm from my limited use, I don't think it is the lights in and of themselves.

The next time I shoot I will again be using the radio remotes with the modeling lights and I will be curious to see if I get consistant results again.

Just my experience,

[bdavies926]

I've been using White Lightnings (same company as the "Bees") in the studio since 1989--geez, I've got about 15 of them, mostly Ultras. I can't say much about the Alien Bees because I don't have any yet, but I can say that in my experience, you won't find better customer service anywhere--these guys (& gals) are a joy to deal with when anything does go wrong with their lights.

I've read (can't remember exactly where) that there is actually a slight shift in color with pretty much all studio strobes as the power is changed. I've been shooting everything digitally for just over a year now, and I haven't found that to be a problem with my WL's. Maybe the shift is just too small to be noticeable (with the WL's anyway).

For better color consistancy shooting digitally with whatever strobes you choose, try to use ALL the same brand lights, and also make sure they all have the same flashtube--don't accidentally use the UV corrected flashtube in one light and the standard tube in another--I learned that the hard way :oops: ! Same goes for umbrellas & soft boxes--don't use an older softbox with "yellowing" fabric, along with a brand new, "white" umbrella. Keep the color temp output consistent from light to light.

Again, after dealing with them AND some of their competitors for 14 years, I can't say enough about White Lightning/Alien Bees/Paul C. Buff Inc.'s customer service--IMHO, it's the best in the biz.

Hope that helps!