JTL lights vs Alien Bees Digibees...

[pn.md]

This is a reply got from a vendor on Ebay who is selling some JTL lights. I told him I was also considering the Alien Bees Digibees. They are JandK Group on Ebay. They have been extremely helpful and nice regarding my questions about the JTL. Of course they are trying to sell me their product but they have been helpful nonetheless. :)

This is his reply:

"Hi Peter,

Thanks for your reply email. Here are the differences between the
JTL Versalight 300 strobes and the Alien Bees B400 strobe Unit.

* JTL 300 watt seconds vs Alien Bees 160 watt seconds
* JTL metal strobe body vs Alien Bees plastic strobe body
* JTL optical sensor on top of strobe vs Alien Bees optical sensor on
back
of strobe
* JTL safety glass on flash tube vs Alien Bees does not have the safety
glass on flash tube
* JTL optional 250 watt modeling light vs Alien Bees 150 watt modeling
light
* JTL offers 3 ft stop range (down to 1/4 power) vs Alien Bees offers 5
ft
stop range (down to 1/32)
* JTL flash tube rated at 50,000 flashes vs Alien Bees flash tube rated
at
250,000 flashes
* JTL no remote control vs Alien Bees optional remote control
* Both are fan cooled

In my opinion, the JTL strobe is more complete and offer more
accessories than the Alien Bees. For the features and the pricing the
JTL
is much more competitive in price.

Here is a strobe kit, using JTL strobes for the main, fill and backdrop
lighting.

Qty Description
-------------------------------------------
2 JTL Versalight 300 strobes - 300 watt seconds
Main and Fill Lighting
Variable power from full to 1/4 power

1 JTL Versalight 110 strobe - 105 watt seconds
Backdrop Lighting
Full & 1/2 power

2 8 1/2 ft tall air cushioned light stands
1 3 ft Tall Light Stand
1 4 way barndoor for JTL Versalight 110 strobe
2 45" White/Black reflective umbrellas with removable black outer
cover
3 9 ft PC Sync Cords
3 9 ft AC Power Cord for JTL strobes

Price $ 659.99 plus shipping."...end of JandK reply.

Does anyone have JTL or Alien Bees? What do you think of this comparison?

This seems like a big difference. So you can never go WIRELESS with the JTL? * JTL no remote control vs Alien Bees optional remote control :D:)

[pn.md]

http://www.photographyreview.com/pscFlash,and,Lighting/Monolights/JTL,Versalight,300/PRD_143232_3136crx.aspx

I can't tell what to make of these reviews...

I've read that Alien Bees has excellent reliability and support. Not sure about JTL's reliability? The above link have some negative user reviews of the JTL.

One guy mentioned his JTL catching on fire. Another said he got shocked. It almost seems like these reviews are product sabatoge of JTL by another light maker or certain users? I don't know...

[pn.md]

I know most users here already know about the Alien Bees.

So here are some JTL specs:

http://www.jtlcorp.com/light/images/versalight_b.gif

It sure does have lots of fancy buttons...;)

http://www.jtlcorp.com/light/images/form.gif




http://www.jtlcorp.com/light/images/2106.jpg

JTL 300 specs:
Â*The Versalight 300 is professional strobe designed specially for photographers on location. Because of its versatility, it can be used as a main light for locations, a fill light for weddings, the hair light or the back light of the portraits for a small group of people. The light provides a diffused 300w/s output power (300 joules) on full and GN 200 feet at ASA 100 to fulfill all your needs as a photographer.
Â*Â*Â*Â*The Versalight 300 presents a unique combination of uptodate, innovative designs:
Â*Â*Â*Â*Detachable flash tube (colortemperature corrected) with frosted glass diffuser,
Â*Â*Â*Â*Optical diode indicators for four power settings,
Â*Â*Â*Â*Builtin thermostat (to maintain the optimal temperature),
Â*Â*Â*Â*Patented stand fixture (gravity balanceable),
Â*Â*Â*Â*Wide range builtin slave (360 degree),
Â*Â*Â*Â*Full, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 power adjustor,
Â*Â*Â*Â*Duallocking stand adapter,
Â*Â*Â*Â*Enhanced fancooler

http://www.jtlcorp.com/kits/images/92602.jpg
Code: 92602 DL-600 Compact Studio Kit
Contents:
2106Â*Â*Â*Â*2Â*Â*Â*Versalight 300
5013Â*Â*Â*Â*2Â*Â*Â*800 Light Stand
4022Â*Â*Â*Â*1Â*Â*Â*Â*40" Silver Umbrella
2524Â*Â*Â*Â*1Â*Â*Â*Â*Soft Box, 24"x24"
2703Â*Â*Â*Â*1Â*Â*Â*Â*Soft Box Connector
8221Â*Â*Â*Â*1Â*Â*Â*Â*Light Case
8224Â*Â*Â*Â*1Â*Â*Â*Â*Stand Carry Bag

[scottbergerphoto]

This seems like a big difference. So you can never go WIRELESS with the JTL? * JTL no remote control vs Alien Bees optional remote control[/b] :D:)
As long as you have a female phono plug or female pc outlet you can go wireless with a Pocket Wizard Plus set up.

[slejhamer]

Be sure to read the glossary on the Alien Bees site, regarding wattseconds, effective wattseconds, and lumenseconds.

AB publishes all three bits of data for their lights.

The published "power ratings" using only wattseconds can be very misleading, just as is "watts per channel" in audio gear.

[evilenglishman]

* JTL metal strobe body vs Alien Bees plastic strobe body
* JTL optical sensor on top of strobe vs Alien Bees optical sensor on
back
of strobe
* JTL safety glass on flash tube vs Alien Bees does not have the safety
glass on flash tube
* JTL optional 250 watt modeling light vs Alien Bees 150 watt modeling
light

None of these items are a reason to chose one brand over the other.


* JTL offers 3 ft stop range (down to 1/4 power) vs Alien Bees offers 5
ft
stop range (down to 1/32)
* JTL flash tube rated at 50,000 flashes vs Alien Bees flash tube rated
at
250,000 flashes
* JTL no remote control vs Alien Bees optional remote control
* Both are fan cooled

These two items are very important.
You will find the ability to use the light from full to 1/32nd power more useful than only full/half/quater power
And I would prefer a flash head to last for 250,000 flashes compared to one that only lasts for 50,000!!

[pn.md]

Evil, thanks for the comparison. It looks like the Aliens are edging out the JTL. I'm going to research the web more about the Aliens. I guess this is why they are so popular and the price is great. :D

Scott- thanks for the tip regarding the adapters.

Slej- I'll keep in mind all the different terminology. All very confusing; or more likely they're meant to be misleading. ;)

[5 Type]

Hi PN,

I'm doing the exact same research as you are. And I've been comunicating with AB customer service for the whole week. I you want I can PM you all the questions and answers we exchange.

[davepgh1]

I bought three JTL 160’s, and another JTL XXXX to be used as a background, the XXXX and one of the 160’s arrived broke, the XXXX was crap to start with and I just tossed it. The 160 I had the company replace which they did in a timely manner. That same light went out the first day I used them and never came back; another quit but started back up and worked the rest of the day.

That same day I ordered four AB800, they worked fine from the start and are still working, however I can not say the same for their light modifiers.

(see: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00AviY&unified_p=1 )

I boxed up the JTL’s and have them in reserve as backup’s the AB’s are a much heavier feeling unit and I will bet it will be a long time before I call on my backups.

The flash count of the AB’s maybe lower than the AB, but I cut this from the AB’s web site, “This user-replaceable tube offers 250,000+ flashes, with inexpensive replacements available.” , user-replaceable inexpensive tubes coupled with modeling lights you can buy at Home Depot makes the 500,000 flashes of the JTL’s mute.

Maybe the 160’s are the low end models, but I look at them as a 5-600 dollar learning curve. The “heavy duty” stands that came with the JTL would not support the lights and the softboxs without slipping, I ended up having to put a clamp on the stand to keep the height set properly.

Another draw back of the JTL is that plugging a sync cord into them does not disable the optical slave as the AB's do, not a big deal unless you will be using them around other flashes.

[mbze430]

Fortunately, their lights is good...or above average. But their accessories is really blah. Luckly I only use Photoflex softboxes. But from other people on the forum their softboxes aren't really that great.

[JohnImages]

OK, I have received several emails from forum members so I have decided to add my reply directly to the fourum at your request. JTL has 3 levels of strobe: the J-160 which is 160 watts. The regular Versalights which are 300, 500, 800 or 1000 watts. Then the Digital Versalights which also has 500, 800 or 1000 watts and also adds the features of remote control power adjustment and computer controllability. I've noticed that the comparison with Alien Bees is has been made with the entry level JTL J16o which is the entry level unit which is comparably less expensive than Alien Bees and less feature rich. The JTL Digital Versalights are extremely feature rich and blow away most competition especially for the pro photographer on a budget. JTL offers great value when all features are considered. I invite forum members to visit http://www.JTL-Lighting.com to view specs on each of these lights.

[JohnImages]

I also wanted to mention that there are many JTL accessories which compare to Photoflex and Chimera at half the price whereas the Alien Bees don't have the accessory line. Also a new octagon softbox octadome type for beauty glamour photography

[Longwatcher]

A couple of notes on Alien Bees (which I have been using for almost two full years now).

1. You can upgrade an AB400 to an AB800 or AB1600 for the cost of the difference, plus a touch

2. They have withstood me so far (constantly putting up and taking down my lights, plus a few location shoots.

3. They are far more powerful then they seem from the raw statistics listed.

4. I have a lot of control over my Alien Bees.

5. When I did my research at time of purchase (2 years ago) there was only one set of lights that I thought were overall better lights and that was a set of Eilchrom, which are way more expensive. There are many lights that are better then AB's but for the cost and overall utility I prefer the AB system of lights. And so far all of the secondaries I got with them have been working pretty good for me (except I don't use the remotes or vagabonds as much as I expected to).

If fairness to the JTL, the one JTL light I have (a hot light (Digilite 250)) still works good (although I disliked the bulb that stuck out), but it didn't give me enough control. What it did give me was a great feeling for what I wanted when I got some strobes.

I haven't re researched fully since I got my Alien Bees so there may be better out there, but I trust my ABs.

[SkipD]

When using my AlienBees lights, I frequently make small adjustments to the output of one or more of the lights. By small, I mean adjustments significantly less than 1/4-power steps. If I was stuck with 1/2- or 1/4-power adjustments, I would constantly be moving the lights to make small effective power adjustments. Not acceptable in my opinion.

I've been extremely happy with my AB lights. I use modifiers mostly from other sources, but the lights are great.

[Sam]

When using my AlienBees lights, I frequently make small adjustments to the output of one or more of the lights. By small, I mean adjustments significantly less than 1/4-power steps. If I was stuck with 1/2- or 1/4-power adjustments, I would constantly be moving the lights to make small effective power adjustments. Not acceptable in my opinion.

I've been extremely happy with my AB lights. I use modifiers mostly from other sources, but the lights are great.

This was one of the major reasons I picked Alien Bees. Moving lightstands in confined areas is not fun and/or possible. Even if I had unlimited space it would still be a pain.

[CyberDyneSystems]

There was a review of small first time studio packages in Pop photogrpahy some time ago..
At the time the ABs were very very new and not included in the round up..

...but the favorite was the JTL..

the thing that has stuck in my head about this round up was that the basic three lite JTL kit with stands,. soft boxes, etc.. (all for under $1K) was allready equipped for a complete wireless set up. All one needed to turn this basic low cost kit into wireless was the transmitter for the camera as the three strobes allready had the receivers built in! (just checked the website,. "JTL 760 Digital Versalight Monolight Strobe Kit
with Accessories" is the kit I read about)

this seems a very nice direction for anyone who thinks there investment might grow/expand (and really .. doesn't it allways?).. that, and as mentioned,. the fact that JTL has a host of great purpose built accesories.

[SkipD]

I just looked at the JTL specs. There are three things that the AlienBees units do far better than the JTL units.

First is the recycle time. The JTL units all seem to take as much as three seconds to be ready to fire again at full power settings, while the AB units are ready to go in about one second or less. This can really be important if you are shooting photos of moving subjects that you need to do quick repeat shots of.

The second item of concern is the range of adjustability. The JTL units can be turned down to only 1/8th of full power (3 stops of adjustability), while the AB units can be turned down to 1/32th of full power - 5 full stops of adjustability. This gives the AB units a lot more flexibility in the lighting setup.

The third thing I noticed was the flash duration. With the JTL units, the flash duration (for all but their smallest unit) ranges from 1/800 to 1/400 second. The AB units range from 1/6400 second for their smallest unit to 1/1600 second for the biggest. In other words, if you're trying to stop action, the AB units would do a better job.

[CyberDyneSystems]

.. hmm.. I'm beginning to see why the upstart Alien Bee stole the "value strobe" crown from JTL so quickly...

[fortinaa]

Well, I'm on a similar mission too. I am seriously looking into getting some Alien Bees from all the recommendations on price vs performance that I am hearing. What concerns me now is the few comments I've seen here regarding the lower quality of their light modifiers. Since I don't have much experience and am brand new to this, I would like to get more details. Whose stands, umbrellas, and softboxes are better for the money and why? Is there a company that makes these quality products at an affordable price?

[Longwatcher]

First is the recycle time. The JTL units all seem to take as much as three seconds to be ready to fire again at full power settings, while the AB units are ready to go in about one second or less. This can really be important if you are shooting photos of moving subjects that you need to do quick repeat shots of.


And I get mildly irked at the occasional too-slow recharging speed of my Alien Bees resulting in them not being fully charged once every 40 shots or so. If it took three times as long to charge I would be throwing them out and buying a different brand. The ABs luckily are well within my ability to tolerate the occasional low charge when shooting a set.

[JRushing]

Man I know this is hashing up an old thread but after reading the post I felt the need to post my experiances with JTL studio lights and accessaries. I have been using JTL strobes for the past two years with no problems. To date I have (2) JTL Versalight D1000s, (2) JTL Versalight D800's and (2) JTL Versalight D500's. These are all controlled by a remote control that looks just like the one you use to control your T.V or stereo. I also have the link and program which lets me store and save light settings for future use so I don't have to fiddle with the light trying to get the exposure set correct. I use a JTL digifire transmitter and reciever to fire the strobs which had 9 channels to use. Although the range isn't as good a pocketwizards I have never had a case wher they failed to fire, don't really see a need to fire the strobes while I'm 200ft away. I also have two JTL versalight 300's that I use for hair lights or background lights although these are not controllable with the remote. The strobe bulb is covered with a frosted glass cover which is avery good idea especially if it gets an unexpected bump plus it's extremely easy and simple to change, a 5 year old could pull the old bulb out and pop the new one in. The D series have the option to make the modeling light track with the strobe power, they are fan cooled, have overheat protection built in, have almost unlimited power adjustments, one of the best mounting systems I have ever used which lets you slide the strobe body back and forth on the mount to compensate for heavy items like my 7ft octobox and they have digital readout that mounts on top of the body and can be rotated in any direction so you can see at a glance what the strobe power is set on. The stands that JTL produces is top of the line as far as I'm concerned. I have 6 D9000 air cushioned stands and they are extremly rugged and stable even when I mount a D1000 light and 7ft box on them, but I still use a bag or two just to be safe. The two D800's were bought used with about 40,000 to 50,000 fires on them and I've added at least another 60,000 to 70,000 on them and have not had to replace a strobe bulb yet, did replace a modeling bulb after I dropped one while not paying attention. I have a few of the JTL accessaries such as (2) 32x48 softboxes, (2) 24x24 softboxes, (2) 10x36 softboxes, (4) barndoors with gels and grid, (2) snoots with grids and gels and (2) gold umbrellas. I also have 2 photoflex softboxes and the JTL's seem to be built just as good if not better but for half the price. I'm not knocking the Alien Bees because they are great lights but haveing owned two of the 600's I wouldn't say they are in the same class as the JTL's just as the JTL's are not in the same class as say the Elinchrom or Profoto. JTL does have a cheaper line which is their J seires like the J110 and J160. I own two J160s and use them every once in a while for some fillin light and although they don't have the fine adjustments and the modeling lamp is on the weak side they do a good job for lighting a background. I believe in buying the best you can afford so it will last and I say if you can afford the JTL D series then go for it, if you can buy a true pro setup like an Elinchrom then get them. In the end you will be happy and not be wishing you had bought some lights with more power. Also I have never heard of a JTL light catching on fire unless it was from abuse or letting something touch the bulb while it was still hot and even then it should only melt the material. I'm extremly happy with mine but will step up to a true pro system when there's a need and the JTLs can't handle the job. Almost forgot about the recycle time. At full power the D1000's take less than a minute to recycle most of the time, every now and then they will take as long as 1 1/2 to 2 minutes at the most, this is at full power. Set at around 800w/s or less they are split second cycle time. I also like the digital readout for the f/stops on the JTL better than the slidder on the Bee's which has been known to get out of adjustment over time, although I always meter my light with a Sekonic anyway.

[FlashZebra]

I do not own any Alien Bee units (I purchaed nice studio lights many years ago), but I belong to a 65 member camera club.

Many members have the Alien Bee units, and all are very pleased with them.

One item not mentioned above. The Alien Bee units have a very unique power supply design that has eliminated the very heavy transformer. This makes the units much lighter and easier to carry to location sessions.

I suspect, but am not sure, that the JTL units do not have this distinct advantage.

Enjoy! Lon

[FlashZebra]

Man I know this is hashing up an old thread but after reading the post I felt the need to post my experiances with JTL studio lights and accessaries. I have been using JTL strobes for the past two years with no problems. To date I have (2) JTL Versalight D1000s, (2) JTL Versalight D800's and (2) JTL Versalight D500's. These are all controlled by a remote control that looks just like the one you use to control your T.V or stereo. I also have the link and program which lets me store and save light settings for future use so I don't have to fiddle with the light trying to get the exposure set correct. I use a JTL digifire transmitter and reciever to fire the strobs which had 9 channels to use. Although the range isn't as good a pocketwizards I have never had a case wher they failed to fire, don't really see a need to fire the strobes while I'm 200ft away. I also have two JTL versalight 300's that I use for hair lights or background lights although these are not controllable with the remote. The strobe bulb is covered with a frosted glass cover which is avery good idea especially if it gets an unexpected bump plus it's extremely easy and simple to change, a 5 year old could pull the old bulb out and pop the new one in. The D series have the option to make the modeling light track with the strobe power, they are fan cooled, have overheat protection built in, have almost unlimited power adjustments, one of the best mounting systems I have ever used which lets you slide the strobe body back and forth on the mount to compensate for heavy items like my 7ft octobox and they have digital readout that mounts on top of the body and can be rotated in any direction so you can see at a glance what the strobe power is set on. The stands that JTL produces is top of the line as far as I'm concerned. I have 6 D9000 air cushioned stands and they are extremly rugged and stable even when I mount a D1000 light and 7ft box on them, but I still use a bag or two just to be safe. The two D800's were bought used with about 40,000 to 50,000 fires on them and I've added at least another 60,000 to 70,000 on them and have not had to replace a strobe bulb yet, did replace a modeling bulb after I dropped one while not paying attention. I have a few of the JTL accessaries such as (2) 32x48 softboxes, (2) 24x24 softboxes, (2) 10x36 softboxes, (4) barndoors with gels and grid, (2) snoots with grids and gels and (2) gold umbrellas. I also have 2 photoflex softboxes and the JTL's seem to be built just as good if not better but for half the price. I'm not knocking the Alien Bees because they are great lights but haveing owned two of the 600's I wouldn't say they are in the same class as the JTL's just as the JTL's are not in the same class as say the Elinchrom or Profoto. JTL does have a cheaper line which is their J seires like the J110 and J160. I own two J160s and use them every once in a while for some fillin light and although they don't have the fine adjustments and the modeling lamp is on the weak side they do a good job for lighting a background. I believe in buying the best you can afford so it will last and I say if you can afford the JTL D series then go for it, if you can buy a true pro setup like an Elinchrom then get them. In the end you will be happy and not be wishing you had bought some lights with more power. Also I have never heard of a JTL light catching on fire unless it was from abuse or letting something touch the bulb while it was still hot and even then it should only melt the material. I'm extremly happy with mine but will step up to a true pro system when there's a need and the JTLs can't handle the job. Almost forgot about the recycle time. At full power the D1000's take less than a minute to recycle most of the time, every now and then they will take as long as 1 1/2 to 2 minutes at the most, this is at full power. Set at around 800w/s or less they are split second cycle time. I also like the digital readout for the f/stops on the JTL better than the slidder on the Bee's which has been known to get out of adjustment over time, although I always meter my light with a Sekonic anyway.
I would like to introduce you to a grand concept "the paragraph".

Enjoy! Lon

[JRushing]

I would like to introduce you to a grand concept "the paragraph".

Enjoy! Lon

At 1 am in the morning there are no paragraphs. I was lucky not to fall asleep on the keyboard.


I do not own any Alien Bee units (I purchaed nice studio lights many years ago), but I belong to a 65 member camera club.

Many members have the Alien Bee units, and all are very pleased with them.

One item not mentioned above. The Alien Bee units have a very unique power supply design that has eliminated the very heavy transformer. This makes the units much lighter and easier to carry to location sessions.

I suspect, but am not sure, that the JTL units do not have this distinct advantage.

The Versalights are still on the heavy side although the smaller versalights that come with a battery pack are a little lighter. Then again you could always go with the everlight which are very light but they are also hot lights not mono.

[harryb49]

I'm sold on my Alien Bees. They have been reliable, flexible, and performed well whether plugged into the ac electricity or using my Vagabond battery pack.

On the other hand, my perusing forums like this one have located a number of posts where the JTL brand has some shortcomings.

For my money I'd stick with the Alien Bees.

Take care,
Harry

[cdifoto]

The only thing I don't like about my B1600 is the cheesy logo. :) I DO like how compact they are. I keep mine in my camera bag.

[davidfig]

At full power the D1000's take less than a minute to recycle most of the time, every now and then they will take as long as 1 1/2 to 2 minutes at the most, this is at full power. Set at around 800w/s or less they are split second cycle time. I also like the digital readout for the f/stops on the JTL better than the slidder on the Bee's which has been known to get out of adjustment over time, although I always meter my light with a Sekonic anyway.

Did you really mean minutes? Is the D1000 designation true watts or effective. I have not found it on their site.

[HammerCope]

Would anyone know how weather resistant the AB's are. I'm a rodeo photographer looking to buy a lighting setup to light up arenas. In doing so I maybe putting the light up in places that may not be easy to take down in a hurry if it would rain. Or if anyone know of a good way to protect them and still leave them up I would greatly apprecate the help.

[MrScott]

I'm a rodeo photographer looking to buy a lighting setup to light up arenas.


Good luck getting things waterproofed.

Here are some links to get you going. BTW, you just missed out on a site and business that closed within the last year, arenastrobes.com. Its offline, but google still caches a few of the pages. Here's one of the left overs on another site with pics to show how to do the install. How to light an arena
(http://pmrphoto.com/%20howto/)
Here are two more good one's from David Black.
Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 101 (http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/0504.htm) Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 102 (http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/0505.htm)

[StealthLude]

Ive only used Alien Bees, and I do like them.

[HammerCope]

Does anyone know of any thing to do to protect them or a brand that would work in bad weather?

[Photogurl10]

bump :)

[foghorn]

I want to quote JRushing's post. But that will kill bandwidth.
I still didn't see anything addressing the 1/4 minimum power. That would kill me. I'm using Nikon SB-24's that only step down 1/16th power, and I'm having a hard time with that. Moving the flashes to extreme distances shouldn't be the solution.
1/4 power is a blunder.
I'll probably get AB's. There are other good options, but AB's are almost no-brainer.
JTL's do make other nice stuff (re-branded or not, I wouldn't know).
I have their wide backdrop support. I was impressed for the price.

[AndrewSilk]

ok, so the jtl lights are cheaper, but are very unreliable. i've gone through multiple sets of lights and repairing some of them was out of the question, it was, cheaper to buy a new one. unfortunatley, i stayed w/ jtl. now i totally regret it. alien bees are rock solid, small portable, powerful, and most importantly, reliable. I don't consider lights that are unreliable and don't fire a "great value". who cares if you can't put a 12 dollar made in china wanna be softbox on it if it does not fire, its ain't worth the cardboard they shipped it in! I'll take my alien bees any day over jtl's crap. so, even if you are on a budget, buy 1 light at a time and go with something that will last! - andy

OK, I have received several emails from forum members so I have decided to add my reply directly to the fourum at your request. JTL has 3 levels of strobe: the J-160 which is 160 watts. The regular Versalights which are 300, 500, 800 or 1000 watts. Then the Digital Versalights which also has 500, 800 or 1000 watts and also adds the features of remote control power adjustment and computer controllability. I've noticed that the comparison with Alien Bees is has been made with the entry level JTL J16o which is the entry level unit which is comparably less expensive than Alien Bees and less feature rich. The JTL Digital Versalights are extremely feature rich and blow away most competition especially for the pro photographer on a budget. JTL offers great value when all features are considered. I invite forum members to visit http://www.JTL-Lighting.com to view specs on each of these lights.

[JayHawk]

FWIW....a lot of people have mentioned the customer service provided by Alien Bees. It's definitely something to consider....I used to use White Lightning strobes, made by the same company that makes Alien Bees, and their service is unreal.

I happened to be living in Nashville at the time (where they are made/sold from) and had a unit start acting up on me. Took it in, told them the problem, they opened the unit up, pulled the entire inner unit out, replaced it with a new one, screwed the housing back on and sent me on my way. Basically I got a brand new unit for no cost, no questions asked.

Now I have two older Elinchrom units, and as much as I love them, they are very difficult to get serviced if you're in the US. I need another flash head, and I'm leaning further and further towards the AB's.

Lots of people say the AB's accessories aren't that great, but as long as you have the adapter speedring for your brand of softbox(s), does it really matter? Just about all the softbox makers offer a speedring for the AB's....so unless you're using Plume Waferboxes...what's the difference?

[Lord Canon]

Just a comment on using JTLs. I have used them for going on 7 years and they have never let me down. I used to do model sessions of up to 600 frames per with no problems. This was with the old style Versalight 320Ds.

While these lights are not the quality of my old Elinchrom 23s the quality is far better than my Speedotron 1202 pack. The Versalights are great and can take a knock or 2. I just purchased the Versalight 200 and 160 so I will let you know how they perform later.

I have not used the alien bees but again I have no reason to change.

[ShootingStars]

I just wanted to add one more opinion on this massive thread. Regardless of which strobe you decide on ( I will always vote for the Photogenics) one JTL product that you can never go wrong with is the Digifirer ( http://www.digitaldingus.com/memberreviews/jtl/digifirer/index.php ). Of all of the discussions on remote slaves I have never (rarely?) seen this one mentioned. JTL makes great strobes, for what they are and even better slaves. These remotes look stupid, have an even worse name but have always worked wonderfully. Plus a great price, with no Ebay worries.