Zeus light quality

[hunter440]

When comparing the Zeus lighting system to the other Alien Bee/ White Lighting products ,is there any noticeable improvement with the quality of light of the Zeus over the others?

Or is it simply a matter of the Zeus having more power?

[M Powered]

Interesting to find the answer.

See this thread.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=511515

IMO I think the Zeus just has more power.

[hunter440]

Interesting to find the answer.

See this thread.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=511515

IMO I think the Zeus just has more power.


Thanks, I saw that thread but I am looking to compare the Zeus to the other AB products.

Lets say that a set of AB 1600s gives you all the power you need, is there a reason to go with the Zeus over the mono lights?

Other than power is there a reason to go Zeus over the other Alien Bee products?

[TMR Design]

My understanding of the design of Zeus is that it's a pack and head version of Alien Bees with more power.

[TMR Design]

Thanks, I saw that thread but I am looking to compare the Zeus to the other AB products.

Lets say that a set of AB 1600s gives you all the power you need, is there a reason to go with the Zeus over the mono lights?

Other than power is there a reason to go Zeus over the other Alien Bee products?

There are some basic reasons to go with pack and head and I'm finding myself in the position of wanting to move in that direction. Removing the transformer and circuitry from the flash head makes it lighter. Having remote control of the strobe makes it a delight. In my case I have 3 instances of needing to be able to control the strobes from ground level. One is my main light, in the studio and on location. It's always up at least 8 feet and it is a total pain in the arse to either climb a ladder or lower the light ever time I need to make an adjustment. The same is true of a hair light in the studio.

Another reason is that you only have to trigger the pack and all the heads attached will fire in sync. You don't have to rely on optical triggers and you don't need extra Pocket Wizards or whatever your radio trigger of choice.

WIth pack and head, not only can you raise and lower the power of multiple strobes but depending on your power distribution you can either adjust your lights independently or together while maintaining ratios. So if you want to shoot at f/8 and you're getting f/8 + .3 you can just dial down the whole pack by 1/3 stop.

If Alien Bees strobes would meet your needs and you find the quality acceptable for you then the Zeus system would probably make you happy.

[hunter440]

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

:)

[sfaust]

I use both a pack/head and monolight for different reasons. I purchased the monolights (White Lighting 4x 800ws, 2x 1600ws) because I can position the lights quite a distance away when needed, which is harder with pack/head setups. There are times that I light up an object behind the subjects, and that might call for the lights to be 30, 40, 50' or further away. A monolight with pocket wizards work well for that situation.

When I use a pack/head setup, usually only when I need critical light control (color, exposure, duration), I'll rent a Profoto or Broncolor setup. And it is nice having the pack at your feet to make any adjustments needed. If I didn't need the monolights for location work, I think I'd go the pack/head route for the studio. But since I use the monolights more, it does't make sense to purchase both.

Having worked with White Lighting, Alien Bees, and looking at the Zeus, I don't see how the light quality would be any different. I can't see any reason to go with a Zeus from an AB unless its for he pack/head configuration, or the increased power.