Why is everyone selling their Alien Bees?

[flash69]

I just purchased my first Alien Bee B800. It looks to be a good light, for my very limited experience.

So why is everyone selling their ABs? Why is all the advice on this board is to buy other brands? Are the AB lights bad or just not PRO quality?

[MinhThien]

because they are releasing AB MAX line soon! :)

[psycorpse]

I would say you made a good purchase. They have really good customer service and there products are not bad. They are priced pretty good as well. I kinda wish I would have purchased a set of these lights instead of the Promaster 300c Studio lights that I have. It would have cost me a little more but I wanted them now....... Sometimes that doesn't really work out for me....

[SkipD]

So why is everyone selling their ABs?Who is "everyone"? I, for one, certainly have no intention to sell my AB units.

[cdifoto]

Who is "everyone"
That's what I'd like to know. :confused:

[UNCTEP]

I sold mine because divorces are expensive! Plus I hardly ever used them to boot. Worked just fine the few times I pulled them out of their bags.

[Canonism]

I've noticed that too on the "classified" section. when one is up for sell, it seems like 10 others will follow. and that goes for anything else in that section. ie 85 1.8, cybersync, etc.

[flash69]

because they are releasing AB MAX line soon! :)

I thought that could be the case also.

[ten1437]

because they are releasing AB MAX line soon! :)
what is going to be so great about them compared to what they have now?

[flash69]

Who is "everyone"? I, for one, certainly have no intention to sell my AB units.

I have been watching the Sell section lately and have seen A LOT of ABs for sale. I have also seen many on ebay.

Plus everytime someone starts a post asking about studio strobes seems the advice is always Calumet or elinchrom.

[GCGuy]

Love mine!

[DennisW1]

Not me, I'm keeping mine.

Sounds like a nasty rumor to me.

[flash69]

Not me, I'm keeping mine.

Sounds like a nasty rumor to me.

No rumor, just what I have observed.

[Kyle is raaddd]

I also want to know what will be so great about the AB MAX line coming...

[ngray77]

New models were just announced 6 weeks or so ago, pre-orders started a week ago, and they're scheduled to be delivered 'early' in July.

I'm holding my 'current model' AB's because they are designed (no tests yet) to interoperate so well with the nw models. Can't wait for the new ones to show up! I'll post results on the board, as I'm sure so many others will as well.

[Mike Fulton]

Depends on what circles you run in on what light or lights are suggested or "popular" by photographers.

We use Alien Bees A LOT in our business we have around 30 of them in all with our recent purchase of 10 more this past week. We also have Denny Mfg lights with their small and light portable battery system, these work great in fast moving situations. We also have and use Photogenics, which personally I feel is the best light out there PERIOD but for a price tag of over $1000 per light it gets expensive.

Again Alien Bee's are a nice light - for me the biggest issue is constant white balance output. They recharge fast but sadly do not output the same temp. of light most of the time. But for the price I can afford to use them, break them, replace them and worry about the WB in post if it becomes and issue.

Bottom line you made a good purchase.

[montanawild]

I have four Alienbees, and mine are not going anywhere soon.

[sleibrand]

I sold my WL1600's and intend to replace them with AB Max's. The AB Max's support the 7 stop range (now called 8 stops) which was the reason I got the Wl's in the first place. The AB Max should be smaller and lighter than the WL's and the accessory mount is supposed to have a better design.

With the high residual value of the WL's and the money saved by not having to purchase a CSRB+ (AB Max radio remotes are only $30), the AB Max's cost me very little.

The ability to use non-pure sine wave inverters, (claimed) better color and power accuracy are a nice bonus.

I haven't sold my AB800's - the cost to upgrade those is a good bit more - probably $150 per light. Not sure yet that it's worth that much. I'll play with the AB Max for a while before I decide.

[vincent_su]

I love mine and will go get some good bargain.

[Davidsl222]

I just bought three 1600s. The max will come out and then the super max and then the ultra max and then the delux ultra max and then the max II and then the ...

I was using my friend's 20 year old WL's and they worked great for me.

[vadim_c]

I just bought three 1600s. The max will come out and then the super max and then the ultra max and then the delux ultra max and then the max II and then the ...

I was using my friend's 20 year old WL's and they worked great for me.

Last year I was similarly waiting for their einsteins. Never happened.

[kenwood33]

if anyone is still selling, i will be willing to buy

[GenuineRolla]

This is awesome then! Maybe I can finally pick up a B1600 for a good deal.

One man's trash, is another man's treasure.

[Curtis N]

Everyone is not selling their Alienbees. In fact, most Alienbees owners are not selling them.

For years, they were in a league of their own. Not great lights, but good lights in a price range that was unmatched. There is more competition now, but Paul Buff sold a ton of them.

Many of the buyers were entry level photographers just experimenting with studio lighting. Many of these people have either decided that studio work is not for them, or have upgraded to higher end lights. The inevitable results is a lot of used units on the market.

The typical used car lot will have more Chevys than Yugos. It's only because more Chevys than Yugos were sold new.

[rdavisdesign]

If you like them, stick with what works for you. I don't think there's any one specific reason across the board people are selling their AB units. I love my lights and plan to purchase more. If you pay close attention some people don't hang on to much of anything for long, they're constantly "upgrading, buying or selling" equipment.

Just think, would Canon be as profitable if we didn't constantly run out and get the newest, latest, greatest...

[wrussi]

its good for me because im in the market for some used ab800s lol

[Kyle is raaddd]

d00d u hav a 5D, why dun u jus bi nu AB800s?!

Haha sorry, I have no idea why I decided to type it that way. Have fun figuring it out :p
I think $250 is really really really reasonable, and I'm the guy with the D40 haha

[Cmizzle]

This is awesome then! Maybe I can finally pick up a B1600 for a good deal.

One man's trash, is another man's treasure.
2 b400's would be nice

[Kyle is raaddd]

whhhaattt?
B400's don't seem powerful enough, well maybe if you just used them in a studio.

[Cmizzle]

rim/hair light

[christyjo2]

I use AlienBees and i love them, wont be selling mine either. But its like this...as soon as you buy something...you notice a lot more of them, which is why it probably seems like people are selling the crap outta them. Just like when you buy a new car. You start seeing people everywhere driving the same one ;)

[Kyle is raaddd]

rim/hair light

Ahh, true...

[Cmizzle]

already have the b800 & beauty dish combo for the main, then the b400's would be for fill/rim/hair, etc. But its not like I would be getting them anytime soon.