AlienBee User Question

[fuzzypaddle]

My studio lighting up to now has been the use of a 580 II and 2 - 550 flashes with the use of umbrellas (both reflective and shoot through) along with reflectors.

I am contemplating the purchase of AlienBee monolights and have a couple questions. The information on the lights state that the 1600 is a 640 "True" w/s light with 1600 "Effective" w/s. Why both ratings and is it 1600 W/S or 640 W/S ??

[Motofreak429]

640 watts. 1600 is a number they throw out there. there new line is only going to include true Watts

[jeromego]

the term "effective watts" is just part of their marketing strategy.

[gonzogolf]

My studio lighting up to now has been the use of a 580 II and 2 - 550 flashes with the use of umbrellas (both reflective and shoot through) along with reflectors.

I am contemplating the purchase of AlienBee monolights and have a couple questions. The information on the lights state that the 1600 is a 640 "True" w/s light with 1600 "Effective" w/s. Why both ratings and is it 1600 W/S or 640 W/S ??


Effective watt seconds was a marketing term that has little merit. I'm sure if you do a search using that term you can find the history of it.

Best bet when contemplating studio lights is to use the plain old watt seconds.

[SkipD]

Effective watt seconds was a marketing term that has little merit. I'm sure if you do a search using that term you can find the history of it.

Best bet when contemplating studio lights is to use the plain old watt seconds.There's a writeup about it on the AlienBees web site.

[SkipD]

My studio lighting up to now has been the use of a 580 II and 2 - 550 flashes with the use of umbrellas (both reflective and shoot through) along with reflectors.

I am contemplating the purchase of AlienBee monolights and have a couple questions. The information on the lights state that the 1600 is a 640 "True" w/s light with 1600 "Effective" w/s. Why both ratings and is it 1600 W/S or 640 W/S ??How do you plan to use the AB lights? If it's basically in an indoor "studio" environment, the B1600 is probably too much light.

I use B800s in the studio and still have to turn them down quite a bit from full even when using them in large softboxes.

I do use B1600s, but primarily for lighting large group shots with the lights 20 to 30 feet from the center of the group.

[fuzzypaddle]

How do you plan to use the AB lights? If it's basically in an indoor "studio" environment, the B1600 is probably too much light.

I use B800s in the studio and still have to turn them down quite a bit from full even when using them in large softboxes.

I do use B1600s, but primarily for lighting large group shots with the lights 20 to 30 feet from the center of the group.


Thanks for your input Skip. I will use the lights with the largest group being mostly for family portraits. I may do larger groups but they would be far and few between.

[SkipD]

Thanks for your input Skip. I will use the lights with the largest group being mostly for family portraits. I may do larger groups but they would be far and few between.My best guess is that the B800s would work just fine for your needs. Good luck.