Generators Vs Battery Packs for on location

[Marloon]

hey guys!

I am definitely debating on whether to use generators or battery packs for on location shooting. the advantages of generators are that they offer quick recycling speeds and a full use of the modeling light. The drawback is the fact that they are noisy and heavy. I'd prefer the quick recycling speeds because when i am on location, we stay there for 2 hours at minimum. what do you guys think?

I have two options. honda EU2000 (http://honda.ca/HPower/Models/Specifications?Type=Generators&Series=Inverter&Model=EU2000iC&L=E) & Honda EU1000 (http://honda.ca/HPower/Models/ModelOverview?L=E&Type=Generators&Series=Inverter&Model=EU1000iC)

im not sure which to pick. i will have to check with either profoto or hensel on how much watts their studio strobes require.

edit. i am not sure about the generators in terms of maintenance, and how much noise and smoke they produce. i'd have to buy a lot of power cords to get this up and running hahhaha.

[TMR Design]

As has been mentioned many times in these forums, there's nothing wrong with using a generator that has an inverter IF, and only IF the inverter is a PURE SINE WAVE inverter.

If the generator or the documentation does not specifically indicate that it is a pure sine wave inverter then you don't want to use it for your strobes, laptop, etc.

You can power portable fans, radio, CD player, device chargers, continuous lights, etc. but NOT strobes.

[Seanzky]

Aside from noise and weight, you forgot to mention price! :)

[Titus213]

Rather than how long you are on location - how many shots do you usually take? And at what power levels? And do those generators have pure sine wave inverters?

I would think that based on the prices of those generators and the prices of a unit like the AB Vagabond II that the battery system would work much better for you. Unless you take thousands of shots while on location. And then perhaps a couple of battery units? You'd still be well below the price of the generators.

[Seanzky]

Rather than how long you are on location - how many shots do you usually take? And at what power levels? And do those generators have pure sine wave inverters?

I would think that based on the prices of those generators and the prices of a unit like the AB Vagabond II that the battery system would work much better for you. Unless you take thousands of shots while on location. And then perhaps a couple of battery units? You'd still be well below the price of the generators.

My thoughts exactly. Three to four Vagabonds is so much more worth it I think. All three combined would still weigh less and not as noisy. Virtually no maintenance, too.

[Marloon]

ill be buying profoto compact 600R or 1200Rs. i can still source them at this point in time, so i have to act quick.

rather than buying profoto acutes, maybe i'll just buy the profoto heads with vagabond batteries?

[SkipD]

I have two options. honda EU2000 (http://honda.ca/HPower/Models/Specifications?Type=Generators&Series=Inverter&Model=EU2000iC&L=E) & Honda EU1000 (http://honda.ca/HPower/Models/ModelOverview?L=E&Type=Generators&Series=Inverter&Model=EU1000iC)I have a Honda EU1000, mainly for camping use, and can tell you that it's not big enough to run two 640ws AlienBees (recycling at the same time) properly. I can get away with one of them, but definitely not two. Thus, I'd recommend the EU2000.

[S-Man]

I'm not sure you'd want a generator indoors either. Everyone might get sleepy and take an eternal nap...:confused:

[Seanzky]

I'm not sure you'd want a generator indoors either. Everyone might get sleepy and take an eternal nap...:confused:

LOL. Suicidal, mafioso rat style.

[simplefoto]

I recently bought the Hensel porty12 ... a big dent in the pocket book but it worked really well. I used it for 3-4 hours at around 75% power taking many many photos. It is lighter and last way longer than any other pack due to the lithium battery.

[nuke789]

I did a workshop where my friend had the Honda EU2000 with two 500ws Profoto D1's.
It worked flawless,not much of a recycle time..maybe a second.It was small ans compact maybe 40 lbs.
But I still favor my Elinchrom Ranger RX pack for portability.

[ErikatSSI]

We have both for use with our ABs, and to be honest 9 times out of 10 I'll grab the Vagabonds over the generator. I take the generator if we'll be shooting more than a half day or so, or if we need to run other things such as a coffee pot or the heater for the trailer to give models/photographers a place to warm up. Otherwise the Vagabond type system is great b/c you can talk over it.


Erik

[gjl711]

One thing not mentioned is that the power coming of of nearly all generators is not all that clean. it has lots of spiked, noise, and fluctuations. If I were to hook up any electronic gear to a generator I would make sure i have a really good surge protector/line filter. Generators are great for motors, light bulbs and such but not so good for sensitive electronics.

[TMR Design]

Considering the weight, bulk and noise from a generator I can't see using one even if it produced clean power from a pure sine wave inverter.

I go out with my Explorer XT and two 600 Watt second strobes and without paying attention to the power levels of the strobes I can shoot all day without any problem. It's half the weight of a generator, fits into a small shoulder bag and super convenient. Three hours gives me a full charge and I'm good to go.

[deanp]

One thing not mentioned is that the power coming of of nearly all generators is not all that clean. it has lots of spiked, noise, and fluctuations. If I were to hook up any electronic gear to a generator I would make sure i have a really good surge protector/line filter. Generators are great for motors, light bulbs and such but not so good for sensitive electronics.
The Honda EU inverter series generators mentioned here are pure sine wave generators designed for electroincs.

[SkipD]

The Honda EU inverter series generators mentioned here are pure sine wave generators designed for electroincs.In addition, the Honda EU family of generators all run extremely quietly. Many folks cannot even hear my EU1000i, for example, when it's running 50 feet away. You can carry on a normal conversation standing right over the top of generator.

[Atomic79]

Chase Jarvis, Honda 3000 genny, Broncolor Scoro pack and heads, New Zealand. You betcha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwzTRAfwqo8&feature=related

Something I wanted to mention, living here in earthquake country, having a genny around is useful for things other than powering strobes. The initial price for a generator may seem steep, if you look at it as only for powering strobes, but if you include its other uses it may prove to be a wise investment.

[Conner999]

That Scoro is just sick...

[sfaust]

We are setup for both portable battery and generator power. I prefer the generator over the battery setup when I shoot for clients. When I shoot for myself, I tend to use the battery setup. The main reason is with clients, there always seems to be a need for power other than for the lighting along. Ie, to run the laptop and external monitor for the client, the stylists always seem to have a need for an extension cord, we usually shoot for longer periods of time, and so on.

When I shoot for myself, I generally don't have an assistant to help with setup, there is no client wanted to view the images on a 30" monitor, and I generally shoot for a shorter time. In those instances, the portable battery setups work well, especially if its capable of having a spare battery to swap out if needed.

The generators we use are the Honda EU2000i. They will run all day long on a gallon of gas, are very very quiet (perfect for still/video use), use a pure sine wave inverter for very clean power, require virtually no maintenance and start on the first pull every time, and are very reliable. I can't say enough good things about them.

During one of my workshops last year, before I purchased the EU2000i's, I needed to rent a generator for outdoor lighting setups. They couldn't get me the generators I wanted, so they substituted another one. Well, it wasn't a pure sine wave, and I started blowing out strobe units. After we lost two, I needed a solution. The thought occurred to me that I have a few UPS units at the studio, so I had someone run back and get them, and hung them off the generator. It worked perfectly, and ran three multi-light setups off a 3000w generator all day long. They were hit pretty hard since the photographers (26 of them) keep them running almost non-stop. So I you can't get a pure sine wave inverter, hanging a UPS off of it could clean up the power nicely in a pinch. It worked for us (thankfully!)

[Titus213]

We are setup for both portable battery and generator power. I prefer the generator over the battery setup when I shoot for clients. When I shoot for myself, I tend to use the battery setup. The main reason is with clients, there always seems to be a need for power other than for the lighting along. Ie, to run the laptop and external monitor for the client, the stylists always seem to have a need for an extension cord, we usually shoot for longer periods of time, and so on.

When I shoot for myself, I generally don't have an assistant to help with setup, there is no client wanted to view the images on a 30" monitor, and I generally shoot for a shorter time. In those instances, the portable battery setups work well, especially if its capable of having a spare battery to swap out if needed.

The generators we use are the Honda EU2000i. They will run all day long on a gallon of gas, are very very quiet (perfect for still/video use), use a pure sine wave inverter for very clean power, require virtually no maintenance and start on the first pull every time, and are very reliable. I can't say enough good things about them.

During one of my workshops last year, before I purchased the EU2000i's, I needed to rent a generator for outdoor lighting setups. They couldn't get me the generators I wanted, so they substituted another one. Well, it wasn't a pure sine wave, and I started blowing out strobe units. After we lost two, I needed a solution. The thought occurred to me that I have a few UPS units at the studio, so I had someone run back and get them, and hung them off the generator. It worked perfectly, and ran three multi-light setups off a 3000w generator all day long. They were hit pretty hard since the photographers (26 of them) keep them running almost non-stop. So I you can't get a pure sine wave inverter, hanging a UPS off of it could clean up the power nicely in a pinch. It worked for us (thankfully!)

I was wondering if something like that would work.

Can you use the Vagabond II while it's being charged? By a generator?

[sfaust]

I was wondering if something like that would work.

Can you use the Vagabond II while it's being charged? By a generator?

Depending on how the circuitry is setup, it could work. It all depends on how the manufacturer wired it all up. I know it would work on mine since I can tap into the battery separately, and thus have it under charge while in operation much like a RV setup. But if Paul Buff designed it such that their battery charge connection disconnects the inverter from the battery during charge, then it won't.

Also, if you are trying to use it while charging at the same time, you would want a higher charge rate. Basically, enough to power the equipment with some excess to allow it to charge. Otherwise, you would be depleting the battery at a faster rate than you are adding new capacity, and in time would end up with a dead battery anyway. It would make more sense to just put the Vagabond on charge from the generator, and use the generator to power the lights separately. It will be far more efficient in the end, and you'll end up giving the battery a full charge rate at the same time.

[Marloon]

I'm not sure you'd want a generator indoors either. Everyone might get sleepy and take an eternal nap...:confused:

LOL! when using strobes indoors, i'll be using power that's provided by the location - wall plugs.

eternal nap... HAHAHAHHA

[simplefoto]

I was wondering if something like that would work.

Can you use the Vagabond II while it's being charged? By a generator?

I doubt it. I know you can't use the Hensel Porty unit while it is being charged.

[TMR Design]

The Innovatronix Explorer XT and XT SE can't be used when charging either.