200W monolight system is it enough?????

TMR Design wrote in post #12051483
We do have mechanical means to reduce output but if we're at maximum power

...at the additional expense of buying scrims or buying ND filters for over the light or over the lens.

Wilt wrote in post #12051509
...at the additional expense of buying scrims or buying ND filters for over the light or over the lens.

Correct, but those means are available and will cost less than another strobe that more than likely will only reduce output by 1 stop.

I'm only pointing it out for the sake of those that may have to decide between what may be too little or too much power. Given the choice, and knowing you can further reduce output with ND gels, filters, scrims, etc. it would generally make sense to opt for the strobe that has too much power.

So in this case is the solution to shoot with the lights farther away.
From what I'm gathering setting up the lights at below 1/16 will start to give me color issues. Or i need to shoot at above f4.0 start with.

Or is the light solution the wrong one? if so why?

R.

rickp1 wrote in post #12051540
So in this case is the solution to shoot with the lights farther away.
From what I'm gathering setting up the lights at below 1/16 will start to give me color issues. Or i need to shoot at above f4.0 start with.

Or is the light solution the wrong one?

R.

I don't like to be bullied by light, so the first thing I would do it to figure out what apertures (depth of field) you like or think you'll be using. Then look at the space you have to work with and determine the working distances of subject to background and camera to subject.

Those numbers will play a huge role in figuring out how much power you need and what you'll be able to do in your space.

rickp1 wrote in post #12051540
So in this case is the solution to shoot with the lights farther away.
From what I'm gathering setting up the lights at below 1/16 will start to give me color issues. Or i need to shoot at above f4.0 start with.

Or is the light solution the wrong one?

R.

Again, too many variables to consider and we really know nothing about the space you will be shooting in, the look you want, the lights or modifiers you will be using and about a hundred other factors.

I'd say, start by buying a basic 200-400 w\s light kit and use it to learn the basics. When(and you will if you keep at it) you start realizing its limitations, then you make adjustments, buy additional lights, gear, etc and generally drive your bank account into the ground.

Rick,
Have another look at post 8 and the three circumstances where the 200 w-s light has too little or too much power. Change the f/stop values in the three statements and substitute the f/stop which is -1EV higher (e.g. instead of 'f/2.8', subsititue 'f/4') and that is the difference which results from buying the 400 w-s light rather than buying the 200 w-s light. YOU need to determine which of the lights is less limiting for your circumstances...each photographer's needs are different and what I or Robert might need could well be wrong for you.

What Jaycee just wrote is good advice.

TMR,
that makes a lot of sense. I was thinking of shooting at about 5.6

I don't know the distance from subject to background but if I have a choice I would say about 5 feet or so, it depends on the background. I would say about the same for subject to camera.

One more question I forgot to ask about the power thing. Are we talking about the light with or without modifiers??

R.

Again, post 8 descriptions are about half with no modifier, half stated with umbrellas as modifier

I didn't read all the posts, but I think you would outgrow the AB400 as soon as you got it. I have 2 AB800's and the ABR800 (ringflash) 320ws each. The f-stops in the first post (and distances), are most likely for a bare naked light with 7" reflector.... You will almost never use a bare bulb for portrait work. Add a softbox, especially one with an inner baffle and you will lose alot of light!

FYI, Buff has a trade-in program, if you under- or overestimate your needs, but the AB800 is by far their best selling light. They won't over-power the sun... but most of the time they are used in studio, so they don't need to.

NewbieXT wrote in post #12051790
I didn't read all the posts, but I think you would outgrow the AB400 as soon as you got it. I have 2 AB800's and the ABR800 (ringflash) 320ws each. The f-stops in the first post (and distances), are most likely for a bare naked light with 7" reflector.... You will almost never use a bare bulb for portrait work. Add a softbox, especially one with an inner baffle and you will lose alot of light!

Not sure what numbers you mean from #1 post. My AB800 in 5' octa with double diffusion gives me f8 at 8-10 feet with power at 1/2. So AB400 will give you same at full power. That is plenty power for shooting 3-4 people shots.

I agree with what Robert is saying and would pick AB800 over AB400 just because that will let me cover more different situations. Personally I have 2 AB400s and 2 AB800s.

I use the Genesis 200 in a small space with softbox and or shoot through umbrellas. I have all the power I need. Have not even used a 3rd of it yet. I shoot at iso 100, 5.6, 1/150. I like getting my modifiers very close for soft light.

A 200 Watt second strobe can work very well but again, it's about having the right amount of power.

If you like to shoot at wide apertures then you probably have more than enough power, but if you like to shoot at f/11 or f/13 like I do a lot, do you still have plenty of power? If you're using multiple layers of diffusion and perhaps a grid do you still have all that headroom?

If you like shooting at smaller apertures and don't want to be at the top of the power range with the longest recycle times then that's a good reason to have 400 Watt seconds.

You always have to look at any and all scenarios that YOU'LL be shooting. Gather info from others but remember, a lot of that information comes from their user experience in their space, shooting subject matter that may be quite different from what you'll be shooting in a completely different style.

Do you really need the headroom though? If a 200ws strobe gets you f13 then does it matter if the 400ws gets you f19 when you only need f11? And if you're not competing with ambient then just bump ISO. On his 5DII there's not much difference between ISO 100 and 200, IMO. The recycle times could be a different story though. Also, not all strobes exhibit pronounced color casts at lower power settings so you can use 1/16 or 1/32 settings on strobes like the Genesis and D-lite. And even if the color shift is noticeable, as long as it's consistent from frame to frame, you can correct it in post quite easily. My ab800 had a magenta cast but the problem was it was not consistent and only really evident 1 in every 4 or 5 shots.

I don't know what the quality is of interfit lights though so I can't really comment on them. There may be a significant difference between their 200ws and 400ws strobes in features and build quality. But I think a 2 light 200ws should suffice unless you're trying to overpower the sun. And with the money you save you can put it towards a light meter or other lighting modifiers.

Whether someone needs or wants the headroom is a personal thing. If you don't need it then you don't need it but many do, and yes, there can be a huge difference in recycle times between being at full power and 2 stops down at 1/4 power.

The Genesis lights don't exhibit the color cast seen in some other strobes, even at low and minimum power levels.

I'm not pushing anyone to go either way. I'm merely suggesting that all aspects need to be considered and that my needs are going to be very different from yours, and your, and yours....

All good info, thanks people.

R.