New To LIghting, Buying Bees, Not Sure If I Have This Right.

Alright, I am looking at ordering a set of two Alien Bee's for shooting skateboard photo's, mostly at dusk/night, some during the day. I want to get a B400 for back light, and a B800 for the other, I am not sure if I have this straight, but, to shoot Snyc'd to both lights, I will need the CyberSync Trigger Transmitter, and then TWO CyberSync Battery Powered Trigger Receiver's?

Also, I am shooting with a T2i for now until I can afford to step up to the 7D later on this summer, will all this equipment work with the T2i?

This is what my order form looks like for now, any suggestions on what I should add? take away? ect.

Maybe a whole different idea instead?

$905.00 Shipped.

B400 Black Studio Flash (1)
B800 Black Studio Flash (1)
CyberSync Trigger Transmitter (1)
CyberSync Battery Powered Trigger Receiver - Plus (2)
20º Honeycomb Grid (1)
Backlight Stand (1)
10-foot General Purpose Stand (1)
Einstein/Alienbee Single Light Carrying Bag (2)
48-inch Shoot-Thru Umbrella (1)

You do not need two receivers. Each strobe unit has a built in sensor that detects a nearby flash and then fires the flash. However two receivers are quite handy and I would recommend you don't change your order. This will also prevent someone elses flash from firing your strobe.

John

Technically the optical slave on one flash should be triggered by the other so you can get away with on receiver, although the surety of having two is nice. Unless you are just maxed out on your budget I would suggest two ab800 as the differences in price is small and there are occasions where its nice to have strobes of equal power.

You can save about $125 if you use the cheaper triggers, like the RF-602's. You can also buy stands/umbrellas elsewhere and save money.. PCB can be pretty overpriced on some of their accessories. Of course if you want it all in one package and just be done with it, it might be worth the extra money. Up to you!

gonzogolf wrote in post #12084719
Technically the optical slave on one flash should be triggered by the other so you can get away with on receiver, although the surety of having two is nice. Unless you are just maxed out on your budget I would suggest two ab800 as the differences in price is small and there are occasions where its nice to have strobes of equal power.

I'd agree with 2x B800 as well, as long as you're doing outdoor stuff.. If you do indoor shots, a B400 might be useful.

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it. Okay, so, my shooting will be probably about 90% outdoors (half and half day/night) and 10% inside. I am not completely maxed on my budget, so, going with two B800's seems like the better idea, on the other hand... I am not opposed to saving money I could then order the cheaper triggers, and order the stands/umbrellas elsewhere and maybe get the price on the whole thing down a little in the long run anyway, even with two B800's.

Second part to my question now, for power, will I need to bring a generator/extension cords to the spots as well to plug these all in? Or is there an alternative to that? Sometimes I have a generator handy as we will be filming as well, but, at other times the generator is too noises which = instant bust.

Third part, is there an alternative to the bee's all together? Canon flashes perhaps? Lighter/Batteries = More mobile & less setup time? What are the main differences going that way?

Oh, and, for ordering the accessories and everything elsewhere, what are some recommendations?

Set of two stands http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​878&sr=8-5 - $40?

Two Umbrella Adapters - http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​890&sr=8-1 - $60

Two Umbrella's - http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​847&sr=8-1 - $60

That would take care of Stands/Umbrella's for $160... then buy just the two B800's - $580... would still be $740 and shipping and everything $800... I suppose I save $100 that way... but that doesn't include the triggers... BLAH!

GCODE wrote in post #12084804
Okay, so, my shooting will be probably about 90% outdoors (half and half day/night) and 10% inside.

Get a 1600 and an 800 then.

GCODE wrote in post #12084804
Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it. Okay, so, my shooting will be probably about 90% outdoors (half and half day/night) and 10% inside. I am not completely maxed on my budget, so, going with two B800's seems like the better idea, on the other hand... I am not opposed to saving money I could then order the cheaper triggers, and order the stands/umbrellas elsewhere and maybe get the price on the whole thing down a little in the long run anyway, even with two B800's.

Second part to my question now, for power, will I need to bring a generator/extension cords to the spots as well to plug these all in? Or is there an alternative to that? Sometimes I have a generator handy as we will be filming as well, but, at other times the generator is too noises which = instant bust.

Third part, is there an alternative to the bee's all together? Canon flashes perhaps? Lighter/Batteries = More mobile & less setup time? What are the main differences going that way?

The best portable power option is the vagabond II, or new vagabond mini from the folks at PCB. They provide enough power to run two bees easily, totally silent. The bees, and most portable strobes, require pure sine wave power, so make sure your generator puts out pure, sometimes called true, sine wave. You can harm your lights otherwise.

There are other options, the calumet genesis lights for instance, are another budget minded option. Canon strobes are not a budget offering, but you could possibly go with off brand manual hotshoe flashes. But its a different experience as the portable strobes allow you to use larger modifiers, where there is practical limit how big you can go with hotshoe flashes.

With Alien Bees (and PCB stuff in general) you can use their Vagabond series potable power units.. They'r (relative) expensive though. Vagabond II's go for anywhere between $300-$400, and the Vagabond Mini Lithium is ~$250, though still on backorder.

From what I've read (I've never done it) you can use a generator, it just needs to be capable of generating a pure AC sine wave.

For cheaper triggers, search for RF-602.. For umbrellas / stands check Adorama or B&H, or whatever Canadian equivalent there may be.

There are alternatives, such as speedlites, but they don't come near the power/output of studio strobes. If you're going to be doing 90% outdoor shooting you're going to need a good number of them, especially if you plan on using modifiers.

GCODE wrote in post #12084861
Set of two stands http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​878&sr=8-5 - $40?

Two Umbrella Adapters - http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​890&sr=8-1 - $60

Two Umbrella's - http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1300936​847&sr=8-1 - $60

That would take care of Stands/Umbrella's for $160... then buy just the two B800's - $580... would still be $740 and shipping and everything $800... I suppose I save $100 that way... but that doesn't include the triggers... BLAH!

?

You don't need umbrella adapters.. and the umbrella softbox you linked to comes with two (2) for $30..

Thanks again everyone. In order to save money/learn, would it be a good/bad idea to perhaps just get one B800 with a vegabond power unit, and all accessories, and use just one bee and the camera flash to start? Learn with one, and then in the upcoming months add on a second B800 or even B1600?

GCODE wrote in post #12084958
Thanks again everyone. In order to save money/learn, would it be a good/bad idea to perhaps just get one B800 with a vegabond power unit, and all accessories, and use just one bee and the camera flash to start? Learn with one, and then in the upcoming months add on a second B800 or even B1600?

vAgabond... Sorry pet peeve. Thats not a bad option if you are not sure about diving in.

GCODE wrote in post #12084958
Thanks again everyone. In order to save money/learn, would it be a good/bad idea to perhaps just get one B800 with a vegabond power unit, and all accessories, and use just one bee and the camera flash to start? Learn with one, and then in the upcoming months add on a second B800 or even B1600?

I think that's a very good way to go.