Are monolights more powerful than speedlights?

I'm guessing yes but does that mean you have to turn down their power? Are they harder to use than a comparable speedlight setup?

You can try to find a Guide Number for a studio light that your interested in. In most cases yes, studio lights are more powerful, just avoid the $30-$50 studio lights.

Studio lights and speedlites have different intended uses, however you can use speedlites in a studio and strobes for location shoots. Speedlites have ETTL which makes them 'easier' to use, but ETTL isn't ideal for studio shooting.

The most powerful speedlight in Canon's line (the 580 EX II) is around 60 watt-seconds. The weakest Alien Bee strobe (a very popular line), the AB400, is 160 watt-seconds. So it's about one and a quarter stops more powerful than the 580. There are some strobes that are as much as 3200 watt-seconds.

Sometimes, yes, there will be situations where you'll want to turn down their power. There will likely be other times when you wish you had more power. This is completely dependent on the shooting situation and what you're trying to accomplish. Often times if your strobe is a more powerful one, you'll find yourself wishing you could turn it down further than the dial allows.

Light is light...so once you learn the mechanics of setting them up, attaching modifiers, and tearing them down, they are no harder to use than a speedlight setup.

Hope this helps.

Tom does make a good point about ETTL. If you are used to ETTL and not accustomed to setting your flash power and your camera manually then you'll have a learning curve.

Also, if you're not used to using a flash/strobe off camera, you'll have to learn about various triggering mechanisms (sync cable, optical slaves, or radio triggers).

yes, this helps. I was looking at the alien bee stuff and saw the vagabond mini for portability. I thought maybe I should spend a little more and get the monolights instead of the regular speedlight/flash so I could have something a little better or at least it looks like it is a little better. I don't know.

I would say in general strobes are easier to use than speedlites, but harder to move around. So pick your poison.

ETTL can sometimes be harder to use because it gets too smart for its own good. Once you know the settings you would use for a particular shot, going manual gets you there every time, where as ETTL, like camera metering, may not always agree with what you had in your head.

tkbslc wrote in post #12210903
I would say in general strobes are easier to use than speedlites, but harder to move around. So pick your poison.

ETTL can sometimes be harder to use because it gets too smart for its own good. Once you know the settings you would use for a particular shot, going manual gets you there every time, where as ETTL, like camera metering, may not always agree with what you had in your head.

When you "go manual" does the camera still autofocus or do you just mean the aperture and shutter speeds are manual? Why can't you use program mode?

cameraperson wrote in post #12210944
When you "go manual" does the camera still autofocus or do you just mean the aperture and shutter speeds are manual? Why can't you use program mode?

Manual just means you select the power of the flashes. You would also be using the camera in M mode to select the aperture to match the flash power you select, and an appropriate shutter speed. Auto focus would be unaffected. You cant use program mode because there is no communication between monolights and your camera other than the fire signal.

Monolights and Speedlites are different lighting technologies for different jobs.
Neither is inherently more difficult to use than the other.
Both take time to learn and control.

Each has its place in one's kit. Kind of like two different lenses.

Guide Numbers are suspect for defining output. For example the 58 GN for the Canon 580EXII is with the Speedlite zoomed to 105mm. The only way to get even close to an output comparison is to set the speedlite zoom to something that approximates the same angle of coverage as the monolight's reflector and then take a reading with a light meter at a specific distance from the light. The meter has to be at the same height as the flash tube and positioned in the center of the light.

If you really want detailed information then read the light at 3, 6, and 9 foot positions from the center with the meter still at the same height as the flash tube. These measurements should be made outside so there is no reflected light influencing the readings.

tkbslc wrote in post #12210903
I would say in general strobes are easier to use than speedlites, but harder to move around.

+1
More easy thanks the modeling light that can give a sort of preview of the shoot before taken it (at least on indoor shoot).
On outdoor shoot this advantage disappears because if you want use it you draw to much your batter pack, even if you lower the power of the modeling light.
Also, on outdoor shoot, given that usually the ambient light could be quite strong, if you low down too much the modeling light, became more difficult have a preview of the shoot.

However i think is fundamentally wrong give excessive emphasis on the power of the light alone.
Between two light with the some power a monolights remain however the prefered light available if you like use large modifiers given that shape of its bulb.
A flash, no matter how powerful can be, no matter if you use a wide-angle focal length, if its put on larger modifier the border obtain more less light respect the center.
In the end i think this is the real reason for using two or more speedlights on larger modifier because no matter how powerful they can be, the widespread of that power remain more problematic.