alienbee 1600 Overkill?

I heard it was overkill for portraits. Would I be able to dial it done for small studio work. I also will be using it outside.

Downs Photography wrote in post #12997349
I heard it was overkill for portraits. Would I be able to dial it done for small studio work. I also will be using it outside.

Yes you can but no you wont want to. Just shoot at at f16 its not a big deal.

eviljunglenoodle wrote in post #12997386
There used to be an issue with a pink hue or white balance variations at low settings so people avoided setting it low and therefore was too much power, but I assume the Einsteins have fixed that.

Why would the Einsteins have any effect on the OP's AlienBee 1600?

clarence wrote in post #12997398
Why would the Einsteins have any effect on the OP's AlienBee 1600?

Good question!

the AB is the line that has the magenta cast just keep it at 1/4 power or higher and you will be fine OP.

For the average home studio the ab1600 is too much. Its great for when you are outside and wanting to destroy the ambient, but indoors its too strong.

If it was actually 1600ws then yeah it might be overkill but at 640ws with any bigger or gridded modifier it should not be an issue unless you really want to shoot at large apertures.

Thanks guys!

gonzogolf wrote in post #12997467
For the average home studio the ab1600 is too much. Its great for when you are outside and wanting to destroy the ambient, but indoors its too strong.

what does destroying ambient mean?

sigma pi wrote in post #12997715
what does destroying ambient mean?

He most probably means that you can lower ambient even in good sun situations. Personally I think I would need atleast 1200ws or more for destroying ambient.

sigma pi wrote in post #12997715
what does destroying ambient mean?

Basically turning a sunny day into twilight by underexposing the ambient. A bit of hyperbole.

bobbyz wrote in post #12997774
He most probably means that you can lower ambient even in good sun situations. Personally I think I would need atleast 1200ws or more for destroying ambient.

I am on the same page as you Bobby.

gonzogolf wrote in post #12997799
Basically turning a sunny day into twilight by underexposing the ambient. A bit of hyperbole.

any examples? Doesnt have to be by you, I am just curious to see what 640ws can do to day light at 1/250th. I am going to guess its just a reflector on the strobe?

I've done it with a ab1600 and the HOBD, but will concede that with most modifiers you probably need more.

Here is a test shot taken about 1 in the afternoon. Not great art by any means.

gonzogolf wrote in post #12997837
I've done it with a ab1600 and the HOBD, but will concede that with most modifiers you probably need more.

Meh, if you are shooting against the sun you are outside and would not want a huge softbox to catch some wind.

I couldn't do that with AB1600 and regular AB dish. Maybe something wrong on my part. I don't have AB1600 only AB800 but this shot was taken with borrowed AB1600 and I believe it was at full power or close to it. This was approx 2:00pm in CA.