Mettle 600W or Alein bees B800

Guys which one do you guys recommend the Mettle 600W or the Aleinbee B800? need an idea. My plan is to use this as a fill light to a gym or banquet.

Get the B800. You sleep better and thanks me later.

Mettle is about twice as powerful as the AB800; Mettle is AC/DC...
if you need 600 watt I would suggest looking at the Einstien 640

Thanks for the reply guys. Einstien is $499.95 maybe i'm just gonna stick to mettle.

The Mettles are fantastic for the money. The AB are more resellable used. They both will do the same things, but if your looking to save money the Mettle is the better bet.

The 600ws Mettle is $350.00. The 640ws AB1600 is $359. Not a huge disparity in price. After sales customer service from Paul C. Buff is known to be quite good. If you have an issue with your Mettle hows the customer service?

If you decide later on that you want to add wireless control for the Alien Bees you can get the CyberSync system from PCB. I don't see any similar option for Mettle.

Just a few things to think about.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #16622732
The 600ws Mettle is $350.00. The 640ws AB1600 is $359. Not a huge disparity in price.

Plus the cost of a battery pack if needed (mettle comes with a pack)

Scatterbrained wrote in post #16622732
TIf you decide later on that you want to add wireless control for the Alien Bees you can get the CyberSync system from PCB. I don't see any similar option for Mettle.

Yongnuo 622c. Then you get hyper sync with the mettle as well

Scatterbrained wrote in post #16622732
The 600ws Mettle is $350.00. The 640ws AB1600 is $359. Not a huge disparity in price. After sales customer service from Paul C. Buff is known to be quite good. If you have an issue with your Mettle hows the customer service?

If you decide later on that you want to add wireless control for the Alien Bees you can get the CyberSync system from PCB. I don't see any similar option for Mettle.

Just a few things to think about.

I used YN622c on my Mettle now. The customer service on cowboy studio sucks.

gremlin75 wrote in post #16622873
Plus the cost of a battery pack if needed (mettle comes with a pack)

Yongnuo 622c. Then you get hyper sync with the mettle as well

You can't control the power output of the Mettle remotely with the 622c. So while the Buff system may cost a bit more, you get better customer service and better light control; either through the CyberSync system or via Pocketwizards, which do allow Hypersync (with programmable delays) as well as remote power control. It comes down to budget and functionality. Personally, I enjoy being able to meter and adjust my lights from the set, especially when I've got lights high up, or above a table where accessing the back of the light could be a wee bit difficult.

lightfighter6 wrote in post #16622876
I used YN622c on my Mettle now. The customer service on cowboy studio sucks.

Yeah, I try to avoid anything sold by Cowboy Studios. IIRC though they aren't the only retailers for Mettle. I'm not saying for certain, but the Flashpoint line at Adorama look suspiciously like the Mettle strobes. If you want to go with another Mettle light it might be worth asking Helen Oster here on the boards or inquiring with Adorama. Personally I think if they would at least acknowledge what mount those lights have it would help.

email sent to lightfighter6

I have 2 Flashpoint strobes and they're good but you need some serious stands for them because they're heavy but I like them. One thing about the Flashpoints is that they have their own proprietary mount which sucks because it's harder to find modifiers except on Adorama or OEC on eBay. Buff stuff is EVERYWHERE.

The batteries that came with my Flashpoints were okay but the actual cell inside the pack is pretty small and one doesn't even hold a charge anymore.

flowrider wrote in post #16623964
I have 2 Flashpoint strobes and they're good but you need some serious stands for them because they're heavy but I like them. One thing about the Flashpoints is that they have their own proprietary mount which sucks because it's harder to find modifiers except on Adorama or OEC on eBay. Buff stuff is EVERYWHERE.

The batteries that came with my Flashpoints were okay but the actual cell inside the pack is pretty small and one doesn't even hold a charge anymore.

We sell a full line of modifiers for Flashpoint mono lights and all are reasonably priced
Beauty dishes in white or silver, in 16,21,27 inch size - and grids for them
Speed ring - for soft box

Plus grids, reflectors, snoots, barndoors, spare parts etc

BTW, re: the batteries - I don't know which monolight you have, but for example the Flashpoint 320M, as per our website: "Fires 180 full power flashes in D/C mode when using the FP2PP portable battery power pack"

This next year is going to be interesting in terms of new lighting alternatives.

Hopefully both Godox and Yongnuo will raise the bar again providing us with a complete package of compatible TTL studio lights with speedlight and/or bare bulb system(s), all controlled from a single RF source.

I think the recent release of the Profoto B1 was just the tip of the preverbal iceberg.

You'll find the Mettles have quite a "cult" following here. Extremely powerful and comes with a battery so you can take it outside right away. It is metal and feels very solid. Not as heavy as you think. You pick it up expecting something 10lbs or so and you end up going "oh, I thought it would be heavier!". User replaceable flash tube and fuse.
It is a nickel battery so doesn't recycle as fast as a lithium Vagabond mini, but the Vagabond is another $260+. Very light battery though, and comes with a canvas case/bag, so the $350 Mettle packs serious value. Especially since it uses a Bowens mount.
Obviously an Einstein will give you some advantages, especially in ability to go down to lower power for indoor use, cybersyncs, etc, all of which at a cost of course