Newb to strobe... Why would you need monolight?

It might sounds really dumb and newbish... , but why would you need monolights instead of speedlights? monolights have more power than speedlights, but you don't always use full power all the time, right? and speedlights are portable comparing to battery packs for monolights on locations.

I'm not saying monolights are junks, just don't get the basic idea....

If you consider only fill lights on locations and indoors, would I need powerful monolights? What would be the max power for 430ex or 530ex in watts?

Please help this newbie

enuff4life wrote in post #16634700
It might sounds really dumb and newbish... , but why would you need monolights instead of speedlights? monolights have more power than speedlights, but you don't always use full power all the time, right? and speedlights are portable comparing to battery packs for monolights on locations.

I'm not saying monolights are junks, just don't get the basic idea....

If you consider only fill lights on locations and indoors, would I need powerful monolights? What would be the max power for 430ex or 530ex in watts?

Please help this newbie

There are many reasons to use monolights. Monolights (along with power pack and head strobes) have much quicker refresh speeds than battery -powered flashes.

Also, monolights' added power makes them more suitable for use with diffusers such as umbrellas and softboxes. Of course, its fairly uncommon for a studio strobe to be used as a bare light source. Typically, a powerful light will be combined with a light modifier of some sort.

Then, the more powerful the light, the smaller the potential aperture, which can be a significant factor in some photography. There are many cases where the increased apparent depth of field of a small aperture is useful.

Plus, added power and increased illumination allows the use of a low ISO. Powerful studio lights have been popular going back to the days when studio photography used ISO 25 or ISO 50 transparency film.

As a newcomer to photography, you clearly have much to learn. Experience will eventually show you that there is a very good reason for all equipment and techniques. It's best to be constantly willing to learn why things work the way they do, without as many doubts. Countless photographers have already tried things that a newcomer can't imagine yet.

Speedlights can't really produce soft light unless you bounce them, and even then it is still somewhat harsh. The softest light comes from a large light modifier (like a soft box), which is best used with a monolight.

DC fan hit most of the main points. I would add that, in addition to the lack of power in absolute terms, speedlights are also relatively expensive. Way less "bang for the buck" than just getting the Alien Bees and a vagabond power pack.

Of course, speedlights give you the ability to use ETTL, but even with that benefit you're stuck with light that is difficult to judge (no decent ability to preview the ratios that you get with monolights with powerful modeling lights, but there's always chimping), and difficult to modify.

Recycle time, absolute power to fill the largest light modifiers, and AC power to name a few. If your a studio the choice is simple, if you are an event photographer the choice is simple. If you're somewhere in between, the line gets blurry.

DC Fan wrote in post #16635238
There are many reasons to use monolights. Monolights (along with power pack and head strobes) have much quicker refresh speeds than battery -powered flashes.

Also, monolights' added power makes them more suitable for use with diffusers such as umbrellas and softboxes. Of course, its fairly uncommon for a studio strobe to be used as a bare light source. Typically, a powerful light will be combined with a light modifier of some sort.

Its fairly common for a studio light of some sort to be used as the photographer intends. While I am a vocal proponent of a large soft box, by no measure, is the use of diffusers standard in any way. You would be surprised at the lovely light that comes off of a bare head. So it is common to use a bare head. When shooting on location, anything goes, however I have seen both the elinchrom 74 octabank and bare heads being used, interestingly enough with very similar results.

DC Fan wrote in post #16635238
Then, the more powerful the light, the smaller the potential aperture, which can be a significant factor in some photography. There are many cases where the increased apparent depth of field of a small aperture is useful.

We should be aware of our surroundings - a lot of photographers rely on the ability to blur out a bad background. Come on guys, composition composition composition!

Personally I love shooting at small apertures and really pumping the lights. But that is just me

DC Fan wrote in post #16635238
Plus, added power and increased illumination allows the use of a low ISO. Powerful studio lights have been popular going back to the days when studio photography used ISO 25 or ISO 50 transparency film.

Studio cameras have low ISO's too, you know Moreover, large lights setups and location shooting just require a lot of power.

DC Fan wrote in post #16635238
As a newcomer to photography, you clearly have much to learn. Experience will eventually show you that there is a very good reason for all equipment and techniques. It's best to be constantly willing to learn why things work the way they do, without as many doubts. Countless photographers have already tried things that a newcomer can't imagine yet.

Lets just remember that at one point or another, we were all beginners too.

You will do fine with speedlites and umbrellas ... for a while. Maybe forever. If you stick with it long enough, though, you'll end up wanting monolights. I have a couple of Alien Bees and love them.

Others have said it best. You'll have to hang around long enough to begin to appreciate the difference. But monolights are terrific in situations where the power matters. Bouncing a couple into the ceiling of a large gymnasium while shooting a karate tournament is one I can think of. Lighting large groups is another, when you don't want to up your ISO.

Speedlites will get you plenty far, no doubt about that, see strobist.com. You may never need monolights. But I bet someday you will get the itch.

Player9 wrote in post #16635438
DC fan hit most of the main points. I would add that, in addition to the lack of power in absolute terms, speedlights are also relatively expensive. Way less "bang for the buck" than just getting the Alien Bees and a vagabond power pack.

Of course, speedlights give you the ability to use ETTL, but even with that benefit you're stuck with light that is difficult to judge (no decent ability to preview the ratios that you get with monolights with powerful modeling lights, but there's always chimping), and difficult to modify.

Bang for the buck will depend on what models you look at. Sure, Canon speedlights are far less cost effective if you mostly care about raw light, but the price is far more reasonable if you consider yongnuo and similar flashes. The price of a single (cheapest) Alien Bee I can have 3 YN-560 III flashes that will not only give slightly more light over all, but I can now fire those three flashes from three different angles.


Figure out what kind of lighting work you want to do, and work towards getting the tools needed to do that job. Personally I want a wide range of tools. I expect my collection will eventually grow to be around half a dozen to a dozen YN flashes, 3 or 4 mid range monolights, and 2-3 custom built high powered-high speed flashes for sports photography.

enuff4life wrote in post #16634700
If you consider only fill lights on locations and indoors, would I need powerful monolights? What would be the max power for 430ex or 530ex in watts?

Try shooting during harsh day light with a big softbox, and see how far a speedlite will get you

Speedlites are pretty good for small stuff, but sometimes they just do not cut it.
Currently I use Speedlites, but I'm planning to get a portable monolight setup eventually.

enuff4life wrote in post #16634700
It might sounds really dumb and newbish... , but why would you need monolights instead of speedlights? monolights have more power than speedlights, but you don't always use full power all the time, right? and speedlights are portable comparing to battery packs for monolights on locations.

I'm not saying monolights are junks, just don't get the basic idea....

If you consider only fill lights on locations and indoors, would I need powerful monolights? What would be the max power for 430ex or 530ex in watts?

Please help this newbie

It's generally been estimated that speedlights are somewhere between 60-80ws. While that's plenty for on camera bounced flash indoors or fill outdoors, once you start moving to OCF with modifiers it falls woefully short. For the price of a 600exRT you can get a 640Ws Einstein or something even more powerful (but less sophisticated) from Mettle.

Speedlights also don't offer the kind of light spread that strobes do, making for less even lighting when used in modifiers. Speedlights weren't designed to be used in modifiers so those systems require a fair bit of rigging to make it work, usually requiring a special bracket to hold both the modifier and the speedlights. It's easier just to mount the light modifier right on the strobe.

If you're a one man show, it can be easier to cram a handful of speedlights into a backpack for a shoot however.


To give you a quick idea, here are two shots taken in the same location. One with off camera bounced speedlight, the other with a bounced monolight at about half power.

The first shot was at f/4, 1/100, iso 320 and I had to both push it a bit in post and I had to shoot tight because it wasn't filling the room.....

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tltichy/6899989​479/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tltichy/8356494​680/

Thanks for you replies guys... Now I cleary see the difference and in a martket with low powered monolights like alien bees 400 or 800