Vegabond II users please come in!

I have a set of 300 and 600 watt photoflex strobes and I've been looking to get a portable solution and came across the Vegabond II unit sold by Alien Bee.

Does anyone know if this will cause any problems?

Also with 600 Watts, how many shots can I get with 1 Vegabond II unit?

Innovatronixis another company that sells battery packs. Just wanted to let you know. Powers my two 800 w/s Alien bees.

Chris

ChrisLUM wrote in post #4711374
Innovatronixis another company that sells battery packs. Just wanted to let you know. Powers my two 800 w/s Alien bees.

Chris

How do they compare to AB's vegabond II?

M Powered wrote in post #4711304
I have a set of 300 and 600 watt photoflex strobes and I've been looking to get a portable solution and came across the Vegabond II unit sold by Alien Bee.

Does anyone know if this will cause any problems?

Also with 600 Watts, how many shots can I get with 1 Vegabond II unit?

Your Photoflex strobes will work just fine with the Vagabond II.

I've used the original Vegabonds and I don't like how they are built. They were very flimsy and felt like they were home made out of a garage to me. The VB 2 look like they are built better. I cannot compare the newer Vegabonds because I have not tried them but I am very happy with my Innovatronix and considering buying an extra one for my company.

Chris

ChrisLUM wrote in post #4711374
Innovatronixis another company that sells battery packs. Just wanted to let you know. Powers my two 800 w/s Alien bees.

Chris

I also have one and love it, powers laptop and my ABr800

Does anyone have a picture of the Innovatronix that shows scale and how you carry it around? I'm curious about the portability and convenience.

It's VAgabond. You know like roamer, wanderer, nomad.

Okay, placed an order for the Vagabond II unit. I can't wait! Finally get to take my Photoflex 650's out doors!!

Any helpful tips?

M Powered wrote in post #4834074
Okay, placed an order for the Vagabond II unit. I can't wait! Finally get to take my Photoflex 650's out doors!!

Any helpful tips?

How's the Vagabond II working for you for outdoor shoots?

dcyphert wrote in post #6203415
How's the Vagabond II working for you for outdoor shoots?

Take a look at this thread. It should give you an indication of how well it's working for him.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=558512

The thing to remember and keep in mind in all of this is whether you're using strobes with analog or digital controls. Digitally controlled strobes are not forgiving when it comes to constant voltage and the relays will flip and reset with even the slightest glitching in power.

Analog strobes are not subject to that glitching and you can use strobes as powerful as 2500ws or multi light kits with something like 4 400ws strobes.

Digital strobes present a problem and my testing and first hand experience proved that 2 D-Lite 2's, for instance, having a total of 400ws was not a problem with the V2. On the other hand, 2 400ws digitally controlled strobes totalling 800ws presented problems and was effectively unusable.

This is not specific to the V2. Myself and others have researched the Tronix Explorer 1200 and based on the specifications listed and emails from the company, they have the same issues.

If you're not going to get a pack and head system and plan on using digitally controlled monolights then your best bet is to use 1 portable battery for each strobe. It's not cheap but it's also not as expensive as getting a system with the battery designed for that system, and if you're going to use 2 batteries it doesn't really matter whether it's the V2 or the Tronix.

As to what the limit (ws) is for each battery I have not gotten a definitive answer to that but I do know that you can power an Elinchrom Style 600RX safely with the Tronix Exploer 1200. I have nothing to show that the same is true of the V2, but it may very well be the case.

hmmm- maybe I should just plan on using my D2s for location, and not the D4s until I have more $$.

hawk911 wrote in post #6203795
hmmm- maybe I should just plan on using my D2s for location, and not the D4s until I have more $$.

Hi Hawk,

I believe the D4's will work but not at full power. I should have specified that in my post but typically on location I was using them on full power and needed all the power I could get.

The D-Lite 2's worked quite well for location work but not for a large set. When I was shooting a model, single subject or very small group I didn't have a problem. When I was shooting a family reunion with 13 people and had to have my strobes out of frame it presented problems.

most of my work for location would be single subject. I could always add a speedlight for effect with no draw on the vagabond

So which would be better with the D2s?