Strobe & Flash Comparison Testing: Part I (Output)

RichNY wrote in post #5111031
Mikey- You are posting some inaccurate information. First, Alien Bees are not the least expensive studio strobes in the testing. That honor goes to the more consistent Photogenic.

The only place I could find a price on the Photogenic 320B was at Adorama where it still sells for more than a B800 (although only $20 more) :
http://www.adorama.com …info=akc%20320b​&item_no=5

The 160B sells for $45 more than a B400:
http://www.adorama.com …info=akc%20160b​&item_no=2

There may be better prices but I couldn't fine them.

I did finally find them on B&H's website. Their price is lower for the 320 (They didn't list it as a 320B.)
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_III_320_Watt_S​econd.html

I'm done kicking this dead horse.

Michael

magicmikey wrote in post #5111160
I'm done kicking this dead horse.

Hey, this saves us both a lot of typing

Robert and Wilt, thanks for taking the time to do the tests and put the results together in this thread. Hopefully, the tables you put together will help others make a more informed decision on their strobe choices if they're listing in your tables.

Just one minor nit-pick, though. Anton had a point about your 1/10 stop heading and the decimal fraction results. For accuracy, the heading should say "full stops" or, if you want to keep the "1/10 stops" heading, then the results should be multiplied by 10, i.e. 1 instead of 0.1. Otherwise, the results you show, based on the heading indicate values in the hundredths of a stop.

RichNY wrote in post #5111031
Stating that Alien Bees are a great deal if you understand their limitations is just like saying a Ford Pinto is a great car as long as you know its limitations and don't get rear ended so it blows up.

Bad analogy. If safety was in question, this would be a whole different thread.

But the automobile analogy in general is a good one. There are a lot more Chevys on the road than Mercedes, though even the Chevy owners know the Mercedes is a better car.

People buy what they can afford.

Curtis N wrote in post #5111420
Bad analogy. If safety was in question, this would be a whole different thread.

Never meant to suggest safety was an issue but rather wanted to try to think of something equally ludicrous to drive home the point about usability. Not all my analogies are gems

I would have used the Chevy analogy but those cars and trucks work in Drive, Reverse, Low 1 and Low 2. Now if they didn't reverse and low gear didn't work it would have been the perfect analogy

RichNY wrote in post #5111545
Never meant to suggest safety was an issue but rather wanted to try to think of something equally ludicrous to drive home the point about usability. Not all my analogies are gems

I would have used the Chevy analogy but those cars and trucks work in Drive, Reverse, Low 1 and Low 2. Now if they didn't reverse and low gear didn't work it would have been the perfect analogy

A more realistic analogy would be that the speedometer says 20 mph when in fact, the car is doing 18 or 23. It's not like the AB strobes don't flash all the time or even some of the time when set to 1/32 or whatever power.

Hi Robert,

Thanks! The White Lightning do not appear to be available in the UK so I think I would rather go with the Elinchrom Style RX series. That would make my shopping wish list:

- Skyport RX USB Set £233.83
- Style RX 600/600 2 Head Kit £1259.99
- Sekonic L-758D £358.38

Total: £1852.20 (USD 3704.40) Argh! That's about as much as I spent on my entire kit so far!

(I think I would go for 600 RX as the 300 RX is only marginally cheaper and the RX units have 6 f-stop range so the 600 RX can still go lower than the D-Lite4 in power - the 600 RX goes 18-600Ws, D-Lite2 goes 12-200Ws, D-Lite4 goes 25-400Ws.)

But at those prices another 580 EX II plus RadioPoppers seems really cheap in comparison at only £240 (USD 480) for the flash. Then add stands, etc certainly will not add up to anywhere near as much as the above...

Ho-hum...

Best regards,

Anton

PacAce wrote in post #5111221
Robert and Wilt, thanks for taking the time to do the tests and put the results together in this thread. Hopefully, the tables you put together will help others make a more informed decision on their strobe choices if they're listing in your tables.

Just one minor nit-pick, though. Anton had a point about your 1/10 stop heading and the decimal fraction results. For accuracy, the heading should say "full stops" or, if you want to keep the "1/10 stops" heading, then the results should be multiplied by 10, i.e. 1 instead of 0.1. Otherwise, the results you show, based on the heading indicate values in the hundredths of a stop.

Thank you Leo. Sometime today I'll make a change so they can't be misinterpreted this way. In Anton's original question about it didn't click. I see the error and will correct it.

Hello All,

With all due respect, let me say this.

I posted these results in an attempt to show objective, unbiased comparisons of a diverse selection of strobes. My goal was to inform and educate and not bash or tell people how to spend their money. If this were a comparison of lenses or cameras, etc I would have done the same thing and presented the information just as clearly and honestly.

I never circled the Alien Bees numbers or marked them in red and I didn't offer up any negative commentary. I simply stated the facts. For some it's unimportant and a complete non-issue. For others it gives them food for thought and arms them with the information necessary to make informed and intelligent decisions based on their needs, shooting style and budget.

I would rather not see the bickering and off topic comments here. There are many other threads and forums to do that. This thread is not the place for any of that nonsense. Discussion and disagreement are perfectly acceptable and encouraged, but let's respect one another and address the issues at hand.

Thank you.

P.S. Please don't hold me to it but I anticipate about another week or so before I publish Part II (Color Temperature).

TMR Design wrote in post #5113926
Hello All,

With all due respect, let me say this.

I posted these results in an attempt to show objective, unbiased comparisons of a diverse selection of strobes. My goal was to inform and educate and not bash or tell people how to spend their money. If this were a comparison of lenses or cameras, etc I would have done the same thing and presented the information just as clearly and honestly.

I never circled the Alien Bees numbers or marked them in red and I didn't offer up any negative commentary. I simply stated the facts. For some it's unimportant and a complete non-issue. For others it gives them food for thought and arms them with the information necessary to make informed and intelligent decisions based on their needs, shooting style and budget.

I would rather not see the bickering and off topic comments here. There are many other threads and forums to do that. This thread is not the place for any of that nonsense. Discussion and disagreement are perfectly acceptable and encouraged, but let's respect one another and address the issues at hand.

Thank you.

P.S. Please don't hold me to it but I anticipate about another week or so before I publish Part II (Color Temperature).

Robert, I have always considered your test results to be very objective and unbiased. And they are very much appreciated here, at least by me. Again, thanks for taking the time and doing a good job in testing the strobes and presenting the results here.

To the others who question the results obtained by Robert, as Curtis said, you can do your own tests and, if they differ from what Robert got, present them here (or start another thread) for discussion.

PacAce wrote in post #5111221
.... For accuracy, the heading should say "full stops" or, if you want ......

Corrected

TMR Design wrote in post #5114871
Corrected

Cool!

Robert, First thanks for taking the time to put all this together. Gives us shoppers a great side by side comparison. Now, do you thnk you will ever be able to add the Calumet Genisis Kit to test list. I have been intrigued by these lights especially for someone like myself on a budget. I would love to see how they stand up against the others.

Greg

Robert, I too would like to thank you for taking time to enlighten us (pun intended). Wilt mentioned putting a Neutral Density filter on the lens, which would lower overall light to the camera. However if they have already purchased lights that may be inconsistent at lower power settings I would recommend to your readers that they could go, old school, and use Neutral Density gels on the lights instead. You can get 24"x24" gels in a many different values for about $6.00 each cut them to fit, then mix and match to get the value you need.

Atomic79 wrote in post #5115586
Robert, I too would like to thank you for taking time to enlighten us (pun intended). Wilt mentioned putting a Neutral Density filter on the lens, which would lower overall light to the camera. However if they have already purchased lights that may be inconsistent at lower power settings I would recommend to your readers that they could go, old school, and use Neutral Density gels on the lights instead. You can get 24"x24" gels in a many different values for about $6.00 each cut them to fit, then mix and match to get the value you need.

Atomic79,
While ND gelling the lights themselves can be done, from a practical matter it can be fairly challenging...imaging having ND gels in a size which works when a snoot is being used, when a grid is being used, then barndoors are being used, when the usual reflector is being used, when the head has no reflector at all, and when in an umbrella or in a large softbox!