Why spend money on Profoto vs Alien Bees?

M Powered wrote in post #5629149
oh god my insurance is going to go up

You're want to drop how much on lighting, and it's the insurance costs that worry you? lol:p

TopGear1Ds wrote in post #5629159
You're want to drop how much on lighting, and it's the insurance costs that worry you? lol:p

LOL

TopGear1Ds wrote in post #5629159
You're want to drop how much on lighting, and it's the insurance costs that worry you? lol:p

whoa whoa whoa! wait a minute! I didn't say I was convinced yet!

OK, they REALLY suck!

Rudi wrote in post #5629198
OK, they REALLY suck!

.......

Must


Resist!

:p

Let me go rent them out this weekend

M Powered wrote in post #5629007
Heres a few examples. (Exif is in the file, view before you ask please.)

Both of those images are very nice shots, but they are also good examples of what I referred to earlier as "uneven coverage." There is what I consider to be a vast exposure difference between parts of the faces of the models and the rest of their bodies. That's not necessarily a problem on it's own, but the transition between light and dark areas are very abrupt. There isn't much going on in the way of mid-tones. This is not necessarily a bad thing it can be a matter of personal preference. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it is definitely a tell tale sign of lower end lighting gear OR somebody using high end gear in conjunction with bad placement and/or the incorrect lighting modifier for the subject.

Anyhow man...they're still nice shots...props for posting....and you're lucky to be able to hookup with some serious Betty's...keep up the good work and deliver us some more babes if possible

Gentleman Villain wrote in post #5629222
Both of those images are very nice shots, but they are also good examples of what I referred to earlier as "uneven coverage." There is what I consider to be a vast exposure difference between parts of the faces of the models and the rest of their bodies. That's not necessarily a problem on it's own, but the transition between light and dark areas are very abrupt. There isn't much going on in the way of mid-tones. This is not necessarily a bad thing it can be a matter of personal preference. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it is definitely a tell tale sign of lower end lighting gear OR somebody using high end gear in conjunction with bad placement and/or the incorrect lighting modifier for the subject.

Anyhow man...they're still nice shots...props for posting....and you're lucky to be able to hookup with some serious Betty's...keep up the good work and deliver us some more babes if possible

Exactly, minor flaws in lighting is never always a bad thing... If the light is too even, then the shot is boring. Contrasy light makes it more interesting.

Ya dig?

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MP, you KNOW how to light and the results show.

Now, I want to bet a buck that you can create the similar images with a XTi too

LOL - you guys are all cracking me up. Good stuff.

I don't think we saw anything posted in this thread that actually emphasizes the point our OP was trying to make. But wouldn't most posters here agree that you can still create a great shot even with limited and/or low-priced equipment ... whereas someone else could throw thousands of dollars into lighting but without the proper knowledge to use and control the light, his images could end up crap anyway?

I haven't had the chance to use too many manufacturers lights as yet, but hope to over time. Member 'TMR' has done a great comparisan of several popular lights that should benefit a great many readers. (Kudo's - Robert). What I've discovered personally is that as one becomes more familiar with some of these entry-level lights - certain things start coming to your attention such as poorly shaped or surfaced reflectors, flimsier parts, maybe an ill-tuned light modifier or cheaply built assessories, etc. Not every brand of course, but they all seem to have little nagging issues. After you experience some of those you realize there's definitely some benefits to owning the higher-end gear.

The arguments of good v. cheap apply to lights, modifiers, cameras, glass, etc. - they are secondary to talent but they do contribute the quality of images shot by both amateurs and professionals alike to varying amounts.

I'm in agreement with slivr that Robert has done an excellent job of posting findings from testing various lighting gear. As someone who has spent hours with him in the B&H lighting department on numerous occasions I can tell you that the amount of time he has dedicated to testing has been enormous and go far beyond the scope of what gets posted on the forum.

M Powered wrote in post #5629236
Exactly, minor flaws in lighting is never always a bad thing... If the light is too even, then the shot is boring. Contrasy light makes it more interesting.

Ya dig?

For example, high Contrast lighting always looks good on strippers

cheap girls and cheap lights go perfect together LOL

Gentleman Villain wrote in post #5629549
For example, high Contrast lighting always looks good on strippers

cheap girls and cheap lights go perfect together LOL

ROFLMAO

Nice discussion.
If i don't have money i will buy just ABs or few 580EX or even 430EX, but because i have some bucks i go for name [Bronocolors, Profoto, elinchrom, Hensel, Bowens,....], i got bowens and i see 0 issues, and i am sure within 10-20 years it will perform great, i left them in so hot place and the weather here is very hot and humid, and my light working like a charm, and i am not looking to waste my money on some cheap equipment even they do fine because i will throw more later to maintenance or replace many accessories, but that doesn't mean that all should go and buy high end, if they have money then who can stop them to buy $30k lighting brand? who can stop me to buy Aston Martin just because Honda Civic or just cheapest BMW is enough? i have money thats it.

Double Negative wrote in post #5627236
Just realized I never answered this; apologies. I'm not sure anymore offhand, but I was investigating SBs and of course checked out AB (since I have AB800s) and the picture clearly did not show anything inside - baffles or diffusers.

Directly from the description of the AB Folding Softboxes on their website: Each box additionally arrives with a second internal baffle for double-diffusion.

Directly from the description of the standard AB Softboxes on their website: Each softbox arrives with the LGSR speedring for faceplate attachment, and a second optional internal diffusion panel.

You can't get the full story about most products by just looking at the pictures.

^ LOL! Okay, so that's good to know at least.