The head or the media first

This is like in the camera section where someone asks if you had limited money would you get the better body or the better lens first? Lens of course LOL.

So what I'm asking here is would it be better to get less expensive heads like the Elinchrom
D series to start with and buy the media I think I really want, i.e. 53" Octobox and Beauty Dish with the idea that if I want to move up later I can add heads and still use the D's for background or accent lights?

One D series 400 with 53" Octobox, Beauty Dish, and something like a 4'x6' Lastolite reflector with stand?

My other idea is that Profoto does not make less expensive versions of their mono heads beyond starting with one 300R head, would that be powerful enough for location portrait using their 5' Octobox or 22" Beauty Dish with diffuser stretched over it? And then have a second stand with a 4x6' reflector?

Or getting one 600 head with same accessories? Pricy but I would prefer not to do anything twice by having to upgrade.

Profoto has the advantage of having the Pocket Wizard receiver built in if you order it that way, I really, really like keeping the number of parts down and having a PC cord for backup stored in the car.

Does the head hide inside of a sealed up Profoto Octobox where you have to peel back the scrim to reset the light level of the head? Or is it mounted on the back (the little photos look that way) and or can you set adjustments from the Pocket Wizard like you can the Skyport on the RX series Elinchrom?

Lots of questions, sorry!

My personal opinion is that if you're going to buy monolights then there are better choices that the Profoto Compact's. I am biased towards Elinchrom and have done the testing so I can speak from first hand experience with test results to back up my statements.

The Elinchrom D-Lites, although the build is not the same as the BX or RX strobes, are exceptional and maintain the same consistency as you would expect from Elinchrom strobes. Color and pop to pop consistency is excellent and better than most monolights in their price class and better than many that cost hundreds more. An example of that would be Hensel Integra 500's. Build is amazing, controls are nice, selection of reflectors and modifiers is good from Hensel and third parties. Having said that, for the price they do not measure up to the D-Lites (D-Lite 2's and 4's test almost identically).

As much as everyone would have you believe you need a full set of strobes that is not the case, especially as you get a feel for lighting and gain working knowledge and experience.

The reality is that you can do beautiful portraiture with a single light and 1 or 2 reflectors.

A great deal of professional portraiture is done with 1 light and a reflector. Yes, having a second light does make life easier and gives you additional flexibility but there is nothing that says you can't start small and build on your lighting kit. One very good reason to start with 2 lights is because there are kits offered with 2 strobes and some simple modifiers, be it umbrellas or softboxes and you shouldn't think that they won't do the job or that you immediately have to invest in larger or more robust modifiers.

With knowledge and a bit of skill you'll find that you can create beautiful work with very little, but it does take practice and an intelligent approach to lighting.

Many strobes have built in Pocket Wizards but I would not use that as criteria for your purchase. The savings is not much and personally I would rather have a stand alone Pocket Wizard. In the event the PW goes down you just get another and don't have to send your strobe off for repair. It also allows you to work in other studios and environments or trigger small flash units via radio triggers. Depending on your needs or potential needs that is much more powerful than having the PW built in to a strobe.

Also, Pocket Wizards are strictly radio triggers and do not interface with any strobe to give you power adjustment or other functionality, as do Skyports. Pocket Wizards will also intergrate seamlessly with a Sekonic meter equipped with the module for radio triggering. You can get around that but Sekonic are the only meters that will integrate without the use of additional hardware or sync cables.

Other than the large 74" Elinchrom Octa, all softboxes and Octa's have the strobe mounted face forward, leaving all controls accessible, so you do not have to go inside the box to make adjustments.

I hope this helps you a bit and if you have additional questions just keep asking.

Thanks Robert, I went to my local store today and took a look at all of it. The ProFoto Compacts, were huge and heavy, the more I looked at everything the more I liked the Elinchrom so I'm with you there and thinking seriously about the 2-400BX kit, a 53" Ocotbox, a set of grids with reflector and a third stand to hold a reflector. I generally liked the look of the light, not something I have to get but one thing that kind of influenced me is that the D heads have a flash duration of 1/300th of a second and the BX is 1/800th of a second, this is at full power, I'm learning, I think it's starting to make sense.

I just have to learn to work with so few lights, I'm used to lighting a different way with constant light, either quartz or HMI but it's been a few years since I stopped working behind a camera about 6 or 7 years ago so I've got some retraining to and even though the concepts are very similar, there's a lot more difference than I'd ever imagined. But this is the most fun part of it all for me...the lighting. And I'm very excited to be learning to get the look some people are getting out of these types of media, softboxes, beauty dishes etc.

I've got my old Minolta digital meter I used to use with filming, tried it with my little G9 on flash and it was right on the mark so I can start out with that.

Thanks again, you've been sending on quite a bit of useful information to me and several others that I've read with great interest.

Jannie, the BX400 kit is a great outfit, one that would last you a very, very long time!

Rudi wrote in post #6276931
Jannie, the BX400 kit is a great outfit, one that would last you a very, very long time!

I can vouch for the Style 400BX's. I own them and they are outstanding. I wasn't pushing for the D-LIte's, but since you mentioned them I wanted to let you know that they are also excellent. Unless you're shooting action or moving subjects I wouldn't be afraid of the longer flash duration. I used D-Lite's for studio work and location shooting and never had issue with the flash duration. Don't let that influence your decision.

On the other hand there's no denying that the Style series of Elinchrom's are very nice and top flight performers. The BX kit will, as Rudi says, last you a very long time and allow you to produce beautiful portraits.

Once you start using Elinchrom's you'll be hooked and won't want to think about other brands.

Jannie wrote in post #6272100
This is like in the camera section where someone asks if you had limited money would you get the better body or the better lens first? Lens of course LOL.

So what I'm asking here is would it be better to get less expensive heads like the Elinchrom
D series to start with and buy the media I think I really want, i.e. 53" Octobox and Beauty Dish with the idea that if I want to move up later I can add heads and still use the D's for background or accent lights?

One D series 400 with 53" Octobox, Beauty Dish, and something like a 4'x6' Lastolite reflector with stand?

My other idea is that Profoto does not make less expensive versions of their mono heads beyond starting with one 300R head, would that be powerful enough for location portrait using their 5' Octobox or 22" Beauty Dish with diffuser stretched over it? And then have a second stand with a 4x6' reflector?

Or getting one 600 head with same accessories? Pricy but I would prefer not to do anything twice by having to upgrade.

Profoto has the advantage of having the Pocket Wizard receiver built in if you order it that way, I really, really like keeping the number of parts down and having a PC cord for backup stored in the car.

Does the head hide inside of a sealed up Profoto Octobox where you have to peel back the scrim to reset the light level of the head? Or is it mounted on the back (the little photos look that way) and or can you set adjustments from the Pocket Wizard like you can the Skyport on the RX series Elinchrom?

Lots of questions, sorry!

This is the back of a 600RX with the 53" Octa mounted. The controls are on the back of the head. You can control the power as well as modeling light on/off and test from the SkyPort Tx:

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif'

That's a nice stand you've got there, Jay! I see you also have the new Octa, with the grey stitching. Mine must be out of the old batch, with all-black reflection cloth (no grey stitching on mine, but my 39" Rotalux has it). And it looks like you took this pretty soon after getting the lights in your hands, you still have the fuses hanging off the handle of the RX!

If you're going to use monoblocs then IMO Elinchrom would be a better choice than ProFoto, even if price were not an issue. The latter have a limited output range, are bigger, heavier and less precise.

Definitely go for the BXs over the D-lites if you can afford it, they are far more solid and reliable.

Rudi wrote in post #6277806
That's a nice stand you've got there, Jay! I see you also have the new Octa, with the grey stitching. Mine must be out of the old batch, with all-black reflection cloth (no grey stitching on mine, but my 39" Rotalux has it). And it looks like you took this pretty soon after getting the lights in your hands, you still have the fuses hanging off the handle of the RX!

Must have been a recent shopping spree, Rudi. Jay also has the new grey/black casework on his 600's.

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #6278620
Must have been a recent shopping spree, Rudi. Jay also has the new grey/black casework on his 600's.

Dave F.

I didn't even notice that, Dave. Oh, that must be because mine are also black!

Rudi wrote in post #6278643
I didn't even notice that, Dave. Oh, that must be because mine are also black!

A pox on you, Rudi! Nobody loves a gloating Aussie

Dave F.

You know, I would have been just as happy with a purple translucent version! I reckon they both looked good in the shop.

Why is the RX so much more than the BX, is it the radio control setup to adjust the lights using the skyport, or are they a different unit completely?

What's the deal with the 39" Deep Throat Octobox, what does making it so deep offer.

That stand in the photo is actually a grip stand isn't it, smaller footprint and easier to use in a confined setting, very solid.

Jannie wrote in post #6279127
Why is the RX so much more than the BX, is it the radio control setup to adjust the lights using the skyport, or are they a different unit completely?

What's the deal with the 39" Deep Throat Octobox, what does making it so deep offer.

That stand in the photo is actually a grip stand isn't it, smaller footprint and easier to use in a confined setting, very solid.

With the RX you get a 7 stop range instead of 5 stops and the ability to control modeling lamps and power level via Skyports. As stable as BX's are (and believe me they are so stable it's ridiculous), my understanding is that the RX's are the slightest bit more stable.

Just to give you an idea of Elinchrom stability, with the BX's, if I pop (at any power level) 20 times, I'll get the exact same reading 18 out of 20 times and those 2 times that have variation are never off by more than 1/10 stop. Also, when you adjust the power 10 clicks it should equal 1 full stop. With many strobes that is not the case and you MUST re-meter the shot. With the Elinchrom's you can adjust 10 clicks and confidently adjust your aperture by 1 stop without having to re-meter. If it happens to drift it's never going to be by more than 1/10 stop and that is perfectly acceptable.

The RXs have full radio control circuitry, a brighter modeling lamp than the BXs and a 6-stop range as opposed to a 5-stop range. They also have a faster flash duration and slightly shorter recycle times at equivalent power settings.