Alien Bees Vs. Elinchrom

So I've been looking in to some studio lighting for quite a bit.

So here's the problem:

I don't know where to invest?

I know I want at least two lights. And I know I want strobe not hot lights or constant lighting.

I've looked at the Alien Bees' Digi Bee kit and I like it, a locale studio uses a large verity of Alien Bee products that seem very nice.

I changed the kit a bit and took out a umbrella and replaced it with the Large Octobox. And replaced one of the stands to work with the larger box.

I also found an Elinchrom two D-Lite kit ( http://www.vistek.ca …ed-2x200ws-2x-softbo.aspx ) that comes with soft boxes (though they are fairly small), stands, bags, and all he cords to go. Seems like a nice set and again I've seen Elinchrom in a local study (though haven't used them) and they seem to be a little bit better built.

The Elinchrom set is a little cheaper and I don't have to pay crazy shipping as the retailer is here in Canada.

Any input on this would be great or if you have any other ideas that would be awesome too.

Thanks,
Johnsoir

Johnsoir, do a search here, as this has been debated to a great extent. I personally like the Dlites, as you can tell by my signature.

I agree. There's two camps that love their systems on this board. Just depends on what you are looking for, from your lights.

Lots of tests have been done, lots of items have been bought/sold/rebought, and I guess it's just a matter of a system. Kinda like Canon and the other brand.

hawk911 thanks, I did do a search and read quite a few of the threads. Also are there cheaper alternatives to the Elinchrom softboxes? Are the Alienbee boxes adaptable?

Yes there are. I've got softboxes from Backdrop outlet, Amvona, Elinchrom, & Phototek. You can adapt those to fit the head just by using a speedring that accepts the Elinchrom mount.

We also used Dlites. But you might want to check out their new BXris.

I've just been thinking about this myself ....My two big issues were portability and quality of light/units.

Elinchrom... definate quality lights from what I've found/read so far... in both the build of the units and the consistant light output across the power range.

The bees... lots of satisfied customers, yet some say when the power is dropped the light colour shifts (?) and the build quality of the lights themselves is not on par with the Elinchroms (plastic casing vs metal, sliders vs digital controls, etc...).

Accessories... OUCH... the Elinchrom accessories are outragously priced (as well as the 7mm shaft thing for umbrellas... arghh)... but the Bee stuff... definately affordable.

Now... not sure on build quality of the manufactures accessories as I don't have either in hand yet (my 400BX's and softboxes are on the way), but I do know that even Elinchrom makes some cheap junk as seen by my Elinchrom Lightstands/umbrellas from Vistek which are bargain bin variety compared to a friends Photogenic stands/umbrellas.

Portability though was my big concern... the Vagabond and the Tronix Explorer XT seem to power more than one AB... yet will only power one Elinchrom D-lite per battery from what I can find so far on the net? So if you are planning on using the lights away from a plug-in... prepare on spending more $$ to have this option if going the d-lite route.

Me... I went with the 400BX's as I managed to get 3 used ones for the price of the d-lite 4 kit here... giving up the portability period as they do not work with the Vagabond or Explorer... but I wanted 3 lights instead of just two as well as the build quality (I've still got my 580's and cybersyncs for portability).

The shipping and having to worry about the quality control/sending units back and forth also was a concern... Elinchrom has Vistek listed as a distributor right here in Canada... the Bees have to be shipped back internationally for any warrenty/repair work.

Medic, I haven't tried yet since I got my Softlighter, but the shaft I got is not the 7mm. For the softlighter anyway, the one I have is not the 7mm shaft. That one is too small, based on others' testing.

Have you considered Bowens? I don't have anything against AB's or Elinchrom's gear however Bowens makes kick ass equipment that has very nice features, Bowens gear are super consistent in terms of color, output, etc, rugged and battle field proven, they also are compatible with portable power like the Innovatronix Explorer XT, also there are a lot of compatible reflectors with bowens that are cheap -bowens gear uses S-type bayonet which is also used with Interfit Stellar, Photoflex Starflash monolights and many vendors in Ebay sell reflectors, speedrings, beauty dishes, etc.-

The problem with the D-lite's is that they don't like heavy modifiers, the next in the line is the Elinchrom 400BX which doesn't like portable power and to have a monolight that likes portable power you would have to jump to the Elinchrom 600 RX which is around 900 bucks.
I don't know who distributes Bowens in Canada but just for you to have an idea of the price:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Gemini_Two_Mono​light.html http://www.calumetphot​o.com/item/BW4305/

No simple answers to this one.

The AB Zeuss range is very highly rated and is in a totally different class to the 'ordinary' AB's, which are cheaply made and have VERY inconsistent colour temperature, especially at low power settings. They have a lot of fans but I think it's fair to say that most of their fans are newcomers to studio lighting who don't have much if anything to compare them to.
Elinchrom - excellent when it comes to their pro ranges, their D-Lites are nowhere near the same quality but still pretty good.
Bowens - much better IMO than any Elinchrom products at similar prices, also have the benefit that their accessories are available as 3rd party brands so are much cheaper.
In Europe, Lencarta are the best buy, equivalent to Bowens but at much better prices.

GarryEdwards wrote in post #7563715
Elinchrom - excellent when it comes to their pro ranges, their D-Lites are nowhere near the same quality but still pretty good.

Not true. The only thing that suffers in the D-Lites is the build quality. I've done extensive testing with D-Lite's and they are extremely stable with output and color consistency that rivals the high end models.

TMR Design wrote in post #7563920
Not true. The only thing that suffers in the D-Lites is the build quality. I've done extensive testing with D-Lite's and they are extremely stable with output and color consistency that rivals the high end models.

Well, the ones I tested didn' rival their Style range or their generator packs but I agree, pretty stable. It was really the cheaper build quality that I had in mind though.
This isn't a criticsm of the Elinchrom D-Lites, I think they offer pretty good value for money.

How did you test? I did controlled testing and they were incredibly stable.

TMR Design wrote in post #7564033
How did you test? I did controlled testing and they were incredibly stable.

Minolta colour temp meter, Minolta Flashmeter V

Hi Garry,

This was something I posted a while back. I tested many strobes and you can see my method and the results for all strobes including the Elinchrom D-Lite 2 and 4.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=469075