Stobes- Indoor Sports ?

I will be adding some strobes soon. Have always had and used White Lightning. however would like to upgrade to Elinchrom for studio work.

Anyone use them for lighting baseketball/volleyball etc? Just want to make sure I have covered everything before I purchase.

Was thinking BXRi 500 or 600RX - would I gain an advantage for sports as well upgrading.

Elinchrom 500Ri Specs HERE

Thanks for your time.

You might want to touch base with Dennis W. to see if he has some feedback on the topic.

The only strobes Ive ever used were Elinchrom 600RXs. They lit Freedom Hall just fine. Im sure theyll meet your needs It would let me shoot 1/320, f/4, 200 ISO

Perfect ...thanks Adam. Just want some real world comments. Spec sheets arent always enough info.

Did you use two or four Adam?

The Flash Duration is listed
(t 0,5) 1/1 1/2050
(t 0,5) 1/32 1/1/850

Still dont quite understand these numbers...

eigga wrote in post #9913164
Perfect ...thanks Adam. Just want some real world comments. Spec sheets arent always enough info.

Did you use two or four Adam?

The Flash Duration is listed
(t 0,5) 1/1 1/2050
(t 0,5) 1/32 1/1/850

Still dont quite understand these numbers...

Eight total but only four on a single bank.
T times are telling you the time that the flash is at some percent of total output for any given power setting.

t.5 1/1 (or t0.5. However you want to read it) is the time (or flash duration) that the flash is above 50% output for full power. In this case, you have 1/2050 of a second. Knowing your flash duration gives you an indicator of how well it will freeze action.

There are two general rules with typical mono-tube lights
1. The duration is shorter when you are at full power.
2. Smaller lights have shorter duration that bigger lights.
This all changes when youre talking about bi-tube heads, heads that have are capable of capacitor switching, or modern digital monolights like the Einstein or Broncolors

All that being said, t5 is kinda misleading but manufacturers always quote it because it makes them look good. If you can find t1 numbers (the time flash output it above 10%), those are generally a better indicator. However, I give you my words that 600RX's are plenty fast.

I second what Adam says. I have used 600RX's on many occasions to light basketball. They work fine and the flash duration is adequate. I would normally use two to light half a court in HS sized gyms. I have four and use all of them in one particular gym mainly because access for setup is so good it is easy to do and I like to experiment.

The past couple of years I have shot most indoor sports using two Elinchrom Ranger AS setups. The flash duration is better, the flash power is greater and the ability to shoot without having to worry about power cords is very nice. The biggest drawback is you can get 5 600RX's for what two of the Rangers cost.

I have not used the BXRi, but would question if they would have enough power to get the job done unless the gym was very dark.

Outside of the gym, you will love them for studio work. The light is great, the consistency from shot to shot is outstanding and the selection of light modifiers will keep you broke for years to come. The speedring sucks but once you get used to it, it's not bad.

AdamLewis wrote in post #9913090
The only strobes Ive ever used were Elinchrom 600RXs. They lit Freedom Hall just fine. Im sure theyll meet your needs It would let me shoot 1/320, f/4, 200 ISO

pretty much the same for JQH arena here in Springfield. Where the Missouri State Bears play. We had 4 of them fire at a time, worked like a charm except we shot at 5.6, and they were fired with the skyports which sucked...