I have a nice Metz strobist setup and a full Alien Bees studio but constantly find myself looking for something in the middle.
My AB's have enough power and great light-modifiers (at least good enough for me) but the Metz strobist setup has the portability. The AB's and Vagabond are a little too big for really portable outdoor shooting, but the Metz's aren't powerful enough unless I'm shooting near sundown - which doesn't give me much time to work. And neither are easily controllable on-the-fly from the camera.
Here is what I'd really like...
- Minimum of 200 watt-seconds (preferably more)
- RF wireless control for multiple units from camera
- Relatively small units w/ relatively small power packs
- Good selection of light modifiers, preferably large ones (soft box, beauty dish, etc.)
Obviously I've landed squarely at the feet of the Quantum Q-Flash system, which I've read many glowing reviews about. However $1K/unit retail (for the above requirements) is extremely expensive (for me.)
I really haven't been following the flash market lately. Apart from pre-owned Q's (which may be an option) is there anything in the $500-$600/unit range that would fill the requirements above?
