Bowens or Elinchrom?

I'm looking for a portable set up for doing large group portraits (10-30 people) in a very simple but controlled environment.

It doesn't need to be anything fancy, it just needs to be easy to transport and set up, solid and very reliable.

I had planned on purchasing the kit early next year for some booked work, but a customer has asked for some work before the end of the month so I'm going to purchase a kit this week.


I will buy locally, as being in NZ returns to an overseas supplier and after sales support can be tricky.
This leaves me two options:
A Bowens kit: http://progear.co.nz/p​roduct/11358.aspx
And an Elinchrom kit: http://apix.co.nz …ctView.aspx?Id=​ELI20751.2


I see a lot of talk about Elinchrom on the forums, but very little mention of Bowens?

Both kits are a similar cost, similar power heads with similar modifiers (I already have brolly's that work very well for what I need) .
The Elinchrom kit comes with triggers (which I already have 3 sets of) but the Bowens kit comes with a nice travel case with wheels.

Both shops have fantastic levels of service and after sales support, and both sell a full range of extras for both brands.

This will get lugged around a lot, next year and the following years it will need to do a lot of travel to locations. I'm looking at 20+ shoots in the course of a month.


Is there any good reason to get one over the other?
As far as I can tell both are high quality bits of kit.

Moppie wrote in post #10898758
...
This leaves me two options:
A Bowens kit: http://progear.co.nz/p​roduct/11358.aspx
And an Elinchrom kit: http://apix.co.nz …ctView.aspx?Id=​ELI20751.2


I see a lot of talk about Elinchrom on the forums, but very little mention of Bowens?

Both kits are a similar cost, similar power heads with similar modifiers (I already have brolly's that work very well for what I need) .
The Elinchrom kit comes with triggers (which I already have 3 sets of) but the Bowens kit comes with a nice travel case with wheels.

Both shops have fantastic levels of service and after sales support, and both sell a full range of extras for both brands.

This will get lugged around a lot, next year and the following years it will need to do a lot of travel to locations. I'm looking at 20+ shoots in the course of a month.


Is there any good reason to get one over the other?

Yes there is reason to get one over other... Safety !!!
Light is Light and both are good but pay attention to weight size of unit.
More weight and size the more they can handle voltage spikes w/o catching on fire.
Not sure how stable your area is on voltage or storms {lightning} but ...
They are many cheap units on the market {ie. white lightning, alien bees, and from China} but nothing I would want plugged in for extended times or stormy weather.
They are cheaper because they have less hardwire circuit capacity in them. Copper coil adds dollars & weight.
Other issues are field studio replacement parts, constant color temp over various power settings, and full line accessories.

I do use older Bowens Esprit II 500WS units and would prob go digital Bowens if I was buying now.
In regards to talk - they just work and are the unsung heros.
Cheap gets more attention.
See the Bowens site for tech specs ... http://www.bowens.co.u​k/
Also compare with Elinchrom specs ...http://www.elinchrom.c​om/
I did not see the color spec on Elich but the Bowens says +-300 K.
The Bowens weight 3.0 KG vs 2.05 KG for Elich. I assume more copper coil in the Bowens.
My Esprits are like 3.5 KG each and +-100 K.
You might want to compare the Elich Pro {RX} line with Bowens more than the Starter Pro Line{BX}.
You do the math ... just consider safety ... many dont !

I use Bowens Gemini Pros (and mostly Photoflex modifiers) and have no problems with them whatsoever.

Both Bowens and Elinchrom are great brands to choose from. I've had Bowens in the past but now shoot Elinchrom. I find them better, but then the Bowens I had were not digital controls.

One of my Bowens lights had a problem a couple of months after purchase, and had to go back to be fixed. There are a few niggling problems with them now (I know the guy who's using them now), a few years after purchase, but nothing that has stopped a shoot quite yet.

I have never had a problem with my Elinchrom lights, but then haven't worked them for as long as those Bowens have been... but, and this is purely a gut call, after what I've seen I'd put my money on Elinchrom.

Good luck with your new kit!

Both of the brands are good, I played around in shop with Bowens lights and with Elinchrom. In the end I went for Elinchrom because Bowens battery pack was not convincing enough and Elinchrom line offers some great modifiers (the octa, deep octa etc) that other brands don't.

Either way you can't go wrong with these two.

Elinchrom needs 7mm umbrella shafts, so that'll be a problem if yours aren't.

Cheers guys, it sounds like the Bowens kit will be the one to go for.

There are other, cheaper options here. We get a LOT of cheap Chinese imports and I could put together a similar kit for about half that price using non-brand Chinese copies.
I have used a set of these that belong to a friend. They have proven a lot more reliable than expected and the importer does provide excellent support, but the quality isn't there for me to be able to trust them to run day after day when needed.

Moppie

Provided you have access to 230v, you could use my Bowens set for your upcoming job. I would give you a little more time to do further investigations/savings etc.

Just as personal preference, If I were to buy new, I would go the Elinchrom route.

Ive been looking at the same Bowens set myself. I posted a thread yesterday asking about them but no replies, nobody likes me

I have been looking at both these and the Elinchrom set. From what I can tell the Bowens look better but im no expert.

Chris

Mark Vuleta wrote in post #10905010
Moppie

Provided you have access to 230v, you could use my Bowens set for your upcoming job. I would give you a little more time to do further investigations/savings etc.

Just as personal preference, If I were to buy new, I would go the Elinchrom route.

Cheers Mark, I may take you up on that.

Any reason why you would go with the Elinchrom instead?

Couple of reasons.

The first would the the ability to control the lighting from the transmitter on your camera. Probably not a big issue in a studio where you would generally leave them set a large portion of the time but when you travel, different set-up, different size groups etc and if you have the heads up high (I know you are height challanged :rolleyes, no need to drop the light stand down to adjust etc.

The colour consistency of the Elinchroms is a well known feature, not 100% sure of the Bowens, I haven't seen anyone do a test.

The Elinchrom quality is well known to and I believe that parts/serviceability for Bowens in NZ is fairly poor.

The Bowens do use a more common S mount, but hey, your buying quality lights, buy quality branded modifiers as well.

Hmmm good reasons, I have to admit to having raised and lower lights to set the power before
I know I did it a fair bit on the weekend.

Not worried about the colour consistency the Bowens are +/-300k, but I generally set a customer WB anyway. Elinchrom don't state anything in the specs.

Good point about the serviceability, I'm pretty confident that both Apix and Progear will stand behind anything they sell though.

I'm with Mark on this. I replied above, having owned and used both. Without doubt, if I had to buy new today, it would be Elinchrom. There is nothing in the Bowens line-up that excites me right now...

Elinchrom.

consider flash duration.

Hmmm, you guys are making this more difficult!

I think I need to get into Apix and have a look at the Elinchroms in person.

However:
The Bowens kit comes with light stands and a wheeled case.
The Elinchrom kit comes with only a remote that does power adjustments, but no stands and only a basic carry bag. The BX kit is $300 more expensive, but the D-Lite kit is a lot cheaper, but lower quality and less functionality??
Over all quality is similar between them, but the Elinchroms possibly have better temperature control while the Bowens have a lower min power setting.

Elinchrom have a very sophisticated system, but need to spend more to get into it, and need to purchase much high end models to get the real advantages over the Bowens system?

Bowens NZ agent is known for random service levels (also handles Sigma and Noink)
Don't know who the Elinchom agent is?

Bowens = English = Reminds of some previous cars I've owned = well designed but poorly built = Lucas = oh.........

Elinchrom = Swiss = Excellent engineering and build.....