With speedlight mods and systems evolving why go strobe?

I recently attended a workshop hosted by Joe McNally and I was honeslty amazed at what he was able to do with just speedlights and CLS.
he has really nice soft, octa and strip boxes for his speedlight, snoots I mean honestly you name it.
So the question is.
Unless you need the recycle rate or longevity of the studio strobe why go with one?
From what I have seen and been practicing the newer flash systems are really impressive and the ability to go ttl when needed is really amazing. being able to chance zones and EC right from the camera is also a great advantage.

What are your thoughts?

Running list of pros for speedlight
Portability
CLS ( or Canon alternative)


Running list of Pros for Studio strobe
Power
modeling light
ability to fill large modifiers with 1 light
Longevity
recycle rate.
Cost

Power, power, power. and modeling lights.

What he said. I don't know how many speedlights you will need to fill a 7 foot octa, for example.

midnight_rider wrote in post #11334574
Unless you need the recycle rate or longevity of the studio strobe why go with one?

2 very good reasons right there, plus you won't compete with the sun at noon on a sunny day with a speedlight. Modifiers are a very good reason too, plus price. For the price of a speedlight, you can buy a pretty decent studio light

And don't forget, PocketWizards is bringing TTL to strobes (Elinchrom RX and Einstein).

modifier selection

gonzogolf wrote in post #11334605
Power, power, power. and modeling lights.

True, The modeling light can be very helpful.

Seanzky wrote in post #11334616
What he said. I don't know how many speedlights you will need to fill a 7 foot octa, for example.

Light is light and how you make it spread is solely up to you. I have seen people use tinfoil in their modifiers to get speedlights to reflect enough light. Now it is true that is can not nativity have the same spread but that can be corrected be bouncing the light or adding more lights.

hawk911 wrote in post #11334628
2 very good reasons right there, plus you won't compete with the sun at noon on a sunny day with a speedlight. Modifiers are a very good reason too, plus price. For the price of a speedlight, you can buy a pretty decent studio light

True the Sun can be a pain. I am not even sure if a AB400 can fight the Sun. may need a minimum of a 800 watt light

windpig wrote in post #11334670
modifier selection

This is quickly changing.

midnight_rider wrote in post #11334707
Light is light and how you make it spread is solely up to you. I have seen people use tinfoil in their modifiers to get speedlights to reflect enough light. Now it is true that is can not nativity have the same spread but that can be corrected be bouncing the light or adding more lights.

No, I meant how would you fill up a huge octa such as a seven footer with speedlights? Would that endeavor be worth while? Using your example, how much tinfoil would you need for a seven foot light source?

midnight_rider wrote in post #11334707
Light is light and how you make it spread is solely up to you. I have seen people use tinfoil in their modifiers to get speedlights to reflect enough light. Now it is true that is can not nativity have the same spread but that can be corrected be bouncing the light or adding more lights.

Yeah but you are talking about defocusing a focused lens on a $400 speedlight to do the same thing you can achieve with a $250 strobe that has twice the power. I get that there is an appeal to the strobist route, but its arguments like this that frustrate me. Pick the tool thats best for you, but dont oversell the capacity of your method. At some point there are better tools for the job at hand. I have a strobist setup, and alien bees with a vagabond and use them both as the situtation calls for it.

midnight_rider wrote in post #11334712
This is quickly changing.

Won't change fast enough for most of us. Power and Modifier selection, recycle time. Over 200 full power shots in sunlight comes to mind. I mean the list goes on and on. Speedlites, last i checked - aren't cheap. $425. that's entering Elinchrom D-lite territory.

Why would i bother with 16 speedlites (Like Joe Mc. does) when i can bring a Quadra system or Ranger RX and do the same? Just doesn't make sense. You think dealing with Quadra batteries sucks? How about dealing with 64 AA batteries? Sure that's an extreme example, but he's toted that around before.... much to my amusement.

Anyhow, horses for courses. You want to fill a 7ft octa with 8 speedlites, that's your choice. I'll happily bring my Ranger single head out.

.02

Seanzky wrote in post #11334660
And don't forget, PocketWizards is bringing TTL to strobes (Elinchrom RX and Einstein).

Yes, A much welcomed improvement.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11334738
Yeah but you are talking about defocusing a focused lens on a $400 speedlight to do the same thing you can achieve with a $250 strobe that has twice the power. I get that there is an appeal to the strobist route, but its arguments like this that frustrate me. Pick the tool thats best for you, but dont oversell the capacity of your method. At some point there are better tools for the job at hand. I have a strobist setup, and alien bees with a vagabond and use them both as the situtation calls for it.

right... you can turn a screw with a knife, but a screwdriver gets it done more efficiently. but the knife works just fine on my kids toys...

Seanzky wrote in post #11334732
No, I meant how would you fill up a huge octa such as a seven footer with speedlights? Would that endeavor be worth while? Using your example, how much tinfoil would you need for a seven foot light source?

Personally I would just accept that a 7' modifier is not reasonable for my speedlight and go with with easier options.

The question really is: Why get multiple speedlights when a single Quadra head can do the job? (The reverse of this thread's intended question.)

Portability? No. Size? No. Convenience? No. Price? No. Recycle time? No.

So it's 400ws strobe that fits in your pocket versus multiple speedlights that add up to 400ws that won't.