Alien Bees Users Check In (2)

questionmarc wrote in post #14890490
holah guys i need some help

i am looking to purchase another light - i have an einstein right now and i might be moving into a studio hopefully soon and i want to do more beauty work

will another einstein really be worth it to act as fill or to blow out the bg or can i get away with a b400 ar a WL or something a little less cheaper

the einstein is great but i dont know if i can justify getting a second one just for a fill light

thanks again!

Get Einsteins. You will forever kick yourself if you get WL or ABs in stead.
Then invest in the Cyber Commander if you don't already have it.

This was shot with 5 Einsteins; Main; fill; hair; two on background.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, David - I enjoy your work and I respect other photographers regardless of their experience level (which you have much more than I) and I don't consider myself a pro by any means at this point.

That said, the above image could have been attained with (2) YN-560's connected to Cactus V5's and shot through a softbox/softlighter + reflector for balance. There's no obvious hairlighting, and in a studio environment the Einstein power is ill-utilized.

CiM_Photography wrote in post #14891432
I'm not trying to be a jerk, David - I enjoy your work and I respect other photographers regardless of their experience level (which you have much more than I) and I don't consider myself a pro by any means at this point.

That said, the above image could have been attained with (2) YN-560's connected to Cactus V5's and shot through a softbox/softlighter + reflector for balance. There's no obvious hairlighting, and in a studio environment the Einstein power is ill-utilized.

No worries about honest comments.

I have 3 YN-560s that I use often for table top product work. I also have 3 600EX-RTs I use for weddings and with the 560s for small setups

The power range the Einsteins offer is from 2.5Ws to 640Ws in 1/10 stop increments. That level of control is important when balancing light in a studio situation.

You're right about not needing the power, I think the lights in this shot were all well below 1/4 power. The background lights were the hottest. So that they could make it clipped white if desired.

The main and fill lights were in big PLMs. The main was a silver with diffusion panel. I have tested speedlites in the PLM and with careful positioning they fill even the big one and deliver reasonable light to a subject within 6 feet which is were I tend to have them even with a Einstein.

One significant advantage the Einsteins offer in a studio situation is the remote control for setting power via the Cyber Commander. For a setup like this, I set the background lights for evenness, then power them so they deliver F11 at the subject position (reading the white paper as a light source with an incident meter). Then set the main also at F11 at the subject position. Then set the fill usually about F8 so I have a three to one ratio. Then add the hair light and have it about F5.6 at the subject position. (You're right about the hair light. Its really not evident in this shot.) Once the lighting is set the way I want it ratio-wise. I change the CC to group. Now I can take a reading at subject position toward the camera to get a base exposure. Usually its about F11.5 given the above settings. Now, in group setting I can back off the exposure to whatever I want and all the lights change power together, keeping the ratios consistent.

And, if I want really shallow DoF, I can easily power the lights down even more while keeping the ratios in tact. The same can be accomplished with ABs and the Plus Cyber Syncs. There is no way that can be accomplished with YN-560s. It can be accomplished on a light by light basis with the 600EX-RTs from the camera but no way to change power on all the lights uniformly. (At least none that I've figured out so far with my 5DIII.

You're right that its possible to get essentially the same lighting scheme with other lights and modifiers, but not nearly as easily. And, to make a point about modifier influence, a soft box or umbrella on the main and fill would not have delivered the subtle but defined shadow from the model's nose that the silver PLM delivers with a diffusion panel.

That all makes perfect sense and I cannot argue with the reasoning. I think the major point to push, though, is the expand-ability of the Einstein and the PCB trigger systems.

It is my understanding that speedlight flash groups will allow for ratios based on the master flash power. I might be wrong here, as I've only ever manually adjusted them.

dmward wrote in post #14891185
Get Einsteins. You will forever kick yourself if you get WL or ABs in stead.
Then invest in the Cyber Commander if you don't already have it.

This was shot with 5 Einsteins; Main; fill; hair; two on background.

5 Einsteins? Wow. I usually use 2 Einsteins. 1 in a beauty dish above, and a reflector below. The 2nd Einstein lights the background. A real simple setup.

Here's a shot I took with my 2 light setup.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.digitalmacd​addy.com …037158&k=Z2ddJN​z&lb=1&s=A

yea i use my cybercommander when i do location work - it does help a bit but i will be switching to studios quite soon hopefully

the einstein is 499 where i can pay 40$ more and get a WL that has an extra stop of light

gah i wish i had more money

Three B800's: 64" PLM main light, large softbox fill and beauty dish on an Avenger boom for the hair.

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questionmarc wrote in post #14892254
yea i use my cybercommander when i do location work - it does help a bit but i will be switching to studios quite soon hopefully

the einstein is 499 where i can pay 40$ more and get a WL that has an extra stop of light

gah i wish i had more money

What are you planning to shoot in a studio that demands that much power.
The Model shot was done in a studio and it required about 40Ws from the main and maybe about twice that from the background lights.

Fortunately, the WL will interact with the Cyber Commander. Just not as precisely or easily.

Ordered my B800 pair!

Super excited. I know they get a bad wrap from people, or some come off as big fan boys, but for the price and just getting started with my own lighting I know they're going to work amazingly for me. I know quite a few people that use them and swear by them due to affordability and ease of use for location work.

They should be here sometime next week (I hope!). Can't wait!

What's up guys, I'm thinking of buying a B1600, if you can give me some pros and cons of this system, I would greatly appreciate it

Neil B wrote in post #14960067
What's up guys, I'm thinking of buying a B1600, if you can give me some pros and cons of this system, I would greatly appreciate it

They are great lights, durable, affordable, good customer service, and service generally Cons are a slight tendency toward red/magenta at lower powers. How do you plan to use the ab1600? Sometimes more power isnt always a good thing.

gonzogolf wrote in post #14960157
They are great lights, durable, affordable, good customer service, and service generally Cons are a slight tendency toward red/magenta at lower powers. How do you plan to use the ab1600? Sometimes more power isnt always a good thing.

was planing on using it with a beauty dish for portraits ..

Neil B wrote in post #14960388
was planing on using it with a beauty dish for portraits ..

indoor? Outdoors? With one light, a BD isnt always the best place to start.