Portable setups

I have been looking for a replacement/supplement to my Speedlites. I would love to be able to take a decent sized softbox out into the wilderness on shoots.

At the moment I have 2 430ex's, 1 580ex, and 2 D-lite 4's.

When out shooting I will usually use the 580, in a Photoflew 12"x16" box. And sometimes a 430 for a hair or rim light. This is fine under shade, but will never really allow me to over power the sun. For the most part I have seen good success but feel I am missing out.

From using a lot of different types of studio equipment as well as owning the D-lites, I know well enough that a Speedlite in a small box isn't exactly the same quality light as a studio head in a much larger box.

I feel I want to move up to something a little better. As I own the Elinchrom's and use BXRi500's in studio a lot. I would like to go that route, though it looks like my only choices are Quadra's or the bulkier RX series of rangers. Both look to be beautiful, though expensive for something that wouldn't be able to come out for half of the year here in Canada.

I also stumbled upon the Genesis 300B's from Calumet. They have the Elinchrom mount, 300ws, decently small, and super inexpensive. My concerns are; that they may be built worse than that of the D-lites; That the flash duration is super long; and that they aren't actually anything close to the real deal. i.e. Quadra's.

The TLDR version; Am I just being silly wanting something more than Speedlites? Should I shut up and be happy with what I have? Will the Genesis be worth getting or are they just a fancy paper weight?

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.

No input from anyone out there?

I've thought about the 300B's as well... my issue -- the modeling lights are huuuge. I'm not sure if they'd work with the inner baffles on some of the nice elinchrom softboxes and octas.

Ever consider taking your Dlites or BXRi strobes on location? Picking up an Innovatronix Explorer XT for portable power might be one way to go.

What do you shoot in the wilderness? All depends on that, isn't it.

I just got the Ranger RX Speed with the A flash head. Really nice build quality.

Quadra is really nice, as long as you baby them as your own first born. (read that as it cannot take much of abuse, the plastic to save weight is not that durable)

@ sdipirro, I have thought of that. The Innovatronix looks like a great product. My only issue is with the size of the thing. I can't see my assistants wanting to carry around such a large device.

@bobbyz, I shoot everything from fashion, editorial, individual and couples stuff. I'm not looking to light a massive group, at least not with a single broad light source.

Good point stwest, I had seen some discussion about the size of the modelling lights in terms of using it with the elinchrom reflector, but never thought about its interaction with the actual boxes.

The RX series is nice, though I don't know if I really need 1100 w/s of power. I knew the Quadra's build wasn't super strong, but hearing that they aren't that durable either worries me a bit.


Hmm, has any one remedied their portable needs with anything else. I'm not tied to Elinchrom, though I would like to stay with them. Alienbee's are out of the question, they are nice, but I really dislike the build and control of them,

stwest79 wrote in post #11380047
I've thought about the 300B's as well... my issue -- the modeling lights are huuuge. I'm not sure if they'd work with the inner baffles on some of the nice elinchrom softboxes and octas.

Theere is a thingo that allows you to install quarts lights in a genesis edison socket. We use grids mounted to the standard genesis reflector and this item is required as the standard bulb would be in conflict with the grid. Strangely niether the large grid nor the quartz bulb adapter are easily found on the website.

I'll see what i can dig up.

Johnsoir wrote in post #11378125
The TLDR version; Am I just being silly wanting something more than Speedlites? Should I shut up and be happy with what I have?

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.

No, i don't think you are being silly at all. While you can do some great stuff with strobist type gear, Mobile studio lights have distinct design advantages. There are some systems that are based on quantum battery type/weight/sized dc sources such as the genesis, and there are the ac systems designed to bring more traditional lights outdoors. The ac systems (vagabond and inovotroniox are much heavier, but they enable marathon shooting.) I've found my mobilights to be fine for individual portrait sessions and a few wedding outdoor shoots. If i was trying to shoot a little league the ac system is the way to go. I picked up a 2 light kit of the 301's a couple of years ago. If i had to do it again i'd probably go with the 300b's The build quality on the JTL's is not the best... but they're a definite upgrade from the ubiquitous 100-160ws little cylyndrical strobes that SP, JTL, Flashpoint and whoever else stamps their name on.

Interestingly i have an even older to me than the JTL mobilight 301's known as a sp studiosystems lancerlight. It's one of the afore mentioned cylindrical flashes and i recently discovered that since the Mobilight batteries are made to be similar to the quantum batteries... the lancerlight can run on the JTL batteries. (other than that the lancerlight is a non-starter, it's expensive for what it is and has even cr*ppier power settings than the JTL)

The main defect in my opinion to the JTL Mobilights is that they have a bad range of operation. I metered mine out to a little more than 3 stops from the top of the power setting to the low end. What good is a variable power setting if it hardly does anything?! The 5 stop range on a genesis light would be a marked improvement. That said, in practical use outdoors in bright sunlight i tend to be in the upper end of the power output anyway. Noiw that i have them, i'm not going to get rid of them... i make them work and i don't feel that bad about it. The 300b wasn't even rumored when i bought mine.

calumet website... 300b light and battery on sale.. use "blackfriday" coupon code to get another $25 off.. ordered one last nigt 276.69 shipped

i think those are backordered.

^ Yet another issue I have with these lights. From what I have read, Calumet is great, but tends to have a lot of their "instock" items on back order when a good price comes up on something.

Johnsoir wrote in post #11385582
^ Yet another issue I have with these lights. From what I have read, Calumet is great, but tends to have a lot of their "instock" items on back order when a good price comes up on something.

Yeah it sucks. But it's a marketing issue, not a gear quality issue.

Ordered my 300b last week and it hasn't shipped. Got it for 276 which is a steal. I can wait for it. Price you pay.

I have gone this long without it, right?

You can get smaller model lamps - TBH you really going to need the model lamps in the outdoors? I always take my model lams out when i use my 400's with a generator outside, just another less thing to break too!