JTL vs Alien Bee......

Hi there -

 

Another rookie on the look out for a good deal, but with quality

equipment.

 

I am looking for a good, portable, sturdy, and yet affordable

lighting kit. I will mostly be shooting wedding and portraits.

 

Right now, I am torn between an Alien Bees set and a JTL set.....I

don't know much about either. I have seen a ton of Alien Bee

feedback on the forum but no mention of JTL. Any feedback out there?

 

I am shooting with a Canon 10d and am looking at the following kits:

 

JTL: http://www.adorama.com/JTTL560SBK.html

 

Alien Bee: http://alienbees.com/travelingbee.htm (with a couple of

minor modifications)

 

 

Price is definitely a factor, but so is quality......this has to

last me a while.

 

Thanks for any help you can lend!

 

Denise

Denise,

 

I cannot speak about the JTL strobes but I do have AB's and I love them. I have 2-800's & 1-400. Plenty of light for any thing that I shot so far. Also, if you are a student you get a 10% discount.

 

Hope this helps,

G

I too recently made that decision (in fact my lights are in due to arrive tomorrow or Wednesday).

 

The JTL's looked really tempting until I had a chance to see the lights in person. The JTL light heads seemed very cheaply made compared to the Alien Bees.

 

Another factor to contributed to me choosing the AB's is that Alien Bees are made by the company in the USA while the JTL's are made by a third party somewhere overseas (I think China).

Alien Bees without a doubt in my opinion.

 

Try getting replacement parts or repairs to JTL. Alien Bees is a USA company located in a suburb (actually a business park) in the Nashville area. Having been there in person, spoke to the people, bought their product, seen the results, you will not be dissappointed in the Alien Bees.

Denise: I'm no expert on lighting. Just last night I used my Alien Bees AB800s for the first time. I thought they were cool, but then I've got nothing to compare them too.

 

<p>I have, however, read enough on this forum to suggest you do an in-depth research of PN threads. Many people seem to love the lights, but I remember reading that the Alien Bees softboxes were of disappointing quality. I can't remember if the same held true for the stands or not. Depending on the price difference, you might want to look at these items elsewhere.

 

<p>I chose air-cushioned stands because, when unscrewed, they ease down instead of dropping down. For careful folks this might not make a difference, but I'm a big time klutz.

 

<p>Also, the AB plug doesn't fit properly into my 10D pc cord recepticle. Another PN member said his didn't either. He ended up buying replacement cords at B&H. I'll likely do the same very soon.

 

<p>If you want something a step up from Alien Bees but by the same manufacturer, you might take a look at the big brother White Lightning series. I've not seen them, but I've heard they are more sturdily built than their little sister company. Here is a White Lightning package similar to the Busy Bee package:

<a href="http://white-lightning.com/remotepack.htm"> http://white-lightning.com/remotepack.htm</a>

"Also, the AB plug doesn't fit properly into my 10D pc cord recepticle"

 

The 10D pc sync is the problem, not the Alien Bees. I have tried several plugs and get the same result, loose fit and and inconsistent triggers. I am wireless now and do not use Alien Bees, but I am going to get some. You cannot beat the battery system price anywhere and I need a portable set up.

Alien Bees.

 

jmp

Aron, thanks for the cord update. Do you have to hold your cord while you shoot? It's not just loose, it barely enters the 10D recepticle.

 

Would you suggest taping it in place or ??????

 

Wireless would be really cool, but as this is just a hobby, I'm having a tough time justifying the investment--at least this year.

Yeah AB are the bomb, and for that price man oh man, Ive never heard anything bad

about them, and when it comes to savin $$ i know all about it. I got the HD stand that

is crazy huge, too big to lug around for my skate boarding photos, but perfect if your

driving everywhere.I just cant wait to buy more stuff from AB's. Plus i agree with

melisa, she did a lot of research.. so yeah, ab's denise. thats you best bet to start off

with. if you want some more info on cheap studio gear lemme know!

Alien Bees - the way to go! They are great and the price is right, and the service is terrific. These are a high quality product. If you ever get a little higher budget, don't hesitate to add White Lightening to your list of equipment. both AB & WL are made by Paul C. Buff. IMHO, the best deal in lighting.

Melissa,

 

Sorry it took so long but yes, when I use to use the Canon on camera pc socket, I had to push in on it to get it to fire. It would just slide around and come out. You do not have to go wireless, Wein also makes a safe sync which is what I used as a bridge until I could afford wireless and it worked fine. In fact, I gave my safe sync to another photo.netter that was having a similar problem after I had gone wireless.

It sounds like Canon has a manufacturing tolerance or design problem with their PC connection. Get a Wein Safe Synch.