Alien Bees or White Lightning?

<p>Hi all! Is there a difference. Seems to be the same company but white lightning units cost more. I'm looking @ the 1600 w/s and the 800 w/s and the difference is substantial. Other than cosmetics?</p>

<p>Power!<br /> 1600 is obviously more power then 800. A lot depends on what and how you want to shoot. Some will get the cheaper lighting and will shoot at higher ISO.<br /> My self, I'm more of an old-school, shooting at lower ISO with higher power units.</p>

<p>Adam</p>

<p>I have used white lightnings for over 20 years and they are great. Mine are obviously the older ones, some even still have the old fuse in them instead of the circuit breaker. I use them commercially and they have travelled all over the US, very durable. I have 12 of them and I don't think I have changed more than two or three flash tubes, except those I broke, over all these years.</p>

<p>I know folks with the Alien Bees, but they have lower power modeling lights and I would find that difficult for many things. The bright light is great on a big set or looking through a view camera at a still life. If you can, spend the extra few bucks, in the long run it is a very little difference!</p>

<p>There is a very important feature on the WL 1600 unit. You can "quarter" its power, making it act exactly like a 400. This is not the same as turning down the AB 1600 to a lower power. <br /><br />The WL units have tougher chassis, and are just generally more rugged. They also support brighter modeling lights, which can be very important in some situations.</p>

<p>First the AB B1600 is only 640WS and not 1600WS and the B800 is only 320WS. You need to look at the description for "True WS" data. The AB's are named for what they call "Effective WS" and by all accounts AB is the only manufacturer that I can find that uses this term. As the owner of both AB and WL flash units I can only determine that this "Effective WS" is determined as flash output with their 11" Long Throw reflector attached. </p>

<p>Second the AB's are plastic housings where as the WL's are aluminum housings. </p>

<p>Third some claim that the WL's produce more consistent color temperature throughout its power range than does the AB's. I personally have not seen much of a difference in color temperature output between my units (I have the AB B1600, ABR 800 and a WL 2400 Ultra Zap). I usually custom white balance when I make any major setup changes so I have not experienced any major problems along these lines. </p>

<p>Concurring with Randall, I have both and the way I describe it is that WL's are commercial and AB's are hobby. They are both quality strobes, and both do very well, but the WL is built tough and the AB's are plastic. Now, I've pulled both over and they both survive a great deal of harsh treatment . . . so I recommend either / or based on budget and use.</p>

<p>J</p>

<p>I think Jake summed it up nicely. In addition to all the previously stated differences the ABs do not have a power transformer. This was to save both weight and money. It is a unique design and perhaps not as durable as the traditional power supply/transformer in the WL.</p>

<p>I own and use both depending on the situation. But it's easiest to consider the WL the pro line and the AB the hobbyist line. Although I don't put much stock into those definitions and use what makes sense to me based on the shoot.</p>

<p>All of this information is on thier website. The features and differences are well documented. So, I'd say continue to do reserach before you commit to buying.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Third some claim that the WL's produce more consistent color temperature throughout its power range than does the AB's. I personally have not seen much of a difference in color temperature output between my units (I have the AB B1600, ABR 800 and a WL 2400 Ultra Zap).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It's really only the X 1600, 2400, and 3200 that have the more constant color, and that's only when you use the quarter power switch appropriately.</p>

<ul>

<li>Full power - slider to full power, range switch to full power.</li>

<li>1/2 power - slider to 1/2 power, range switch to full power. Color temperature rises slightly.</li>

<li>1/4 power - slider to full power, range switch to 1/4 power. Color temperature is back to where it was at full power</li>

<li>1/8 power - slider to 1/2 power, range switch to 1/4 power. Color temperature is now the same as it was at half power.</li>

</ul>

<p>You've just covered a 4 stop range with the same shift in color temperature a Bee, WL Ultra, Ultra Zap, or X800 would have had covering a 2 stop range. You can continue</p>

<ul>

<li>1/16 power - slider to 1/4 power, range switch to 1/4 power</li>

<li>1/32 power - slider to 1/8 power, range switch to 1/4 power</li>

</ul>

<p>Now you've covered the full 6 stop range of a Bee, WL Ultra, Ultra Zap, or X800, with the color shift of a 4 stop adjustment instead of a 6 stop adjustment. I once made a plot of power setting vs. color temp for the Ultra 1200 and the X 3200...</p>

<p>OK, here's all the differences I know...</p>

<ul>

<li>Modeling lamp pattern - X series white lightning use frosted encapsulated halogen modeling lamps. These lamps are shorter, the filaments are farther back in the bulb than a regular "household" bulb. That means that the modeling light projects a pattern that looks more like what you will get from the flash tube. The bees, with a regular 100W household lamp put a big light far forward of the tube, and it focuses differently. It doesn't matter for softboxes, but it matters when trying to get your umbrellas looking right, or when trying to adjust barn doors on a reflector.</li>

<li>Modeling lamp power and quality of light - the X has a 250 W halogen that puts out 3200K color temperature, 4600 lumens, and lasts 3000 hours. The bees have a household 100W incandescent that puts out 1400 lumens, lasts 750 hours, and has a color temperature of 2800K. (newer units supposedy have a bulb that lasts 3000 hours, but uses 150 W to still put out about 1400 lumens of 2550K light). If you want to try a bit of hot light shooting, a modern DSLR with its ability to shoot at high ISO lets you use the 250W halogen X pretty much the same way you'd have used a 1000W photoflood back in the film days. You can upgrade a Bee to encapsulated halogen, but you have to do 150W or 100W, you can't do 250W.</li>

<li>UV coated tubes - standard on the X, these may be an option on the bees (the AB site itself avoids saying whether or not they're coated, but the manual doenloaded from the AB website says the stock tubes are not coated, and UV tubes are optional). UV blocking tubes keep white fabrics from "popping" into electric blue because tubes put out a bit more UV in relation to visible light than you normally see in either room light or fluorescent light.</li>

<li>Smell - the bees have twice the surface area on their modeling lights as the X, so twice as much studio dust collects on them between uses, and they make twice as much smelly smoke when you first turn them on.</li>

<li>Mixing light sizes - The X units have separate modeling light and flash power controls. So if you have an X1600 and an X800, you can get the modeling lights right by setting the X1600 modeling light to whatever you set the flash power to, while setting the X800 modeling light one stop under what you set the flash to. If you mix Bee 1600 and 800, about all you can do is put 150 W modeling bulbs in the 1600s and 75W bulbs in the 800s.</li>

<li>Alarms and stuff - the X lets you know it's overheating by sounding an alarm. The bee lets you know it's overheating by sending out smoke and dripping globs of neon orange or green plastic.</li>

<li>Modeling light balancing - a trick you can do with the X, say you've got your main at 1/4 power, fill at 1/16 power, and two background lights each at 1/4 power. Set the modeling lights to full, 1/2, full, and full, and you get 4x as much light to see by. (You can do that with Bees, too, if they're under the control of the Cyber Commander).</li>

</ul>

<p>From my perspective, I like UV filtered tubes and halogen modeling lights, so a brand new bee needs $60 worth of immediate upgrades, cutting in half the $120 difference between a Bee and an X of the same power rating.</p>

<p>I own two B1600 and five X3200. The Alien Bees are more portable and less money. They seem to hold up very well for me, and I'm very hard on equipment. The White Lightning have better modeling lights and are less susceptible to heat build up. (Not a factor for me, it's usually below zero when I photo.) If you aren't a full time photographer who will use them daily, I'd go for the Alien Bees, myself. They are a great value.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>One item that no one has mentioned is that the Bees use a 1/8 inch jack for a sync connection as opposed to the 1/4 jack that the WL and other suse. It is flimsy and requires an adapter with some radio triggers (the Ebay ones ). It makes a very shaky connection. Even with a direct connection it is flaky.</p>

<p>I rely on my optical triggers with the ABs and use the radios on my WLs.</p>

<p>I use CyberSync triggers on both Alien Bees and White Lightnings. I've had no issues. CyberSync triggers come with a sync cord that is the right size for the Alien Bees, and has an adapter for the White Lightning. I ended up buying sync cords to fit the WL anyway. I've had no issues with either. The optical triggers are also highly reliable, even outdoors.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

<p>I have 3 alien bees. B1600 and two b800. I notice color temp change from 5500K to 4500K when I slide my power output to 1/4. Not happy about that. Contacted Alien bees, tole me "Slightly" change is normal.</p>

<p>Color temp change when you power down lights is common, and not just with Alien Bees. That's why setting a custom white balance when you change your power output is important!</p>

<p>I am very happy with both my 4 - Alien Bee AB800 and 2 - WL X1600. Personally I could not do with just one or the other as i use them for different purposes. I use the AB800's as back drop, rim, hair, or anytime I need to put something high up on a boom and need something small and light. When I put a softbox over head the WL are too long and want go close to the ceiling. The AB800 are about half as long as a WL and therefore are great for boom poles or hiding behind backdrops. However, when I am mounting my big 7' Octogo Softboxes I need the strurdy metal housing and mounts that come with the White Lightnings. I personally can't tell the difference in color at all between the lights and if there is one it is insignificant to the end result. I do prefer the larger accessory plug and the ability to change the modeling lights power and strobe power individually on the WL. But more often I just need the smaller lighter AB800 to just throw in a gym bag and go. Get them both you can't go wrong mixing.</p>