Alien Bees 400 or 800 for Portrait

I think I'm going to buy an Alien Bees strobe for portrait. I mostly have worked

with indiviudals or couples, with north-facing window light. I hope to be able

to do small families, but I don't feel like I need much lighting for this.

Anyone out there experienced with Alien Bees, who can recommend a 400 or the 800

for my needs? Does the 400 have enough juice? I'll probably be using a softbox

or octagonal softbox with this light. Thanks so much.

Here's my fiance Sarah using the north-facing window light.

Whatever it's worth, I always get the most power I can with the budget I have and the weight I can handle. You may not need the 800's now, but a situation will come along when you wish you had it.

I like quality equipment. But I usually buy the cheapest I possibly can.

When shooting a single-light portrait with my AB400 and a medium softbox, I typically have to drop it down to 1/16th to 1/4 power to keep f/8 at ISO 100. When shooting groups, I usually use more than one light, which means that they still have to be kept to very modest outputs. I've never needed more than the 400. I rented some AB 800's and 1600's last year for some small groups with pets, and ended up keeping them between 1/32 and 1/8 (depending on the light and modifier) to keep f/11.

 

All of that being said, if I buy another light, I'll probably do an 800, just to play on the safe side.

 

steve

Okay, portraits aren't my main thing and I don't have my numbers down. I borrow my partner's AB800s from time to time for portraits. IIRC, I can get about f/8 at 1/4 power or so. With that in mind, AB400s should be sufficient for indoor work.

 

If you decide to shoot outdoors and balance bright sun, you might be in marginal territory with AB400s. However, this scenario is far different than what you presented.

 

I would go with the AB800 -- more is better. If you can develop your lighting system as you go along, get the AB400. If and when you get into trouble, add an AB800. Even for the novice, it's pretty easy to put four lights to use -- particularly with a white seamless background.

 

Can you borrow or rent to see what will suit your needs?<div></div>

I live in a remote area in the Eastern Sierra, so renting is not a possibility. However, from what I've heard so far, I'm a bit more disposed to start with a 400, then get an 800 a little down the road. Do you all feel that two lights are a necessity for background lighting, for say, high key white? Also, I was interested to hear the 800 recomended as fill for outdoors. Has anyone been able to pull this off with the 400?

Neil,

 

I have both the Alien Bees 400 and 800 lights. The 400 puts out so much light that I haven't run into anything indoors that the 400 couldn't handle. I would suggest getting a 400 first. After some use you will have a good idea if you want another 400 as your second light, or an 800 instead. My guess is most photographers would be happy with the 400 lights.

 

I haven't used any of the lights outside as fill.

 

Jim

I have an AB 800 and a photoflex softbox, and I shoot very wide open much of the time in fairly small spaces. I have never had it higher than maybe 1/4 at most. If I ever get a second light, I will probably get a 400.

Thanks guys. The cheap-ass in me got the answer he was looking for. I love minimalism in photography. To all who have recommended the 800, I may be going that route if I begin to need strong outside fill. If you include this need, the 800 does seem better all-around. Thanks to all.

The other side of the coin. Don't go cheap! Get the best you can buy. You can always cut the power down with a ND gel but you can never coax more power out than the flash can generate. To make life easier, get all the same power units as it's easier to set up your lights for use. If you want to upgrade the unit later, you will spend more than buying the more powerful one in the first place.

Neil,

 

One more thing to consider for fill light out doors is the battery pack for the AB unit. You get more flashes with the AB400 than the AB800 at full power. You may want to ask what the recycle time is for the AB400 at full power versus the AB800 at half or quarter.

 

I use the AB1600 and have been happy with the results. My old Vivtar 285s are used as hair and background lights. I will get an AB800 to replace the Vivtars when they die.

 

Ricky

<p>Just bought a 400 to replace a JTL 200 and it is great. I can always buy more if I need it but I had plenty of portrait light with the JTL 200, so the 400 was more than enough</p>