Best Strobes for Action photography?

Sorry to be yet another newbie asking for advice on my first strobe kit, but I am really hoping to get some

insight as to what I would need in order to photograph fast action in the studio, and on location, mostly in

the form of modern dance, ballet, and martial arts. I would ideally want to use this same kit for portraits

and product shots as well. Of course everyone talks about the White Lightning and Alien Bees kits but I'm

concerned the recycling time may not be fast enough for rapid firing and long hours, and I have to admit,

the price sounds a little too good to be true. Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, if I got the

WLs or ABs would I be able to use light modifiers made by other companies such as Westcott or Chimera?

How do the WL/AB modifiers stand up next to the other big names?

 

I've been leaning towards the new Novatron M600 monoblocs. From what I can tell they have extremely

fast recycling time and can take some abuse but are still fairly affordable. I would likely start with a two

light kit and expand as my budget allows. I'm looking to spend in the neighborhood of $2,000.

 

Thanks in advance, your advice is greatly appreciated.

 

-Heath

White Lightning and Alien Bees stuff has been on the market quite awhile now. I know a lot of newspaper photojournalists who use the White Lightning gear day in and day out with few probelsms. One of the reasons the are priced the way they are is that there is no middleman or dealers , so that markup is eliminated. The modifier range is vast ; not only do they make their own but Chimera, Plume, Westcott and Photoflex all make light modifiers to fit both the WL and AB units. Additionally since Buff decided to use a BAlcar compatible mounting system you have the truly interesting array of Balcar light modifiers available -- check http://www.balcar.com/PHOTO/accessories.html -- to see that family of unique light modifiers.

 

What you really want to freeze motion is short t0.1 flash duration. Virtually everybody except Broncolor (they use the t0.1 method) lists the t0.5 flash duration for their units. To really freeze action you want to know the t0.1 flash duration which is just about exactly 3x longer than the t0.5 flash duration. In other words if a maker claims a t0.5 flash duration of 1/600th second the t0.1 flash duration is more like 1/200th second. the way to get really short flash duration is to use bi or quad tube heads with a pacjk. Speedotron, Elinchrom, Profoto, Hensel, Broncolor, Balcar, Elinchrom Dyna-Lite and the Paul C Buff Zeus pack and head systems all have bi-tube head options. Speedotron has a quad-tube option so you could plug all 4 tubes into 1 800, 1200, 2400 or 4800 watt-second pack for very short flash duration times. if you have ever seen the dance photography of Lois greenfield, she uses the Broncolor Grafit system which is about 5x your budget.

The short answer:

 

1) Lumedyne Action series packs, 200ws or 400ws;

 

2) elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS with Freelite A flash-head, 1100ws;

 

3) Profoto 7B2, 1200ws; for even shorter flash duration, use a Twin head.

 

These are the ones I know. There may be others out there that I am not aware of.

 

These are all battery powered packs.

Novatron has a very slow recycle time. All of their products I've ever seen are slow compared to other brands. The Novatron M600 takes 2.5 seconds to recycle only 600 w/s-- compare that to a Bowens Esprit Gemini that takes only 1 second.

 

One way to get a faster recycle time is to buy a bigger light and run it at a lower power. If you are using a pack/head system (as opposed to the monolights being talked about) that will also give you a shorter flash duration (there maybe some exceptions based on brand).

 

I argue that t1 is not the method to look at for stopping power-- for a reason. If it was, it'd be an industry standard. However, the output of lights are in a bell curve that varies from brand to brand. T1 will start measuring as soon as output is being produced, but if that output is negliable (like your ambient light), then it'll make no difference in the picture. T5 is the most commonly accepted b/c it creates a more even field for comparison, even if not perfect.

Ellis, Thanks for the Lois Greenfield name. Found easily the site. Super photos. Really something to think about!

Thanks for all your responses everybody. It sounds like I'm gonna have to spend a little

more money that I first expected based on what you all are saying. It sounds like a pack

and head set up is the way to go though. Ellis, you seem to speak highly of the Paul Buff

lights and I'm looking into the bi-tube flash heads as well as the kits recommended by

Shiver. Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to use these same lights for portrait, fashion,

or product shots? I guess what I'm asking is, if I buy a kit specifically geared towards fast

power will I be sacrificing anything on the other end?

 

Thanks again.

Heath, since you are asking for advice: I'd recommend any brand name pack system except Norman (slow) and Buff (2 channel, 2 plug). I can provide links to previous discussions from pack users on this topic.

 

I also think that you'll find a Speedo Blackline 805 w/ a 202 head at 1/4 power to be quick enough. It's around 1/1000th of a second w/ about a 0.8 (iirc) recycle time. Works find for portrait, fashion, product also.

well i dont how fast your subjects moved regardign action photography...so...

 

http://prismscience.com/spot_specs.php

 

if you have the $3000 you can stop bullets with this bad boy!!