Profoto or Hensel or Elinchrom monolights? + triggering with Hasselblad

I am setting up a small studio in my garage (18'L x 12'W x 8'H...I

know...it's not really high enough, but it's all I have), and need to

buy a monolight set. I will be doing primarily portrait work with a

softbox/umbrellas/reflectors. I have read all the archived material

on brands/types of monolights but would appreciate a fresh

perspective from users of the above brands or any others you have

used that you would buy again. I want to buy new and can afford up to

apprx. $1500 for the lights and stands. I know Profotos cost more

than that and I might make the stretch if I am convinced they are

worth it vs. the Hensel 2-500ws set w/ stands and softbox and

umbrellas for about $1150 vs. the Elinchrom set for about $1300 vs.

anything else you all might recommend.

Also, can anyone comment on what cabling/connectors will allow me to

trigger the strobes with my Sekonic 308B to meter and then shoot with

the Hasselblad without disconnecting/reconnecting?

I've been using the Hensel kit and it's exceeded my expectations. Excellent build quality, fairly priced user replaceable bulbs, 300 watt modeling lights, logical controls--I don't know what else I could ask for. The Elinchroms are also sweet, so I don't see why you'd need to spring for the Profotos for your little studio. Better to spend the extra $$ on light modifiers--softboxes, eggcrates, reflectors, grids, etc.

You could use a radio-controlled trigger to pop the strobes, but that's a pricey proposition. Otherwise, I think you should be able to find a Y-cable

id go for the hensel. if you read the archives you surely read my opinion on hensel strobes.

buy the older contra e series not the nex expert pro !! the older flashes are cheaper lighter smaller faster have more power and less useless gimicks. (and btw look much better)

2x 500 ws is a good start. dont buy a softbox unless its really large. buy cheap scrims from ebay and lots of foamcore and paint it black on one side. as many stands as you can affort. one extra stand for every flash is fine. buy a scrim reflector for every flash. (the are cheap and you can use them for indirect light too)

i bought some from linhof&studios in the uk via mail order. some stuff got broken but nothing serious. they replaced the broken items.

to sync camera and flash meter simply plug the camera in one the flash meter in another strobe. just buy a second sync cord.

so in total: 2x 500 ws 1100$ 4 stands 300$ extra sync cord 10$ some scrims 50$

looks good to me.

David

If recycle time is very important for you Elinchrom would beat Hensel. In all other aspects I found Hensel to offer a better price/quality ratio. I especially like the build quality, the user interface and the bajonett for reflectors.

Profoto is in a different class. For being fair you would need to compare it with something like a Hensel Tria 1500 Speed.

"buy the older contra e series not the nex expert pro !! the older flashes are cheaper lighter smaller faster have more power and less useless gimicks"

David,

what do you mean by "useless gimmicks"? The radio control? Or the light regulation over 6 stops in 1/10 steps? Isn't everyting else roughly the same?

Martin, you are right the recycle time is better with the elinchrom, and most other strobes too.

i find the radio trigger is a nice feature, but i dont need a remote control for the pilot lamp or flash output. the display and auto shutoff/dim for the pilot lamp is not necessary either. the new grip is really bad design too. i liked the old one because you can put it on the floor with a softbox attached and dont need a stand. and i can carry two heads in one hand when holdinf the grip with two fingers each. for the new expert pro you need two hands to lift it ! the diameter is too big (23cm) to take it with one hand (unlike profoto heads, 15cm) i store 2 e fly and 2 contra 500 in one e bag ! thats the smallest bag in the lineup. with the new design you can only transport 2 heads in this bag, because they are tubes and a lot of space is wasted. i also like to mount cardboards on the side of the handle, wich has a flat surface. the new design is round, so you cant mount anything there. and the new design also takes much more space. i tested both strobes in the 500ws version and the older one was 4/10 stronger even though it had an older flash bulb. and the new one took more than half a second longer to recharge. thats all, the rest of the specs is roughly the same. i dont know why hensel redesigned these wonderful strobes. im glad i bought enough of the contra e for the moment.

David

David,

agree with some of your points but still prefer the Integra Pro. The 1/10 step regulation is a joy to use and the radio control is addictive too.

Also it is my impression that the cooling system works now more efficient. Maybe this has been the reason for increasing the dimensions.

Regards

Martin

After assisting photographers that used Dyna lite, Elinchrom and Profoto's I bought

Profoto Acutes. The Dyna lite system is small, recycles quickly and is portable. The Profoto

Acute packs and mono lights are the best of both worlds, quality light and durable. If you

are doing this professionally and need them to perform, you cannot go wrong. If you are

an amateur and having fun, go with an Alien Bee or White Lightning.

Martin,

I can't seem to find much information on the new Hensels particularly regarding the radio control. Can you tell me something about how it works (or how it might work hooked to my Hasselblad)?

B&H Photo shows only the NEWER Integras in their online catalog so I'm assuming they are no longer selling the old style anyway.

"I can't seem to find much information on the new Hensels particularly regarding the radio control. Can you tell me something about how it works"

http://www.henselusa.com/content/integrapro.pdf

The catalogue shows only the external radio receiver but the specs for the build-in version seem to be identical.

"(or how it might work hooked to my Hasselblad)?"

As long as your camera has a hot shoe or a X socket it makes no difference what type of camera you use. I use it as well with a DSLR and a decades old large format camera without any problems

Since you are just starting, and assuning you are i nt he USA or Canada, I'd go with the

Alien Bee units

instead. Now d oI think the Profotos are better than the other ones you mentioned? Yes,

and here is why: Beyond the quality of light for portraits, there is a much larger user base

& dealer support for Profoto. More users mean more used gear on the market to augment

what you alrady have.

Now why Alien Bees: Price is the significant factor and the light quality is very good

,especially for the price but ignore their claims of "Effective watt-seconds" as a measure of

power. lower price means you can spend more money in areas where it really counts: light

modifiers (Chimera instead of cheap knock offs from Korea or China (Nothing wrong with

Korea or china or koreans and Chinese people, but Chimeras do make a better quality of

light). Also better light stands and Pocketwizard Plus radio triggering units. you may even

save enough to upgrade your meter to a Sekonic L-558R, which has a Pocketwizard

transmitter inside. Alos Alien Bees seems to have a terrific reputation for service and

support. A final reason to consider Alien Bees is that they use the same mreflector / light

modifier attachment system as Balcar does. Balcar makes amazing good (and some

amazingly weird) light modifiers.

You are just starting to learn how to light. Having technically better raw light quality is

much less important for you right now than learning how to light.

Ellis,

it really puzzles me that in the U.S. every slightly experienced photographer owns a carload of high end camera gear but at the same time is satisfied with something like Alien Bees just to save the equivalent of a midpriced lens. And now also you start to promote this mediocre stuff!

Personally I would get in the right mood only if I use a Holga or maybe a Praktica in conjunction with Alien Bees.

Martin (Austria)

Martin,

Thanks for the link to the Integras, it was helpful. Regarding Ellis's advice about the Alien Bees, I have read many comments about them on this (and other) forum(s), and I have also considered them. My reason for going with something more "high-end" is that given the features, I think I will be happier with them IN THE LONG RUN.

I have learned quite a lot from Ellis's comments and responses on this forum, and Ellis, thank you. I haven't ruled out the Alien Bees or the White Lightnings, mainly because of the service...I have heard good things about Paul Buff's service. Where would I get the Integras serviced and how long would it take? This I do not know yet, but is definitely a consideration.

Anyway, thank you all very much for the valuable information. It is much appreciated.

true, if you are in the us then there may be better options than hensel.

i do not reccomend to buy pocket wizard, buy another strobe instead. if you have 5000ws you can think about buying somethng like that.

David

Martin,

I own & use about 18,000 watt seconds of Balcar packs (1 5000 w-s, 3 2400, 1 1200 &

1600 plus a monobloc 1) and 15 heads. I also have a couple of Elinchrom heads , moified

for Balcar packs. Now that Balcar is without an official distributor in the USA, when I

replace this gear in a couple of years it wll be with Profotos.

But back to the original posters question: he is just starting out with studio lighting. I'd

rather see him get good modifiers, stands ,Pocketwizards etc. that can still be used if he

decides to go further and get high quality lights to replace the Alien Bees.

5000+7200+1200+600+ 800 = 14,800 watt-seconds total power in the Balcars. <P>

Why so much? I get paid to I bring back photos , not make excuses. It has been a few

years since I have had to lug every thing out on location or even had to use it all in a

studio. i try to keep things as simple as possible when working but it is always good to

have spares and sometimes it is a good idea to have only one or two heads per pack for

more precise control of the light. </P>

Quality of light is more about how you modify it (hence my recommendation to get high

quality light modifiers; I recommend the tools from

<A HREF = http://www.chimeralighting.com> Chimera Lighting</a>,

<A HREF = http://www.plumeltd.com> Plume, ltd.</a>,

<A HREF = http://www.photekusa.com> Photek

</A> for this, and Bogen Avenger or Matthews (MSE) stands and grip gear. This

investment also holds its value longer), where you place it , and how you use it to create

the effect you want, then it is about the quality about the quality of the mechanics in the

box -- unless the gear is grossly inefficient or dangerous -- producing it. Clients are

genuinely more impressed wih what the final result is then the gear used to get the

results. If you have a big, spacious well equipped high tech studio that can certainly be

impressive, but unless yo uare indepently wealthy , I think it is sounder advise to first

learn how to light well then it is to jsut have fancy looking gear.

Ellis,

if that was in answer to my question, if you have models, muas, assistants, stylists, customers, ads, and some friends running around the studio it absolutely makes sense to use pocket wizard. but for a beginner that uses two lights in a small room thats overkill.

we once lit a really large room, like a whole opera. we used 9000ws for the main light alone. 5000ws for the overall fill 3000 as effect light, 1000 for another fill, 9000 for the rest of the room. and im sure i forget something. dont ask how many stands we used :-)

but still one pack was close enough to plug a cord in it.

David

hai guys,

I also purchase hensel contra e 500 watt and 1000 watt.Can anybody can comment another brand like Bowen and multiblitz performance.