Monoblocks- Bowens Esprit and Hensel Contra

[david_altmann]

im in europe and i want to buy 3 500ws monoblocks in a kit. the

hensel kit with 3 500ws lights costs 2400?. a pretty similar set from

bowens is 1100? @ robert white. ok that comparison isnt really fair

cause hensel prices in my country are high and robert white is really

cheap (in price)

 

i must say (for anyone on research on these flashes) i hate the

bowens bayonet, the way to mount the scrims is ugly the grips on the

backside are useless. the reflectors are more expensive than hensel...

but on the paper they seem to charge faster at the same power. but

theyre also heavier(a big -) and not fan cooles (in the catalog they

say 1000 and 1500 are fan cooled) but i can get them cheaper.

 

i know the hensel pretty well but havent really worked with bowens

monoblocks. anyone here ever used them extensively ? are they

compareable to the hensel ?

 

btw i just saw the new hensel compact flashes and they look like the

old broncolor compacts from the 80es wich i hate too.

 

what do you think ?

 

D.

 

 

ps: no, i dont like elinchrom and balcar i cant afford pro and i

think bron and brise is crazy.

[david_altmann]

oops i made a mistake. the bowens set is only two 500ws heads ! the compareable hensel set is 1750?. still 650? difference. (thats alot of fp100c)

sorry.

 

 

D.

[garry edwards]

David,

 

You might consider Elinchrom (but not the cheaper Prolinca range from the same manufacturer).

 

Elinchrom & Bowens seem to be having a price war at the moment and you may get their 500/500 kit for the same price as the Bowens. The Elinchrom range of accessories and ease of use is superb, they also have fast recharging. http://www.theflashcentre.com.

 

Hope this helps

[david_altmann]

mmm pricewars are fine. i got my RZ pretty cheap this way.

i used the prolinca compact a few times and the are pretty bad. the stands and scrims that came with the flashes were really bad too. i didnt know elinchrom makes better flashes than the prolinca. thanks for the hint. but i also dont like the reflektor system. and dont forget the incompatible sync lead.

its not long ago that i was on lacation with pocket wizards and broncolor strobes (also incompatible, and even their stand mount is incompatible) and couldnt fire the strobes.

 

so we already have a pricewar between elinchrom and bowens. what about a brandwar here on PN ? a peaceful and constructive one please.

 

D.

[garry edwards]

David,

 

You're entitled to your opinion about the reflector fitting, but personally I think it's pretty good.

 

As for the synch socket, yes it's non-standard and not very good, but you can get a 'tail' from Elinchrom to convert it to a standard jack socket, which will allow you to use any radio triggering system.

 

As for poor stands, I agree - but Elinchrom do a wide range of stands, and their heads are the standard (16mm I think) spiggot fitting so will fit other stands too. Manufacturers tend to include useless stands in their lighting kits, together with useless, tiny softboxes and silver reflective umbrellas - but you can always buy the kits to get the saving and sell on the accessories.

 

 

I don't really want to recommend Elinchrom, I think that their customer service here in the UK is appalling, but their Elinchrom brand flash units are good, most of their accessories are good, a couple of their stands are O.K. and their 1 metre sq softbox and their larger lightbanks are good.

 

I'm not going to get into a brand war, all of the professional brands are good, you pays your money and you takes your choice!

[stephen_allan]

If you are interested in the Hensel system, check out Linhof & Studio in the UK. I picked up a 3 head Contra kit in a nice carrier, with a handful of stuff (reflectors, snoot, barn door, filters) for approx 1600 GBP (VAT included).

 

www.linhofstudio.com

 

Regards

Steve

[david_altmann]

>I'm not going to get into a brand war, all of the professional >brands are good, you pays your money and you takes your choice!

 

i didnt mean to start a "what is better digital or film" like brandwar. rather an exchange. i believe that i can contribute alot because i have worked with many systems. its true that all brands are good but its important to know the downsides.

 

today for example i found out that the flashbulbs of the bowens arent user exchangeable. also the flashtubes of some elinchrom. with hensel you can do it yourself.

 

@Stephen, thanks for the link. it seems its cheaper to buy hensel in the uk than in germany (they are built in würzburg/germany).

 

i guess ill stick to hensel for now.

 

D.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

Take a look at Multiblitz I have a set of 500's which are great, there is not much on them in english on the net but they work great and the stands are not that bad either.