Mono v. studio

[jeff_patterson1]

Hello all,

I have been reviewing the posts here about studio lights and I have

learned alot but still have some questions.

 

I don't here much about speedotron and am wondering why. When I was

in high school the school photographer used it all four years. So

when I thought that photography was my career choice that is what I

bought without research. As usual life gets in the way and I sold

them a little more the a year or so after I bought them. No that I am

nearing forty I not only have regained the passion but now I have the

means so as I look to buy new studio lights I teeter between the AB's

and Speedotron. I know they are different formats and I am not sure

if the difference is that big of a deal or not. I know for sure that

this is only a hobby but I want to buy decent quality at a good price.

Not the best and not the worst but something better then the middle

and certainly not or $2k. Any suggestions or ideas

[jeff medkeff anchorage, a]

<p>The subject is a little misleading - the choice is generally between mono vs. pack & head; both kinds of lights are found in a studio, though packs are more common in my experience. The main disadvantages of pack & head tend to be losses in the flash power cable, and cost; the main disadvantages of monos is size and weight (not as big an issue after you mount modifiers, though), inconvenient control positioning, and occasionally heat. The advantage of monos is better output consistency all other things being equal. The advantage of packs is better modularity, the ability to mix-and-match power packs with heads, and better control positioning. Probably someone else will throw in some other considerations as well.

 

<p>I know next to nothing of Speedotron. Alien Bees are somewhere in the middle of the quality range of available monolights - cheap anonymous no-names are out there, and from what I've heard aren't as good as ABs, and of course better lights exist as well. OTOH ABs maybe aren't "something better than the middle;" White Lightning would probably define the mid-range standard for many photographers. It has been a while since I've looked at a catalog from Profoto or any of the higher-end makers, but in the past they've had lights that at least cost more than WLs; whether or not they were better I'm uncertain.

[james_mullineaux]

I use pack and head systems, it's what I like. I've tried some AB's and they just don't feel right for me. If cost is a big concern, then go with mono lights. The main reason for this is failure. Say you have three monolights and one dies on you. No big deal, just use a reflector for one of the lights and keep going.

 

Now if you have a pack and head system and the pack decides it's had all the fun it can stand, you need to have a backup pack in tow or stop shooting. I go with the back up pack and there's a sneaky little trick to getting a pack on the cheap. If you decide on say, speedotrons, watch ebay for a broken pack and buy it. When you get it, send it repair shop. I got a Novatron 880plus for $70 and spent and extra $100 on repairing it. I also got a Balcar a5000 for $20 but haven't sent it out yet. Usually packs blow capacitors and stop working, these are generally a $100-$250 repair depending on the size of the cap and the repair shop (in my experience).

 

Everything I've heard about speedotrons is good. They're sturdy workhorses. Check out http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/81 They use speedotron to light arenas! My guess as to why you don't here raves about speedotrons is that they're the low end of the pro scale priced just out of amateur reach. Pros don't seem to rant and rave about their gear as much as amateurs, they're more interested in taking pictures. You never read threads about how cool Broncolor or Profotos are, but everyone knows they're top quality. Likewise everyone knows that speedotrons are a good deal for the money, but not much to brag about (compared to the afore mentioned brands). You see so much about ABs because that lots of beginners buy them because they're cheap. Honestly if I went from using a speedlite to an AlienBee, I'd probably think I found the promised land too.

 

If you ask me what you should buy, I'd have to say the best lights you can afford because it's the light that your camera records.

[cosmo_genovese]

I use DynaLites and would highly recommend them for their small size, portability, and dependability. You don't say how many heads you intend to buy or what power the pack you're contemplating should have but, last I looked, 2 2040-heads (with fans) and a 1000w/s pack was under $2000.

[todd_k.]

I have a Speedotron Brownline 800 watt pack and head system. Its great, very consistent, powerful, almost indestructible, the build quality is much better than even my Balcar monobloc. It was my first strobe set up. I still use it. The only thing that I do not like about them Brownline system is the color. They are just so dammed ugly. Even new out of the box they are ugly. I think that the Greyline would have been much more popular. If I had to do it over again I might have just saved the money and gotten a Blackline system as they are prettier. In addition I have a White lighting Ultra 1200 and a 1000ws Balcar Monobloc that I use regularly. If you want the best of both worlds (monolight and pack-head) and you are buying new, you should consider one of the systems that let you control the power of each head individually from the pack. These things are a studio photographer wet dream! Norman, Balcar, and Profoto all have packs that give you this kind of control.

[jonathan_brewer1]

When I first got into Studio flash, Paul C Buff had a range of monoblocs roughly the same as he sells today with his lower end monoblocs now possessing quite a bit more power, I chose his top of the line(at the time) WL 1800 Ultra, a great light and pretty powerful for its day(still).

 

My lighting needs increased as I began to learn how to do more things, and I began to look at the advantages of the pack system, I expanded with the purchase a Profoto 1200WS assymetrical pack, being an assymetrical pack, the heads are lighter that your monoblocs, and you can dial in different power to different heads and increase/decrease that power in a costant ratio, an invaluable convenience if you want to increase/decrease your exposure while maintaining the same lighting ratio between 2 or more of your lights.

 

The above issues relate directly to cost, some units like the Profoto pack cost more not only because of how they're made, but because of the conveniences they provide, so as expanded I purchased another Profoto 2400WS pack, but the White Lightning isn't off the hook, being slave equipped, I can use it along w/my Profoto pack on bigger jobs.

 

I've mentioned this on other threads, my point in mentioning how my lighting needs evolved was to emphasize how I was able to incorporate an earlier purchase w/a later need, yours will be a juggling act between cost, the advantages a system can give you, and growth, whatever you decide to buy, good luck.

[jonathan_brewer1]

'If you want the best of both worlds (monolight and pack-head) and you are buying new, you should consider one of the systems that let you control the power of each head individually from the pack. These things are a studio photographer wet dream! Norman, Balcar, and Profoto all have packs that give you this kind of control.'..............this touches on the cost/cost effectiveness issue, when you're doing real world shooting on say a portrait w/flash, that is where simply where you pay more for ease of operation.

 

You can buy a monobloc, extend it up a few feet on a stand, where you have to go up and down a stepladder to adjust the power when you want to change exposure, you have several lights going and you don't have a way of adjusting their individual power in relation to the other lights, or you can pay some more for a lighting system that enables saves you from having to go through all this because you can control the lighting by remote from behind the camera or from a nearby assymetrical pack.

 

I would ask you what you intend to do with the lights, with a consideration for trade-offs in terms of cost effectiveness versus ease of operation, what options do the lights have that will save you running around your studion to exhaustion, or running up and down a stepladder to adjust your lighting?

 

Having said that, White Lightning does have a system for adjusting the power out of their monoblocs by remote while up on a stand, the ultimate of my saying all this is to suggest maybe you asking yourself just how easy do your want to make in on yourself during a shoot, versus the dollar cost of that ease of operation.

[jennifer valencia]

hi Jeff,

I'm a newbie myself and still trying to select the right studio kit, too. However, I've heard good things about Speedotron Brown & Black line equipment from my father, who does photography as a side job in Chicago. He's shot some weddings with a crew who uses Brown line equipment for portraits - one photog does the candids, and another mans the portrait "booth" with the equipment. They do this for quinceaneras and bar mitvahs, too.

 

I know some photo shots include Speedotron equipment in their rental department, which is a testament to the durability of that brand.

 

It's a BIT out of my price range right now, but my dad says good things about Speedotron. I myself am still vacillating between Alien Bees, White Lightning & Elinchrom. The more I learn, the harder it gets to make a decision!

 

good luck.

Jennifer

[watchin]

On the control issue - I have the AB-800s and the remote control units.

Here's the pro's and con's as I see it having used them for a while...

<br>

Pro's

<br>

<list>

<li>complete control - you can set everything remotely for each light, for a bank (group) of lights, for all lights

<li>ease of setup- no scrambling around to each light, just set them up

as you think they should be and then adjust from the camera

<li>remote firing-either by hand, by cord from camera or meter

<li>no interference from other remotes - it has enough channels and groups to make yours unique, even in an AB convention hall (well almost :{)

<li> no wires - each light is standalone with 1 power cord

<li> transmitter doesn't hang on the camera (I put a snap button swivle from a cell phone on mine and clip it to my belt or tripod),

some units unbalance the camera with a topheavy unit.

<li>price - $550 (approx) get transmiter and 4 slave units (about 1/2 cost of Pocket Wizard setup).

<li>P Buff service - had one reciever go out, no questions, sent me a replacement overnight said send the bad one when I got a chance, 10 min phone call (most of that just shooting the bull with nice people :)

</list>

<p>

Con's

<list>

<li>light weight construction - these aren't pocket wizard in construct, nor in price. With reasonable TLC they'll last a while.

<li>battery life - if you leave in the batteries they'll be dead

the next time you need them. The receivers come with a power brick

so you don't need batteries in them (unless you want it). The tranmitter is strickly batteries. NiMh work well.

<li>proprietary (sp?) - they only work with WL and AB units.

<li>no radio trigger for flash meter. Sekonics have an addin trigger for the pocketwizard units.

</list>

<p>

End analysis - if you are shooting on site, get a

remote control setup, the wires will drive you nuts, and the photo

slaves are useless with other flashes going off. Make sure

it's a coded IR or radio RF unit, uncoded units are as useless as

photo slaves at the WRONG times.

 

If you are doing sports - look into pocket wizards. Some locations

require them in order to work there.

[jeff_patterson1]

Thank you all for your responses. You have enlightened me considerably. I wish I could figure out how to respond to each of you personally but I do thank you all very much.

[jeff_patterson1]

Well I took the plunge and bought the Alien Bees. They came to me in three days which I wasn't expecting. They were shipped in excellent condition and they work great. One thing to mention is that there does seem to be an internal fan. The AB manual states that there is one and I can kindof hear it. Some of the previous posts stated that there wasn't one. Maybe this is an upgrade. Anyway I think it is fantastic and I think they are a great buy.