dynalites, lumedynes, or others for portable lighting kit?

[mikeseb]

I realize this may have been done to death; a search of this site did not really give me the guidance I seek.

 

I'm looking to put together a compact, portable, and durable basic lighting kit for location portraiture and

perhaps some small-space architectural work; also for lighting small three dimensional art pieces. I have

no prejudice re pack-and-head vs. monolite. Excellent light quality, durability, and portability are my main

concerns.

 

I've considered dyna-lite, lumedyne, and alien bees/white lightning; I have no brand attachment so

suggestions are welcomed, but I'm leaning dyna-lite. My problem is that these are not available locally for

rental, believe it or not, so I have no practical way to try them out first.

 

What do you think? What have been your experiences? Any suggestions of modifiers or accessories? Am I

approaching this from the wrong direction entirely?

 

Appreciate in advance your suggestions and wisdom.

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

I'm a wedding, portrait photographer in Minneapolis. I now use Sunpak 120J's and Sunpak 544's for my on location photography which is about 95% of the time. Some units have a small softbox and some I snoot, depending what I want to do with the light. I'm completely portable, using Pocket Wizards to fire the units. I will take up to 6 units for a wedding. I use nickel metal hydride "AA" batteries and a set of 4 usually lasts me an entire wedding.

 

Since I'm completely digital and capture in RAW I've got a lot of freedom and flexability to change things as I work with diverse lighting and conditions. Pro digital cameras allow me to do what I couldn't with film.

 

At any rate, I do have some Dyna Lite and Alien Bees stuff but it doesn't get that much use anymore.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Best to you in 2007.

[w.smith]

You get what you pay for, Michael. My "portable studio" basically consists of 3x wireless

5600HS D flashguns on their own tripods (2 battery sets per), a 3' and a 4' silver/white

Lastolite reflector. This provides plenty 'oomph', I can bounce and fake 'softboxes' and

balance shadows, and endlessly vary combinations. And the whole schpiel fits a medium-

sized suitcase, so it's perfect for locationwork.

 

A seeming downside is that you have no modelling lights. But, hey!, this is the digital age,

so you simply do a test shot with the real light output, you chimp ? on a laptop for a good

view ? and adjust if neccessary!

 

I shoot live subjects with unsupported camera, because flash freezes movement anyway,

and it enables me to move around freely, direct the scene, try different angles and

viewpoints, or adjust the lighting.

 

This set also provides TWO backup flashguns for my 'primary' flashgun.

 

The combination of versatility, portability and power means that I use this setup often.

[picturesque]

I also am now using my 120Js a lot, just because I had them already and am using digital a lot now for weddings. However, I would have no problem pulling out my Dynalite 500 watt second kit if I needed the power. I also have a Dynalite Uni 400 monolight and Jackrabbit battery pack to use with my corded kit or alone or with other battery powered units. I have a Norman 200B that I also like. No one can make the decision for you except to perhaps report on durability. Light quality is more a function of what modifiers you put on them, unless you need critically consistent color temperature, etc. Portability is related to size of units, so obviously the shoemount kits take up less space, but you are giving up other things, like power. You need to analyze your needs, rent or use as many as are on your short list, and then decide.

 

As for durability--I've repaired my Norman 200B several times in the 10 years or so I've had it, but it is built like a tank and can take a beating. The same would be true of Lumedynes. Construction quality is obvious upon looking at the gear. Dynalites are also well built--have had my Dynalites for about 8 years or so--never had to repair any of it. The 500 watt second kit is very small in comparison to other pack kits. I put the battery pack, 2 heads, 2 stands and 2 umbrellas with all cords and a few accessories in one Tenba Air Case.

 

The 120Js are slightly delicate, but if you don't treat them roughly, they will hold up. Same with shoemount flashes--you are talking about plastic as compared to metal.

[brian.]

I use dynalites for location and studio work. The nice thing about dynalite is the 4040

studio head. It puts out a very nice quality light, direct but not harsh. Dynalites have a long

history of dependable professional use. 2 1000ws packs and three heads fit nicely in

Tenba case, easy to carry and travel with.

[savagesax]

I use White Lightnings and Photogenics. Both seem really good. Photogenic lights have a really nice flash head that produces constant color regardless of the amount of flash output, if that matters to you. For location work I still use the same units (at least 1000 watt units,) and if there is no electric around I have 2 batteries and an inverter that will pound out about 200 shots at full power per battery. This is really sweet for evening beach weddings and backyard weddings. Needless to say I never use full power, probably never use 1/2 power, therefore I can get about 800 shots per battery. I don't mind at all transporting this gear, because the results are well worth it. You can use barn doors, snoots, unbrellas, big softboxes, and grids if needed.

 

The next best strobe unit has to be the Normans. They put out a lot of power for small units. At full power you can get around 180-200 shots with new batteries. They come in 200 and 400 watt seconds.

[jonathon]

the catch with the small hotshoe flashes is the light shaping options. I guess someone's made a softbox mount for a Vivitar 285 or other hotshoe, but it will really only act as a diffuser panel. I'm not sure there's really a beauty dish for Lumedynes or 285s, and obviously no real way to do ringflash. Light spill out of umbrellas can give unwanted effects and severly limit control. The Hensel, Elinchrom, Profoto, Bron, Visatec etc solutions have a full range of modifiers, which to me at least is critical. Secondly if you want to have other creative options such as overpowering the ambient sunlight, you need power. Do do that with a softbox needs even more power. So I think a few 120j's are a great starting point, but for the price of a new lumedyne system, there are other options you might like to consider.

[twmeyer]

I use Lumedyne and Dynalite. The biggest difference between them is modeling lights. Lumedyne's 25 watt lights are practically non-existent in even average ambient brightness, and they deplete the battery rapidly. Dynalites have 250watt modeling lights. As has been said this is generally not a problem if you know how to place lights and you are shooting digital. <p>The other area is in the range of possible light modifiers, where Dynalite again has an advantage. New Dynalite packs have Pocket Wizards built in, and this too, is an advantage to Dynalite.<p>But even with all those advantages, I use my Lumedynes way more than the Dynalites. This is largely because I prefer to use as little lighting equipment as possible, and prefer the look of a simple one light portrait. There is also the advantage of no cords at all, and no need for power outlets, and that's huge. I will use Lumedyne when only one, or maybe two lights are required. Anything that needs more than two, or more than 400 ws, I use the Dynalites. <p>I made 325 portraits in 3 hours the other night on a single 25c battery with a 400ws Lumedyne set on 50ws, iso 400, F5.6 and a half. No recycle time problems at all... t<div></div>

[david cunningham]

i love my lumedyne signature series light. small, light, and very efficient. i use it with a x-

small chimera softbox and love the results. this shot was lit with one lumedyne flash head

and softbox,,,

[mikeseb]

I really appreciate everyone's time and thoughtful answers. You've given me plenty to

consider.

 

I forgot to mention that auto flash exposure capability would be useful in certain

situations--though I usually shoot manual--and that has me leaning towards Lumedyne

with its HAHM auto module. Tom, I found some spring 2005 postings by you on this

recounting your travails with Quantum; you and others have raved about the Lumedyne

HAHM setup and it looks like it could be the ticket.

 

My current equipment rig is a Contax 645 with a Kodak ProBack; my testing has confirmed

that this combination, as officially stated, does not support TTL flash (I guess TTL sensors

measure light bouncing off film and this won't work with a digital sensor instead?) so

there's no point in messing with Quantum and its TTL modules even though there is one

for the Contax.

 

It looks like the Lumedyne is more powerful than the shoe- and handle-mount flash

hodgepodge I'm currently using, accumulated over the years (Sunpak 444D,555,622, and

120J, plus Contax TLA360 which is really a Nikon SB-25 or -26 with a Contax nameplate

and absurd price), and more portable than even the dynalites for on the go shooting,

though not as powerful as the d-lites.

 

Any further thoughts would be appreciated, and thanks again for everyone's help.

[twmeyer]

That Sunpak 622 is a pretty powerful flash and it's auto thyristor should work fine with your camera. I don't know how you'd put a bigger box on it, but I'm sure it could be done... t <p>(yeah I love the HAHM. The 200ws pack is gerally enough, but I can use 400ws if I need to. Pretty cool.)

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

I find this a helpful web site, the author a proponent of using small flashes.

 

Best!

 

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/