SP Excalibur? How good are they?

[jams]

i need flash units. Alot of ideas. Little money.

 

Just wondering if the SP Excaliburs are any good. For about $500 i could get

two units. Anyone recommend anything else, except ABs?

 

Thanks alot

[mitchfalk]

Check out the Adorama web site and the Flashpoint Monolights, I just bought a second pair (2) the 1820s for what I would have paid for one of the so called Pro brands. I bought the 620s about 2 years ago, use them all the time and so far no problem. They are built like tanks, and just as heavy so get a good strong stand.

[leicaglow]

James, I push the SP Excaliburs every chance I get because they're the most under-rated, un-talked about system on pnet. I've used them for 15-20 years (I forget). I started out with the 3200's, then added 6400's, and 1600's. I wanted to replace them eventually with Broncolors (which have a lot more control, but very spendy), but they just keep working. I keep buying bulbs, thinking they'll either burn out or shift color, but in all the time I've owned them, I've never had to replace them. I don't use them onsite though. For that I rent Broncolors. I use them in my studio for at least a couple shots a day.

 

I find the build of the SP to be outstanding, the output consistent for exposure and color, the GN to be consistent with their rating, highly reliable, and best of all: great controls for a low-priced system. E.g., you can adjust flash and modeling lights on the 3200 with slider that adjusts for 8 stops. You can turn off the modeling light, turn off the ready beep, hook up a PC cord with 1/4" jack, dump the power (though I noticed some newer ones I bought have auto-dump when you turn them off), and built in slaves. I've used ABs, White Lightening, and some of the other mid-range monolights, and I like the color quality of the Excaliburs the best (though not as much as the very high-end Broncolors, which you can adjust by f-stop and even tweak the color temp).

 

I've found the best prices to be from BH Photo for both individual lights and the kit. Though I usually use soft boxes instead of the kit's umbrellas, I think the kits are still a great value. Sometimes they're available with soft boxes instead of umbrellas. Another thing: the light modifiers from SP are dirt cheap. You can buy nicely made snoots and barn doors very inexpensively. I can't say enough about how good the system is for the money.

[oscar_todd]

Have the 6400 kit since 2000 use it with large soft boxes.

Seldom use full power

Does the job

Plastic built but great bka service too.<div></div>